When you’re buying a house, it can be both exciting and overwhelming. You can’t wait to find the new place you’ll call home, but there’s a lot to check out as you view all of these houses. 

Here are a few things to make sure you look out for. They aren’t intuitive, but you’ll be glad you paid attention to them later. 

Important Thing to Look for in a House: The Garage

I know what you’re thinking. “What? A garage? Why is that so important to look at? There are a few reasons why. 

Not all garages are the same. For example, does the 2 car garage have one big door, or two small doors separated by a post in the middle? It’s a lot easier to pull a car into a garage with one big door instead of two little ones. 

Also, is the garage wide enough to let you open your door comfortably? Some garages are so narrow that even if you can fit your car (or two), there’s not much room to get in. If you have kids, that’s a no-go since you can bet they’ll end up hitting things with the car door. 

Is the garage deep enough? If you need to pull your car so far in that it’s almost touching the inside wall, that’s no fun either. Ideally there’s room to walk in front of the car when it’s parked inside. 

Important Thing to Look for While Buying a Home: The Driveway

This is another one that surprises people. A driveway? Again, think about a few things here.

If a house has a steep driveway, there’s not much you can do to improve it. That’s just how the builder created it, and it’d be a huge, costly pain to improve it – if it’s even possible at all. 

Second, a steep driveway is something you’ll be walking and driving on multiple times a day. It’s not like it’s something you just deal with a few times a year. 

Third, think about family. Do you have little kids? They may struggle with a steep driveway. Elderly family members may struggle as well and may not be able to walk up the driveway. 

Finally, consider resell. We’ve seen beautiful homes that nobody wants because the driveway was too steep. 

Unique Thing to Look for While Buying a Home: Scent-Free

It used to be common practice that right before someone came to view a home, you bake chocolate chip cookies. The idea was it would help the people viewing the home find it more comforting and “homey.” 

That’s not as popular as it used to be, so don’t expect that to happen often. If you do find a home with a lot of good smells like chocolate chip cookies, plug-ins, scented oils, etc. then be wary. They may be trying to cover up some bad smells! 

When you’re buying a home, these are a few important things to think about. They aren’t obvious, but you don’t want to end up buying a home may add annoyances in your daily life.

For some personalized help on your home search, give us a call at (949) 651-6300. We will talk to you soon.