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Types of Family Homes

As you begin your search for a new home, you will undoubtedly come across a myriad of housing types and the type of home you choose needs to be based on the specific qualities you seek in a home.  If you are an empty nester with grown children, your housing needs will be different from a young couple just starting out.  As a young couple who plans to have a family, your options are very different from a young couple with no family plans.

You always should think long-term when shopping for a home.  The pricing of housing may influence your decision, as well. Some friends of ours, who earn about the same amount in yearly income, purchased a family home in a very affluent neighborhood and their neighbors were all wealthier, and older than the middle class neighborhood where we purchased our home.  As their children started school, our friends soon realized that their older wealthier neighbors all had teen-aged or grown children, while our neighborhood was populated with children close to our son's age.  Growing up in a neighborhood with few children your own age leads to a lonely childhood.  Once they realized that their child was spending more time in their classmates homes than their own, they sold their home and traded down, so that their child would have neighborhood children to play with.

Housing amounts to more than just cost or location as you can see, but you should understand that there are a number of housing types available to you.  The most popular type of home is the single family detached home.

The single family detached home is the type of home that most people envision when they set out to purchase a home.  This home type has its own yard, privacy, and delivers your own "space".  With the single family detached house comes its own unique set of headaches including, maintenance upkeep, a lawn to mow, exterior painting to perform, and maybe even neighbors to battle.

In finding a suitable single family detach home, you may either buy an old or new home or you may even choose to build your own in a developed (planned) neighborhood or on land (acreage) that you purchase.

Buying an Older Single Family Detached Home

An older home may be the a wise investment for many home buyers.  Older homes are located in established neighborhoods in which you can get a good idea of who the neighbors are, the number of children in your neighborhood and their ages, and how the neighbors care for their lawns and shrubbery.  Older homes typically have services fairly close in proximity, such as grocery and convenience stores, physician offices, parks for recreation, etc.  Also the schools tend to be more stable with regard to students and teachers. New homes may eventually develop services in close proximity but it may take several years for businesses to relocate into the area of your new home.

Another advantage of buying an older home in an established neighborhood is you get a good snapshot of the types of businesses that have already migrated to the area.  Distasteful establishments may have difficulty moving into an area with an active or proactive neighborhood association.

Also, older homes have a track record of comparable sale prices for other homes in the area.  Newer subdivisions always have a difficult time  in establishing a resale value for your home. My first and third homes were new homes built in new subdivisions.  When I was relocated with my job after three years in my first new home, the neighborhood was still under development.  Most new homebuyers preferred to build their own home to their own specifications rather than buying an existing home.  After having the house on the market for 18 months, I eventually sold the home below new construction cost and my company ended up paying closing costs for the homebuyer in order to entice them to purchase my home.

My third home also was built in a new development and during the course of the first few years, numerous neighbors sold their homes (as I did on my first home) below market value.  This negatively affected my own home value since comparable sales prices were lower than market value.  As the neighborhood development was completed, the value of my home almost doubled in price due to a more established record of comparable resales in the area.  Then the property tax man came knocking to perform a reassessment on my home.

Buying an older existing in an area that is nearly developed can provide enormous cost savings for you.  Once development has been completed, your home will almost certainly increase in value. 

Older homes also may be better constructed than newer homes but repair expenses may be greater with an existing home.  Older HVAC systems may require replacement, appliances may have seen their better days, and plumbing may require maintenance.  However, do not let this discourage you from buying an existing home. You may surprise yourself with how handy you will become in repairing these little challenges.  You may choose to contact a home inspector to help you make your buying decision.

Older homes have established lawns and hedges which can save you considerably when you consider the high cost of landscaping.

Buying a New Single Family Detached Home

Newer homes offer less maintenance challenges and they typically offer modern design schemes, and new layout schemes.  The appliances and mechanical systems are typically free of repair for several years and this may offset the higher cost of a new home. 

New homes may save you money in energy costs as well.  Most newer homes are better insulated, have appliances that are more energy efficient, and newer, more aesthetically pleasing kitchens and baths.

Newer developments also are designed with family living in mind.  Newer developments tend to have recreation facilities close-at-hand, such as tennis courts, parks, bike trails, gold courses, and lakes or ponds for fishing and boating.  Developers have recognized the added appeal of a development that offers affordable housing close to recreation areas and many developers construct developments around these themes. 

There may be other themed developments as well.  In the Daytona beach area, John Travolta lives in a "fly-in" community because of his love for flying.  Residents can actually taxi up to their home and park in their own hangar.  While this may seem to be an extravagance, their are numerous communities built around golf themes or tennis themes or even equestrian themes.

While many of the newer developments may look like a Beaver Cleaver/Dennis the Menace cookie cutter theme in which all of the houses appear similar, some people like the continuity of similar houses. 

Newer developments may have "covenants" that protect or restrict some activities which can be very pleasing for some homebuyers and this may make resell less difficult.  A neighborhood that permits barnyard animals (chickens, goats, etc) may limit your ability to resale the home if your neighbor has an negative affinity for chickens. 

A neighborhood also may have a statutory building scheme in place that limits how your neighbors can alter the look of their homes.

One disadvantage of buying in a new development is the constant construction traffic, Saturday morning wake-up calls by hammers and large equipment, mud and dust, and other construction related inconveniences.  Many developers also wait on paving the streets until the development is substantially completed.  A large development may require driving on muddy streets for several years until the developer gets around to paving.

Building a new Home or Completing an Unfinished Home

Whether you decide to build a new home or complete a home already under construction, always ask for builder references, always ask for builder references, always ask for builder references....plain enough?  My neighborhood was built by numerous builders.  The development is now 13 years old.  Fours houses in my neighborhood were built by the same builder and every one had problems with water intrusion, rotted fascia and floors, rotted door frames due to improper caulking and various other minor aggravations.

A few years ago, I remember a 60 Minutes story about a particular national builder in Florida, who built an entire development using shoddy construction techniques. The entire development has now been condemned and is abandoned and all of the homeowners lost their entire investment.  This was national builder with a good national reputation!  As the houses aged problems began to develop until they were structurally unsound.  The National Builder declared bankruptcy, and reopened less than a week later under a different operating name.  Each of the homeowners suits were dismissed due to the bankruptcy and the home owners were left holding the note on a house that was unlivable.

Just asking for a reference from the builder is not enough.  You should speak with the homeowners and ask the homeowners for a list of other homeowners that have purchased a home for the builder and speak to each one of those homeowners.

Ask each homeowner if they are satisfied with their home and whether they would have the builder construct another home for them.  Find out if the builder was quick to repair damage and how he/she responded to complaints.  Were the problems repaired to their expectations? Have they heard of any issues from other homeowners that the builder built a home for?  Did the builder offer an extended warranty?  How long was the warranty?

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