Tips From an Expert: What to Look for in a House

It's official: this summer we will be moving to Louisville, KY! Jady will be working for St. Francis in the Fields, an amazing church full of warm, thoughtful, faithful people, and we are beside ourselves with excitement.

St Francis in the Fields

Since the internet has afforded us the opportunity of looking ahead at what our living situation might be like, I've been asking the question of what exactly to look for in a house?

While we were in seminary we owned a house that had been a rental for seminarians for many years and desperately needed some updating. What we saw at the time was lots of space, charm, woodwork and an opportunity for painting, fun cosmetic updates, even a new kitchen and knocking down a wall. What we learned from that house is to value other, less visible qualities like new windows, plumbing and updated electrics. These elements are maybe not as fun, but you'll be glad you paid attention later!

Recently my sister gave me some great advice about things she learned from her experiences with buying and owning homes to add to my list of qualities to look for. For instance, you'd rather have a house toward the top of a hill rather than at the bottom (who knew?!) to prevent collecting the runoff from the rest of the neighborhood in your yard. But you also don't want one at the very top if it's a steep hill... think of the winter! Don't choose a house with 8 foot ceilings-- you can change a LOT about a place as you live in it, but ceiling height is something you can't fix later. The neighborhood is super important. You want to be in a nice area which will help your resale value later, but you also don't necessarily want to buy the only tiny house in the subdivision full of mansions. Ideally you will get to know your neighbors, so living on a street where the kids from move from yard to yard and people can easily just stop by is important.

Then there's the commute to consider, not just to work but also to the grocery store. I may THINK I'll drive 45 minutes to the Trader Joe's across town twice a week, but I'm kidding myself.

1. St. Francis in the Fields-- Jady's daily commute destination.

2. Trader Joe's, of course!

3. One of a couple of large parks that are safe and boast lots of fun activities. This one was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted of Central Park fame!

4. A super cool restaurant district toward downtown Louisville.

The red highlighted area is where friends who live in Louisville have suggested we look to find a house.

The search begins!

Liza