I am trying to come up with a checklist for people who wants to buy a house. You can rate a house based on the following features and reach a decision on which house to buy. This is not an exhaustive list and depending on person to person the preferences while buying a house will vary also. But still I think it could be handy for many.
Rating:
Ratings can be done in many ways. You can do it on a numeric scale(for e.g. 1 to 10, where I is very good 10 is very bad) or just very good, good, average, poor scale etc. But whatever rating methods you choose follow the same thing for all the samples.
A house should be rated based on two major parts.
1.Exterior
2.Interior.
1.Exterior: Below mentioned features should be rated.
A) Attractiveness: general look.
B) Convenience: proximity to major streets, stores, schools, etc.
C) Safety: Nearby traffic, emergency exits etc.
D) Driveway
E) Landscaping
F) Drainage
G) Parking: both on the street and in the garage.
F) Gutters and sumps
G) Condition of windows, doors(from outside view)
The following points should also be considered.
H) Separated from neighbors by space, plantings, etc.
I) Recreation/entertainment areas nearby.
2. Interior
This is a major point. After all you have to live inside the house!
Note down the Following points
Total sq.ft:
Total no. Of rooms:
Now you have to rate each of the following features.
A) General style: General look and feel.
B) General condition: How well its been maintained.
C) Main entrance: This is the first impression about your home.
D) Center hall: size, comfort and can fit all your things.
E) Living room: is it really livable?
F) Dining room:
G) Kitchen: major part. Take help of female brains here!
H) Master bedroom
I) Bedrooms
J) Bathrooms
K) Stairs
L) Garage
M) Floors: what material, the neatness.
N) Natural lighting: switch off all the lights and check. Do you need to switch on lights even during daytime?
O) Plumbing:
Check the following aspects of plumbing.
a) Drains: condition?
b) Water supply:
Private well:
Municipal water:
c) Pipes
d) Closets
e) Wash Basins
f) Water heater
g) Sewage disposal
Septic tank
Municipal system
h) Bathroom fixtures: see how many are in good condition.
i) Toilets:
P) Electrical
Check the following aspects of electrical fittings.
a) Wiring
b) Lighting
c) Sufficient outlets, plugs
Check the following things are present and also their condition:
Q) Cable TV
R) Intercom(very important in case of apartments)
S) Smoke detector
T) Phone jacks
Analysis:
Try to compare different samples. You can give different weightages for different features. Some people may not feel that the outside appearance is not that important provided they are very happy with the interiors etc.
Cheers!