Buying A Home And Big Oil
By: Paula Stone

It’s not that I don’t like luxury. I love being comfortable and content in a beautiful home with great views and exquisite rooms.

What I don’t like is BIG utility and commuting bills that get in the way of my pleasure and buying power!

So I would suggest there are some questions home shoppers could ask that they usually don’t ask in order the avoid paying for someone else’s building errors.

It’s just three little questions you could ask about the property you are considering purchasing that could save you lots of money and years of frustration.

The first question I always ask is, “What were your utility bills for the last year? Please show them to me.” Yes, it’s a bit rude and invasive but I still ask to see the bills…all of them. I want to know how much it costs to run that house day-to-day and month-to-month. The Fed may not include gas and food prices in inflation but what else matters more to the cost of living? Most politicians and Wall Streeters live in Never, Never Land and don’t care about the rest of the world. You need to look out for yourself.

The next question to ask is, “What have you or your builder done to make this house more efficient lately?” The answer usually is nothing. Standard buildings in this country burn through a lot of power. It is costing more and more money every day. Ask the question and then consider that those bills are probably going UP. Ask yourself, “Can I afford to pay more and do I want to pay MORE?” The answer may be NO!

Then the third question should be, “How far will I have to commute to work?” Many Americans commute a LONG WAY, burning through gasoline that’s getting more expensive every day. Giving up those long commutes may be the single most practical option for saving money on fuel. If you are NOT driving a LONG WAY to work you will have money to spend on things you really want instead. That big new house out in the ‘burbs’ will cost money that goes beyond just the house payment. It’s never going to be cheap to heat and cool 5,000 square feet of brand new house that is an hour and a half from your job. In the future, as oil prices continue going up houses that are too far from jobs will not be great at resale. When we worked in corporate life we looked for homes no more than 10 minutes from work. There were lots of nice options. Interestingly enough, smaller houses closer to downtowns are often cuter. Curb appeal sells houses and big houses are often not cute. It’s just hard to make big cute. Imagine Paris Hilton at 5 times her weight. Smaller is cuter, sad, but true.

So think it over. It’s not just the ARM kicking in that could impact your cost of living. It could be your utility and gas bills. Buying a home includes what it will cost you to run that home and drive to work and activities. We are a mobile society but we can choose the option of driving less. Just think. It’s a pretty painless way to increase your ability to survive financially AND reduce your carbon footprint. In town houses may be a lot better option both for comfortable living and as investments.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Paula Stone is a black belt home remodeler and former Realtor. She works with her husband Ron in his mortgage business. Their website is full of Free information about the mortgage process and real estate. Visit it at www.alabama-mortgage-specialists.com“>Alabama Mortgages

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