Defining Home Sweet Home in Visual Studio .NET

Drawer QR Code ISO/IEC18004 in Visual Studio .NET Defining Home Sweet Home

What exactly is a home When you come right down to it, home is an elusive concept Everyone knows, for example, that home is where the heart is That s fine and good if you re a romantic but not too helpful if you re a home buyer

Up until now, we ve loosely used the terms home and house to mean any place where you live or want to live Under that definition, everything from a studio apartment in Manhattan to a grass hut on a Hawaiian beach qualifies as a home Now, however, precision matters We re about to focus on the specific types of property you re most likely to buy: detached homes, condominiums, and cooperative apartments Each of these options offers homeowners distinct financial and personal advantages and disadvantages that you must understand to make a wise buying decision

If you were raised in a big city, your mental image of home is probably an apartment in a multistory steel-and-concrete building, an attached brownstone, or some other type of row house If, on the other hand, you grew up in a small town, when someone says home you most likely visualize a brick or woodframe residence with a white picket fence, a garden, and a swingset in the yard To distinguish the kind of home you see in areas of abundantly cheap land (and in programs like Leave It to Beaver) from condos, co-ops, and other types of property that folks call home, the correct terminology for the white-picketfence type property is detached single-family dwelling The operative word is detached, because such homes aren t attached to any of the surrounding properties Now that you re properly dazzled by the depth and breadth of our knowledge, we ll just call these homes or houses like everyone else does Detached homes, like cars, come in two basic types: new and used

If you re the type of person who d never think of buying a used car because you like the new-car smell and don t like buying someone else s problems, you may feel the same way about new homes They have some very appealing advantages: A properly constructed new home is built to satisfy today s buyers Choosing a new home produced by a reputable builder of high-quality properties gives you the peace of mind of knowing that your home doesn t contain asbestos, lead-based paints, formaldehyde, or other hazardous or toxic substances Furthermore, you can rest assured that your new home complies with current (and more stringent) federal, state, and local building, fire, safety, and environmental codes Of course, you have no guarantee that future years won t uncover more hazards!

A properly constructed new home should be cheaper than a used home to operate and maintain Operating expenses are minimal because a new home should incorporate the latest technology in energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, modern plumbing and electrical service, energy-efficient appliances, and proper insulation levels And with a quality new home, your initial maintenance expenses are practically nonexistent because everything is new roof, appliances, interior and exterior paint, carpets, and so on Other than changing the light bulbs, what s to fix A properly designed new home won t force you to adjust your lifestyle to its limitations On the contrary, new homes have enough wall and floor outlets to accommodate all your high-tech goodies microwave oven; espresso machine; satellite TV and cable outlets; video recorders; CD and DVD players; hair dryers; electric razors; electric toothbrushes; and home-office gear such as computers, monitors, printers, broadband Internet connections, fax machines, and so on No unsightly, hazardous tangle of extension cords for you New homes are only as good as the developers who build them Visit several of the developer s older projects See with your own eyes how well the developments have weathered over the years Ask homeowners in older developments whether they d buy another new home from the same developer See what kinds of problems, if any, they ve had with their homes over the years Inquire whether the builder closed the sale on time and honored all contractual commitments, including the completion of any unfinished construction work, on time Also find out whether the developer amicably fixed defects that occurred or whether homeowners had to take legal action to get problems corrected Ask real estate agents how much homes in the developments have appreciated in value over time and how that compares with other homes in the general area As you may expect, new homes also have some disadvantages To wit: What you see usually isn t what you get You see a professionally decorated, exquisitely furnished, beautifully landscaped model home You buy a bare-bones, unfinished house where nearly everything appliances, carpets, window coverings, painting, fireplace finishes, landscaping, and so on is an extra that isn t included in the base price Developers often spend tens of thousands of dollars lavishly decorating model homes Unwary new home buyers can spend small fortunes trying to duplicate the look of model homes When touring a model home, ask the salesperson to explain exactly what is and isn t included in the nofrills base price Prices are less negotiable Developers maintain price integrity to protect the value of their unsold inventory of homes and to sustain appraised values for loan purposes In fact, a developer who cuts prices is warning you that the project is floundering Rather than reduce their asking prices, developers bargain with you by throwing in free extras