Learning • Step 4 of 8

Your buying criteria: what actually matters day-to-day

Your buying criteria isn’t just preferences — it’s the set of tradeoffs you’ll live with every day. Most regret isn’t about price. It’s about daily friction that buyers dismissed as “fine.”

Commute: the silent quality-of-life killer

People underestimate commute because it’s easy to ‘tolerate’ for a week. It’s much harder to tolerate for years.

Example

Ballpark math: If your commute increases by 30 minutes each way: • That’s ~1 extra hour/day • ~5 hours/week • ~250 hours/year (50 workweeks) If it also adds 10 miles each way (20/day): • ~5,000 miles/year • At ~$0.70/mile (common mileage rate), that’s ~$3,500/year in vehicle cost (ballpark).

Summary

Commute isn’t just time — it’s stress, schedule rigidity, and wear on your car. Treat it like a real cost, not a minor inconvenience.

Bedrooms/bathrooms: try not to compromise

Compromising here sounds reasonable — until you realize ‘we’ll add later’ is expensive, disruptive, and contractor-dependent.

Example

Reality check: • Additions involve permitting, design, bids, inspections, delays • Picking a contractor and managing the work is a part-time job Even ‘simple’ changes tend to uncover surprises once walls open up.

Summary

If bedrooms/bathrooms are core to your lifestyle, buying the right layout now is often cheaper than trying to manufacture it later.

School rating: not just about kids

Even if you don’t have kids, school quality often tracks with neighborhood stability, demand, and resale liquidity.

Example

What buyers notice later: • Homes in stronger school zones tend to have more consistent demand • Homes in weaker zones can sit longer or require bigger price cuts in slow markets

Summary

Don’t over-optimize for a single score, but don’t dismiss schools as irrelevant either. It’s one of the strongest demand drivers in many markets.

Features: pools, lawns, decks, big windows

‘Lifestyle features’ are the easiest things to romanticize and the easiest things to regret. They all come with maintenance and replacement costs.

Example

Ballparks to keep in mind: • Pool maintenance: often ~$800–$3,000/year depending on size/service • Sod/lawn replacement: ~$1.70–$2.60 per sq ft (plus ongoing care) • Window replacement: can be hundreds per window; many windows = big total A good test: rent a place with the feature for a while and see if you actually use it.

Summary

If a feature isn’t going to be used weekly, it can become an expensive ornament — and you’ll still pay the maintenance bill.

Nearby structures: small annoyance → daily reality

Some ‘minor’ location details become major over time — especially noise and traffic patterns.

Example

Things people underestimate: • Fire station sirens (it gets old fast) • Busy schools (pickup traffic) • Churches/event venues (weekend spikes) • High-traffic roads (noise + safety)

Summary

Drive the area at different times. What feels fine at noon on a Sunday can be very different on weekday mornings and nights.

One more criterion buyers forget: light and orientation

Natural light, window orientation, and glare/heat are hard to understand from photos — and they can shape how a home feels every day.

Example

Quick checks: • Visit at different times of day if possible • Notice glare, hot rooms, and cold corners • Ask about utility bills when heat/cooling is extreme

Summary

You can change paint and fixtures. You can’t easily change orientation, light, or the feeling of the space.

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