We haven’t won the lottery, but we’ve budgeted a decent cushion so we can put some extra into the house after we buy it. We’ve never bought a home before, and the townhouse we currently rent is owned by a computer professional, so he had CAT5 outlets in every room, for example.

The house we are looking to buy was buil in the early 1970s. It’s been upgraded with an extension to the kitchen, plus a deck. They had a family member in a wheelchair, so some accessibility upgrades have been made. We’ll get the inspector’s report today, but he gave us the impression that there were only minor things he found. The current owner worked construction and either he or people he knew worked on the house, so it is structurally sound.

However, my husband & I are not handy people; and to be honest, we have issues with disorganization and accumulating clutter. We have budgeted to hire help with cleaning and landscaping.

He is an I.T. and graphics professional, and I will be working from home so technology is important to us. We’ve confirmed that they have FiOS at the house. In our current home, we have a programmable WiFi thermostats, WiFi connected smoke/CO alarms, and WiFi programmable light bulbs. We like modern technology that serves a helpful purpose, and are considering adding a doorbell / lock / camera system so we could know who’s at the door, and also to allow access through at least one entry for family and close friends without making a million keys. We’d love insight from the Fluther collective about what smart home technologies are useful and safe, and which are just hype or have questionaable security. We are a multi-platform household – Mac & Windows, iOS and Android.

The home is fully functioning, but the kitchen and 2 bathrooms could use updates and possibly enlarging the master bath by encroaching into the 2nd bedroom that we will use as an office. As an older home, it does not offer much in the way of closet or storage space.

The siding and roof are in good shape, but some of the windows and doors are pretty old We’d love to turn some into bay windows and change the window in the master bedroom that looks over the deck into a door for deck access.

The driveway is asphalt and huge, and the landscaping is OK, but could use updates. There is a single car detached garage, and a car-port around the back which could be converted to a sunroom – which is something we’d ultimately want (with a hot tub or swim spa for my Autoimmune Disease).

We’d love to add solar panels and improve efficiency in any way to keep operating costs down. We’ll have well water and septic, which also seemed in good shape at the inspection yesterday. There is a filter for the water in the house.

I’d also love to add some raised garden beds so I could have a small garden without my body hurting so much.

I’m seeking opinions on where we should concentrate our energy first. I’m thinking interior organization first, then on home efficiency.

I’m also wondering if there’s anything else we should be considering; and what advice people who are experienced with homeownership and moving would have. We hope this will be our home for the rest of our lives, so we want to do it right. Money is an object, but it is okay to speculate about what you’d do if it were not a concern, just to help us understand what would be the ideal home to relocate to.

As always, your insights are much appreciated!

Topics: home improvement, efficiency, technology, moving, home repair, house purchase, smart homes