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Also, be prepared to change your shopping criteria. As you explore homes and neighborhoods, you’ll learn a lot about what you really want in a home and you’ll make appropriate adjustments to your plans. 

We once worked with a couple who had visions of living on ten acres of lush green lawn in a house sitting far off the road. They were definitely excited when we found such a home. The house was exactly what they were looking for, in perfect shape, and it included a nice pole barn that could be used as a workshop. As they looked over the ten acres of lush green lawn and stared down a driveway that was almost a quarter-mile long it occurred to them that they would need to plow the driveway in the winter and mow the lawn in the summer. They decided not to place an offer on that home and we found them something they could more easily manage.   
 
 

Plan for today
as well as tomorrow
Remember that your living requirements will constantly change. You must plan around your immediate needs, but also consider your life over the next five to seven years. Do you plan to start a family? Will an in-law eventually move in with you? Will you be working from home? The number and layout of the rooms you require will depend on your answers.

At the same time, don’t go overboard and plan too far ahead. If you’re young and only recently married, your first home doesn’t have to be a five bedroom home that will accommodate the large family you hope to have. There’s a very good chance that you’ll be moving in five or six years. Purchasing a home that is too large to grow into is wasteful as buying one that you’ll outgrow within a year or two. 


Set reasonable standards
Almost everyone has a limit to how much they can spend on a home. Once you’ve determined how much you want to spend, get a feel for the quality, size, and location of homes in that price range. Don’t waste your time looking for a home that may not exist.

Suppose you reverse this process. You select the area you’d like to live in, establish criteria for the home you want, and then set a price limit. You may be disappointed when you find that the homes in your price range don’t meet your expectations. 

You may be looking for a home that would need to be priced twenty-five percent below fair market value to be available in the locations you’re searching. The odds of finding a seller willing to loose big money on his home will be next to impossible. 

If you’re prepared to spend up to $195,000 for a home, don’t set standards that would suggest a price range above $250,000. Accept market conditions as they are. Either spend the money it takes to purchase the home you’d like, or lower your standards just enough to meet your price point.

Property taxes...High or Low!
Property taxes are what most property owners in the United States pay for the privilege of owning a piece of real estate. These annual assessments by county or local authorities help pay for the public services we enjoy. Part of the attraction of the Greater Lansing area is that it is the Capitol of the State, home to Michigan State University, and has no life imposing heavy industries. Since neither the University nor the State of Michigan pay taxes, local property owners carry much of the tax burden. 

Taxes rates in the Greater Lansing area vary from a low of 15.55 mils in some remote rural areas to a high of 53.86 mils in East Lansing. In most cases, your tax bill will be consistent with your services and conveniences.

                                       
Living in rural areas
Some people prefer a rural area because of amenities that can’t be found in more densely populated areas. You can have a larger lot for the same price
as a smaller one in the city, and there probably won’t be any nearby neighbors crowding your space. You can walk along quiet country roads, have a large garden, and listen to the sound of singing birds rather than the roar of local traffic. Rural areas are also attractive because they have the lowest tax rates, falling between 15.55 mils to about 28 mils.

Tax rates are low because the government agencies in these places don’t provide a lot of services. There are few building restrictions and practically no zoning rules. You maintain your own water supply and sewage disposal system. Your heating fuel is trucked in and your phone service may be unreliable. You might also live on a dirt road that may not be quickly plowed in the winter. Schools, churches, shopping, and your place of employment could be miles away. You can expect to pay higher insurance premiums because fire and emergency services may be ten or twelve miles away and the nearest large hospital might take half an hour to reach.

Once you’ve factored in your driving expenses, not to mention the other inconveniences, you may find that you really haven’t saved much on your overall cost of living. If your only reason for living in the country is to save on taxes, you might consider whether or not you can adapt to this style of living. Also, because fewer people live in rural areas, you can expect to find a limited selection of homes.

Living in cities and towns  
Your taxes will definitely be higher, somewhere between 30 to 49 mils and perhaps as high as 54 mils. However, you’ll be closer to everything and you’ll benefit from the convenience of public utilities and services. You’ll most likely live in a subdivision with neighbors who aren’t very different from yourself. Your children will walk to a neighborhood school and you won’t put a lot of miles on your car when you go shopping or drive to work. When you eventually decide to move, your home will attract more buyers and sell more quickly.

There will also be a larger home selection increasing your chances of finding a home that will fit your needs.