I wrote an article for GreenSpotBlue with some parental advice for finding a first house. Here is the intro to it:

We all want our child to grow up next door to Mr. Rogers.

And for those of us who have grown up in rural communities, we want our children to have the same streets to bike on and the same trails and paths to explore. But many times when looking at a first home, new homeowners can see the world through hazy eyes, shrouded in memories of their own childhood, as compared to the actual reality in front of them.

I’ve learned some lessons from my own experience and I will like to point out seven points that I wish I had known and considered in finding our first home.  This is not about the inspections, financial debate, or the mortgage people; those points are covered in many places by people more knowledgeable than me.  This is more about the personal parental view, and it is solely my own opinion. You may disagree with some, you might agree with others, that is fine. But over all, they are some of the points I missed out on.

If you would like to read the rest, click here.