Wampum

This style of house made us crazy while we were house-hunting. It got to the point where all we had to see was the outside of a house to know that it had those cathedral ceilings and staircases that led straight down, allowing any falling children to gather momentum on the way down.

The reason they have these two-story entry ways and windows fifteen feet up is for the impression factor. It impresses the prospective buyer during the ten minute (or whatever) checkover of the home -- there's actually a term in the real estate biz for the ten minute tour -- and by the time the buyer realizes that cathedral ceilings are a PITA if you actually live there, they're stuck with the house.

Housing design sucks these days. Most houses are not built for the way people actually live.

Paper airplanes?

We'll be sorry to see you go Dwight, a few less intelligent souls in Ga.

But the housing 'style' of the late 1980's-2000's that include the elements you mentioned drives me nuts too. Too much damned wasted space, and yes, I was always struck by the dangerous drop offs everywhere to be found on the 2& 3rd(!)floors. We had to find one of the more 'traditional' looks when we went hunting in our town 4 years ago. As it was, it was a mid 80's job, 2 story, but as the Home Inspector said it 'had been ridden hard and put up wet'. So we got it for a bit under the recent asking prices for neighboring houses, but it is a bit smaller than most at about 2k Ft., it does have a basement though. This is an important if under utilized consideration in tornado alley here in Ga. (We've yet to install a bath down there, so the last time I just rode out the sirens in the 1st floor bath.)

Other unattractive elements in the McMansion style: having the garage as the primary 'entrance' focus of the front of the house. Evidently no one wants to make any turns out of the drive leaving in the morning. Totally unworkable yards that are not intended for kids or to be 'lived in'. Missing windows on the side of the homes so you can not see how close your neighbor is to your ~500K wonder. Landscapes denuded of trees and most shrubs, woodlots gone in favor of golf course flat 'green space'. This was not the original plans for such concepts, right? Non functional decks, barely functional fireplaces, kitchens that are now just show pieces but strangely devoid of real counter space. Poor planning for flow or traffic patterns, as if everyone has forgotten. And my favorite of landscaping wonders, the barely hidden bog/water hazzard/ dry creek just behind or to the side of the home. All things to consider with young ones. It's going to take some time...

I'd recommend a good home inspector who takes his/her time and is certified. (They need not be in Ga.). Ours was, and we picked up plenty of problems together, it cost us about an additional 40K to get the place in shape. I'd talk to the neighbors too about noise, watrer flow etc. My proudest achievement from that first year was to stop most of the serious water leaks. That took some roof patching and a complete new gutter job, and talking to the neighbors to get them to try and divert some of their water run off. I still have to shovel out the mud from the drive after a hard rain. But the house is dry! Good Luck on your hunt!

VJ, Georgia's rules are a bit strange. Georgia law requires you to have a state license to cut a dog's hair but no license is required to build or inspect a home. That is sorta hard to explain.

Everything VJ said! If you get a wood-burning fireplace, many of them are not designed to handle more than candles buring in those cute lil' holders! To fix that problem, masonry -- upwards of $15,000. Also note, many newer homes have no gutters. We had to install them as soon as we moved in to stop water leakage into the basement. Double check the floor of any garage, and make certain that they took the time to put in a gasket between the concrete and the structure. Not putting in the gasket leads to the structure raising up from the floor! If they tell you it has a sprinkler system, make certain they aren't speaking of just strategically placed hoses fastened to sprinkler heads! That's all I can think of offhand. I'm watching now for a nice old farm house, or Victorian place that isn't in too bad a shape. They actually built those for families to live in, and to last. Good luck to you! Hope you're able to enjoy being away together a bit. :)
-Desi

With the way that the state of GA has been increasingly going towards eminent domain seizures, I'm not so sure that I want the state gov't anywhere near home inspections!

Dwight, be safe and good luck. Sad to see you're leaving the state but I'm happy that you'll be able to meet the needs of your family.