i on DE det ie wt ba st Vancouver WITH THE NORTH SHORE in the background, a rail ferry moves under Lions Gate Bridge towards Vancouver Island. The picture was taken from Prospect Point, (Elsworth Dickson photo) TIPS FOR THE HOUSE HUNTER Shop with your eyes open Ihe ideal way to pet a house is to go tO an oar chitect, tell him what you want and have him design 1 for you Ideal, but hardly practical for most of us from an cconomic point of view Most people buy a house thats already built Whether the house ts new of sccond hand it represents a big purchase and a poten Galinvestment You want to be happy with your house and the best way to achieve satisfaction ts to shop wath both eyes wide open One of the first things to note is the neighbourhood If twos oan estabhshed areca notice how the yards and horses are kept) Are they well matntained”? Tf so. you can be sure the owners take pride ino them homes and neighbourhood This will help matatain valucs properly If possible get some idea of the age of the neighbours If the youngest person in the areca is OS, your children wall lack playmates Are there playgrounds in the arca’ Make note of the distances to schools shopping and work Tf it is going to cost you an catea $50 a week for travel the arca may not be practical for you If the house ts located on oa busy street, make suse the traffic ootses won't bother your family The catonor of any house you look at deserves caamt Is it constructed of relatively) maintenance free matenals or will you have to stain or paint every couple of years’ Check the slope of the roof A flat roof may look good but if it won't let snow or rain run off casily it may cause problems nation Docs the land = drain correctly, thats. awny from the house Tf aot) you may have problems with water ascopage Onee you have inspected the catenor do oa careful caamination of the inside Both new and used houses should be checkod carefully Just because a house ts acw, there is no reason to assume there are no problems Note the condition of the walls and = floors All visible structural members should be cramined for soundness Look for signs of sagging floors, squeaking and vibration Make sure the froat door fs snugly is there a coat closet acar the door? Pind out how large the different rooms are and sec Uoyour furniture will fit them Wall there be room for family activitics and cnator Catning MORE NEXT WEEK Cl7-Sunday News, June 8, 1980 i rtm anneernet oP George Robb Call us today. The Heal € state Showcase can put your home or your listings ‘on view’ across the whole North Shore When you want to advertise in the Real tstate Showcase call us 980-0511 ONvintonn North Stwro Fron Proea Lid eunday ooo news north shore news Opening Hew Doors on the North shor