More things worth considering before buying a house

There are plenty of obvious answers but here are some things worth considering, too.
Storage space comes to mind.
This includes not only closet spaces inside the house, but also whether an attic is available, accessible and suitable to park non-essential items like seasonal displays. The same holds true for any cellar or basement; lots of homes have them, but dampness (even if not wet) may not make them suitable for storage of certain things… and having outside and inside access to it can help make it functional space. For suburban living, garages and sheds are almost a requirement — you’ll have all manner of “outdoor equipment” to store.
Snow removal.

In many climates, “Where will I put the snow?” is something you must consider. Plenty of homes have garages underneath them, and a downhill slope to the garage may mean not only drainage issues but also heaving snow 4–5–6 feet in the air to get it off the driveway. To that end, how steep is the driveway… and in which direction? You might need to shovel BEFORE you can actually leave the house to go to work… or shovel as soon as you return to actually get inside.
Parking.

Older, smaller neighborhoods often have small driveways and limited or no on-street parking. This might not be a problem today, but a neighborhood with lots of kids can soon have lots of teenagers with cars… and a home that once had two cars may soon have four or five — and they might need to park in front of your house.
Traffic patterns.
In every neighborhood, there are certain roads that everyone seems to use for access and egress. If your house is located on one, you’ll not only have traffic flow at typical “commuter hours,” but you’ll also have it at all hours of the day and night. More entry and exit points to the next-size-up artery can help, but even then, you and your children need to be on the lookout for speeders and more.
Commute.
From wherever you are seriously considering purchasing, you need to actually drive the route you would take to work at the times you would actually go to and from your job. Something that’s 20 minutes on a Sunday afternoon when you are visiting open houses can be 45 minutes or more during a typical Tuesday rush hour, with school traffic and more. Also, if you are near schools, expect to have plenty of drop-off traffic to contend with, too… every weekday.
Distance to the nearest grocery store.

Forgot milk? If it’s a 40-minute round trip, this can put a kink in your day. The same is true for any local hardware/home improvement store… you will ALWAYS need something, and if it’s a 40-minute drive to one and 40 minutes back again, a simple, 10 minute project can kill the better part of a night (or Saturday afternoon). This is also true for other things — local mall or movie theater, for example — you’ll spend more time getting to and from these places than you actually do in them, which may only get worse as your kids age and they increasingly have places they need to be.
