When making a major purchase such as a car, computer, or appliance, we more often than not do our homework so to speak. We ask friends and relatives, some may even compare prices and models, and compare features of the products we are looking to purchase. However, most buy based on “personal instinct.” We sometimes choose major purchases, by brand name, color, size, and warranties. Although these are major purchases, they are small in comparison to the most important purchase most of us will ever make, which is buying our homes. Now, most of you are probably saying that you do the same thing when it comes to the purchase of your homes, but do you really shop around? Sure, you search for the perfect house, the best mortgage rate, and the ideal location. However, did you ever stop to think of the environmental credentials a house should have before you purchase it? By environmental, I do not mean how far down does the basement go into the foundation, or how many trees the property has, or can you put a pool in the back yard? I’m going to give you a few pointers and show you some things that you should take into consideration for an environmentally perfect house. This is an important issue to me, because not only did I use to be a mortgage broker, but because I just purchased my own home and didn’t inspect the property and take the environmental factors into consideration. Not only is my home not environmentally perfect, it’s not environmentally safe either, for my family, or my home.