While it's crucial to know how your municipality's planning and zoning restrictions affect what you want to do with your home, they also are important when deciding whether to actually buy a condo. More than a few people have purchased condos with remarkable views, thinking they'd be admiring that scene forever, only to discover a couple of months or years later that the view was about to be turned into a home, office building or apartment complex.

To make sure you know what you're getting, investigate these aspects of your property-to-be at your city and/or county planning and zoning department. (http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/CPHD/CPHDMain.aspx)

How is the area zoned? It may appear to be only residential, but it could be mixed-use -- meaning that offices or stores can be built in the same area, or that group homes are allowed as well as single-family homes. The way the street or neighborhood is zoned also matters if you want to work out of your house. Many local ordinances prohibit home-based businesses that will require customer parking or frequent overnight-package deliveries, etc. And while you may be allowed to practice law or cut hair in your home, you may not be allowed to operate a bed-and-breakfast -- or vice versa. Every local code is different, so it pays to find out the rules before you buy the house.

Ask if zoning changes are likely. It's not only important to know your current zoning -- you also want to know what's in the future plans of your local planning and zoning officials. A city's "comprehensive plan" is a blueprint for the city. If your city's comprehensive plan hasn't been reworked in 20 years or so, you can expect officials to re-evaluate each area of the city soon. Re-evaluation often means change. So that wonderful enclave of single-family detached, upscale homes you bought into may find itself bordered by affordable apartment housing in the next few years, as planning officials try to "mix densities" of neighborhoods. To avoid continued sprawl, officials may decide to rezone some areas commercial, to introduce much-needed stores closer to your neighborhood so you don't have to drive as far. That can be great -- as long as that new supermarket or mall isn't in your back yard.

Ask about transportation planning. Even if your neighborhood appears safe from non-residential encroachment, it pays to pay attention to what's going to be happening in surrounding neighborhoods. Plans for a mall a mile from your home may mean that your quiet residential street will soon be turned into a larger, wider, busier "collector" street to help accommodate traffic flow into that mall.

How much of the property is really yours? Find out where your front property line really is. The municipality may actually own a huge chunk of the land you thought was yours. If your street is tapped for widening or improvements down the road, your property can suffer as the city takes the, say, 15 feet of your front lawn that really belongs to them. Not only will that affect how busy the street is, but it can affect the appearance of the front of your home as the city uses the right-of-way to enlarge the street (thus decreasing the size of your yard) and add curbs and gutters and sidewalks. It ultimately can make your home's value go down, making it much harder for you to sell in the future.

Know what to expect. Is that wonderful, spacious home on a fair bit of land -- part of what used to be farmland? Then find out who your neighbors are. If there's still a pig farm on the other side of your "back 40," the odor is likely to waft toward your house when the wind blows the right way.

What about parking? Not all condos have garages. Even if they do, you may have more than the average number of cars, or you may get a lot of visitors. If your neighborhood doesn't allow on-street parking, you'll find yourself in a bind. Learn what parking restrictions exist in your area.

Never assume. Whether you're counting on a special-use permit to allow you to operate a home business, or planning to fill in that swampy area behind your new house, or intending to cut down two huge oaks to let sunlight wash into the three-season room, never sign on the dotted line until you've ensured your ability to move forward on what's important to you. What will you do if you've already bought the house and the variance doesn't come through? Or if you discover that the 'swamp' is a protected wetland that you're not allowed to touch? Or the city or HOA prohibits you from removing healthy trees? At the very least, make sure your contract to buy stipulates that the sale is contingent upon positive answers/outcomes to anything in question.

A well-informed buyer is a happy buyer. While doing this homework can be time-consuming and annoying, remember: You're about to make one of the biggest purchases of your lifetime. It's better to be sure you're getting what you want -- and that there are no surprises waiting for you around the bend.