What do you wish you had known before you started hunting for a home in Boston?

Both the rental and the sales markets in the Boston area are complicated and variegated, globular monsters of nuance and delineation. They’re also both really, really expensive compared with most of the rest of the United States.

Yet people take the plunge all the time. The region remains one of the most popular and most populous in the U.S. for laying down roots and/or raising a family. And sometimes people just need to land a place quick because of work.

Which means that not only do people plunge into housing markets here, but they come up with leases and deeds. If you’ve been one of those people, won’t you please share your experiences with those about to take the plunge themselves (and there are always a lot of them this time of year).

Specifically, what do you wish you had known before you rented or bought—or both—in the Boston area? Is there some quirk you wish you’d heard about beforehand? Some pratfall or contingency you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy? A neighborhood you wished you’d looked in first? A T station or an exit nearby you feel like warning people about?

Sound off in the comments section below.

• Boston apartment rents: Why they’re so high [Curbed Boston]
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• 10 things every Boston-area newcomer should know [Curbed Boston]