Chapter 6 - Things To Look For In A Home

In addition to location, you should be looking for a home that obviously will suit your lifestyle. If you have kids, you are better off with a yard or some place for the kids to play. If you are by yourself, you can consider condominiums or town homes. You can generally get a condominium or town home in an area much cheaper than a single family home. This means that if you are considering buying a home for just you, or just you and a significant other, you might be better off with a town home in an area that is one step above the area where you can afford a single family home.

Of course you are going to have to like the layout of the house as well as the exterior look. When you are purchasing a home, however, you should also be looking at resale value. Although you may think it’s great to buy a one bedroom house, this may be tough to sell when the time comes that you have outgrown the house and decided to move on.

Look for things that add to the value of the home for resale value. These include:

Three or more bedrooms. A three bedroom house will sell much better than a two bedroom house. A four bedroom house sells even better. The more bedrooms, the better the chance of reselling the house. If you have a choice between a two bedroom house with a large living room, dining room and kitchen and a three bedroom house with no dining room, pick the three bedroom house. You can eat in the kitchen,.

Two or more bathrooms. The more bathrooms, the greater the value of the house. Two bathrooms is great. One a ¾ bathrooms is okay, too. A three quarter bathroom is one where there is a sink, toilet and shower stall. A full bathroom has a shower and tub as well as sink and toilet. A half bath is one where there is just a sink and a toilet - this is usually called a ‘powder room.”

A basement. If you live in an area where there are basements in the home, you are better off to buy a home with a basement than one without. This does not mean a finished basement. Square footage is based upon living space above ground. It does not usually entail a finished basement, although for resale value, a finished basement does help sell the house. But if you have a choice between a crawlspace and a basement, choose a home with a basement.

A garage. In most upscale neighborhoods, they have a two or three car attached garage. An attached garage is one where you can go from your home to your car without going outside. A detached garage is one where you have to go outside to get to the car, even if the garage is technically attached to the house. Years ago, people had one car and they parked it in the driveway. There weren’t a lot of garages built. Then people started building detached garages. Some of these only hold one car. Some hold two cars. Take a look at the garage in the house you are purchasing. Even if you only have one car, you are better off to buy a house with a two car, attached garage, than one that has no garage or a detached garage.

Central Air. If the house has gas forced air, central air conditioning is not a big deal, but it is a plus if you live in an area where it gets considerably hot in the summer and a must. A house with central air will sell better than one without, so if you have a choice, pick one with central air, even if you hate having the air conditioning on because it bothers your sinuses. Again, think of resale value.

Upgrades. This includes things like a new roof, a new furnace, new windows, maintenance free exterior, updated plumbing, updated electric wiring, updated kitchen and bathroom. These upgrades all add to the value of the home and to resale value.

Ground. The house should have a decent size yard, or at least be comparable to the other homes in the neighborhood.

Things that should not concern you are the following:

The color of the walls. They can be painted. They can be papered. You can do cosmetic treatments to the house once you are in.

The carpet. This is a cosmetic matter just like the color of the walls. It can be ripped up and new carpet installed. It does not add to the value of the home and you are better off to buy a home in a nice area with orange shag carpeting than one in a blighted area with brand new carpeting.

The color of the appliances. Again, another cosmetic effect that can be easily remedied. This goes for the color of the tub, tile and light fixtures. Do not let cosmetic effects sway you from buying a good house in a nice area.

Dirty house. This is a turn off for anyone looking at a house. There are people who are allergic to pets and those who abhor cigarette smoke. Furthermore, no one wants to buy a dirty house. However, you can usually get a good bargain with such a house as there are those who will not see past the dirt and will walk out. For about $500, you can get the house cleaned, including pet smells and cigarette smells out.

One caveat to the above, however, is to be sure that you get a home inspection. You should do this with any house you buy, but if people neglect the home to the point where they couldnft even be bothered cleaning it up before they proceeded to sell the house, you have to wonder what else they neglected.

Another thing that you want to look for is a house that blends in with the neighborhood. Skip the gbiggest house in the neighborhoodh in favor for one that is either the smallest in the neighborhood or fits right in. If you have the money for gthe biggest house in the neighborhood,h you should be looking one step up in another neighborhood at a house that fits right in.

The reason you donft want the ebiggest house in the neighborhoodh is for resale value. Houses are appraised at the amount of the homes in the vicinity. If you are buying the biggest house in the area, the smallest house in the area is dragging the value of your home down. You are better off to have the smallest home in the area and allow the biggest house to raise the value of your home.