What do you look at when viewing a house for sale? (1%, inspected)
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We recently completed a home search for a second home. Looked at a lot of houses. Most of our looking was done online, so most of the location criteria was taken care of before we ever got to the house. We narrowed down the neighborhoods we were interested in. We had our list of must haves and eliminated houses based upon that list. We tend to take our time looking at the houses we were truly interested in.
We do the general walk through first. Then start again at the front door. I take pictures.
-flooring materials and condition.
-look at windows... are they new or original? Are the screens intact?
-note the size of each room. If it's furnished, is there enough room for the basic items.
-are the ceilings in good condition. Popcorn? Cracks?
-are there sufficient electrical outlets, has the electrical been updated, ceiling lights, overhead fans?
-look in closets.. are they big enough?
-kitchen... examine appliances. will they need to be replaced. Are cabinets in good condition? I will open each one to assess if my things will fit. We will look carefully at the plumbing under the kitchen sink. Signs of leaks? Signs of incompetent dyi-ers? Check water pressure.
-bathrooms... do they need updating? Again check any visible plumbing.
-Utilities/garage. Check age of water heater/heater/ac. Does garage floor have cracks. Note any extra storage.
-Outside foundation. Check for cracks, signs of insects.
-Look at roof condition.
I take a lot of pictures. It's easy to forget things and it's great to have the pics to look at afterwards. We always hire an inspector but it's always good to have an idea of what he will find. We want to know what we are getting into before we make an initial offer.
Once we like location and general view from the photos and we are actually in the house, my husband and I get the overall feel of the place, and look to see if there is there any visible water damage. That's about it.
We put in an offer on our first house within an hour of first walking through the door, and it was accepted. Our second house took a little longer, only because we knew the seller was having trouble selling the place, and we had another house to look at and needn't hurry.
I don't care anything about decorating and appliances, and little about flooring. Flooring, paint, hardware, ceilings, furniture measurements - all that is changeable.
I think curb appeal is important as it's the first impression someone gets of your house. Not everyone thinks only with logic in that they can improve the curb appeal after they buy the house. When people drive up and see a neat landscape with well maintained flowers, trees and shrubs or lawn, and fresh paint on the outside, it goes a long way towards giving people a good attitude when they first walk in.
Hmmm, in addition to the things that have been mentioned, I do check the HOA documents for the things that are important to me. No, there isn't usually a "book" these days, but we have always received a PDF or flash drive or website that has the full documents. I try to review those ahead of time, but lots of the realtors play the "gee, IDK" game cuz they want to get you in the property.
I measure the garage & walls for certain pieces of furniture, also check to see if doors will be in the way (such as in a brand builder house, where I wouldn't have been able to open the bedroom door & my dresser drawer at the same time. It may sound silly, but most new construction has certain walls that pieces of furniture are meant to go on & if yours doesn't fit, it's a problem.
I check the orientation of the house on the lot & the orientation of the driveway, in proximity to the sun. May not matter in some cases, is a big deal in the state I live in. It's the difference between the sun melting the snow or getting out there & shovelling every 1" snowfall.
I check the sump situation & if there's a sump, if not, why not? Are there window well pumps?
Most important, I consider traffic patterns. Not just floor plan/layout, but how you actually move through the space. Some floor plans may be nice plans, but don't make a lot of sense with normal traffic patterns. For example, mud rooms at the opposite end of the house from the kitchen or laundry rooms that aren't adjacent to the master BR. They aren't a deal breaker, but it's important to think about how you're gonna deal with it, in advance.
I keep forgetting to look for separate linen closets & keep winding up with houses that don't have them (most new construction around here, the master closet is s'posed to be both & small bathrooms often don't have any).
Also from now on, I will check to make sure not just that the garages fit the truck, but that the car or truck door can be opened wide enough to be comfy. We wound up with a garage wall too close to my DH's car door, so it can't be opened as fully as he'd like it :-(.
I look at the neighborhood and how convenient it is for me to get to a gas station, ATM, grocery store, etc. I would never live on a busy road either. I look at curb appeal and the front porch. The house really needs a lot of natural lighting too. I also want a room just for me to read or watch TV in separate from anyone else for a little quiet, down time. Also, the house must have a fireplace. For my husband a big 2 car garage. If it does not have all of these then it is an absolute deal breaker for me. Esp. the neighborhood, busy street and fireplace.
Some locational factors are invisible. Sure, if it backs up to a freeway or power plant, thats obvious. Proximity to a grocery store easy to test. School district you can't tell; unlike borders between cities and counties, there are no signs telling you when you cross into another. I know of a neighborhood where the boundary cuts right through it. Fortunately it is easy to get that information without visiting the site.
We looked at a house once in Arizona and the realtor just mentions "matter of factly" like how you would discuss how sunny the day was that a "dump" was located near the house (I think like kitty cornered to it or something). It was stuff buried underground/ a vacant area as I can recall (years ago). I just rolled my eyes and walked on. It would have been on disclosure so he might as well have said it then I guess.
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