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Location is the single MOST important factor. After that I would say size. Not too small, not too big. If not a ranch style at least with a master bedroom on the main level. Quality: brick v vinyl, and well built, highly functional kitchen, medium sized bedrooms, a garage, a nice flowing floorplan.
Location is the one thing about any house that is impossible to change. No matter how beautiful or amenities-packed a home may be, if it's in an area that's perceived (for whatever reason!) as negative, resale will suffer.
Almost everything else will vary by region/area as to what is considered "desirable", "a plus", and so forth versus what is viewed as a negative or neutral.
Size is impossible to quantify in terms of desirability because it completely depends on the wants/needs of each individual potential buyer. It's also too subjective: What do you consider a "not too small/not too big" house to be? I'm willing to bet that my definition is different from yours, and yours in turn differs from that of the next 20 people. For me, a house smaller than 2500 sq ft is "too small"; a house larger than 4000 sq ft is "too big". So by my definition a 3000 sq ft house would fit the parameters of being not too small/not too big.. FOR ME. If you'd asked me that question ten years ago my answer would have been that a house smaller than 3800 sq ft was too small and anything larger than 6000 sq ft was too big. People's housing needs change throughout their lives.
1) I totally agree on location - you can't pick up a house and move it (at least not very easily;-) And while the homes with poor locations, i.e. on a busy street, view of the landfill, etc, might seem to be priced at bargain-basement prices, you'll have the same problem when it's your turn to sell.
2) Make sure you don't buy at the high end of any given neighborhood. You'll get much more return on your investment if you buy one of the cheaper (but not necessarily one of the smallest) homes in a given subdivision and bring it up to a standard comparable with the other homes in the area. Don't overimprove for the neighborhood!
3) At least a 2-car garage. In my area, anyway, homes with no garage or a 1-car garage are tough to sell. However, if you can find a home without a garage and the lot is large enough to add one, you might get a good deal on something like that.
I always look for things like the roof being in good condition, no signs of water leakage from the plumbing, if the electrical panel still has fuses or if it has been updated, are the windows functional, etc.
Cosmetic things can be changed. Kitchens & bathrooms can be remodeled quickly and affordably.
I also always talk to the neighbors and see if they know of any chronic problems that may not have been disclosed. I drive down the street in the evenings to see how much activity/noise goes on.
2) Make sure you don't buy at the high end of any given neighborhood.
This is definitely one of the cardinal rules of homebuying!
Buying the (noticeably) "best" house in a neighborhood is usually a mistake, unless you know for sure that the majority of the other homes are going to be either seriously expanded/updated or torn down to make way for new construction in the very near future. That kind of foreknowledge requires a crystal ball (or a buddy in the town's Planning Dept!) that no one I know has got.
Buying the "worst" house in a good neighborhood is always a smart move as long as you don't - as Gretchen says - then over-improve it into something way beyond the market.
Kitchen, baths, cosmetics, even interior layout preferences are so subjective that it's impossible to predict what buyers will find positive and negative. That's why I cringe when I hear people ask if putting in granite counters rather than laminate or Corian will be better for resale. For pity's sake, how can anyone answer that? For every person who likes the granite (and the odds of them liking that color granite are what???) there is another person who will look at it and think "first thing I'd have to do is rip that **** out".
Ditto for cathedraled ceilings and skylights which are ubiqitous in ranches either built in the 1970s or redone older ones. I loathe both, especially skylights. Other people swoon over them. To each his own but it's impossible to predict.
I much prefer to find an older (1960s or 1970s) home that has been maintained but never "updated". That way, I can rip out everything -- kitchen, bathrooms, windows, siding, flooring -- and replace it with my own preferences without having had to pay for so-called updates that I don't like or want, but that were factored into the selling price of the house. Give me a good location and my desired structural square footage to work with, and that's all I ask (well okay, taxes of under $10K/yr as well; so I'm picky, okay? )
"I much prefer to find an older (1960s or 1970s) home that has been maintained but never "updated". That way, I can rip out everything -- kitchen, bathrooms, windows, siding, flooring -- and replace it with my own preferences without having had to pay for so-called updates that I don't like or want, but that were factored into the selling price of the house. Give me a good location and my desired structural square footage to work with, and that's all I ask (well okay, taxes of under $10K/yr as well; so I'm picky, okay?"
Amen to that ... exactly what I do when looking at resale homes. Ripping out someone else's version of an "update" is for the birds, you never know what is lurking behind there. It's much easier to work with original construction. I've seen wayyy too many shabby Tim Allen types who've done low quality updates that detract from value, and cringe at the brokers who put in their ads: "many quality updates".
've seen wayyy too many shabby Tim Allen types who've done low quality updates that detract from value, and cringe at the brokers who put in their ads: "many quality updates".
Don't you just love the "fix & flips" with the really, really cheap carpeting? You know, the neutral (non-descript) carpet that's so cheap the fibers practically jump up and cling to your shoes.
I once showed a fix & flip where the guy must have saved at least $50 by buying (or maybe they were free) green and pink plaid formica pre-formed countertops! Now that really helps pump up the resale value.
Wouldn't we all love to write a book on What Not to Do When Fixing & Flipping? Hey, maybe we could get TLC to syndicate us
We all have a book in us Gretchen ... ain't that the truth ! Don't they just LUV that $2.98/yard Berber carpet, that they can install themselves.
These rookies think they can slap on a toolbelt and become an overnight wonder .... or even better, they take a 6 hour course at Home Depot after working in a shipping dep. all day, and get their degree in how to: "become" a ceramic tile expert, or a wallpaper expert. Whoaaa.... do we see it all, or what ! Then they tell us what the place is worth because when they bought it to flip, they didn't have a clue.
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Fix & Flip Disasters
Now that really helps pump up the resale value.
