Most common mistakes that DFW buyers make (renting, appliances)

[GripeWater]

Assuming that all realtors were created equal. Assuming that cookie cutter homes in new suburbs come with resale warranty.

[BigDGeek]

Or assuming that cooking smells in kitchens will fade on their own.

(They won't.)

[Doubletrouble]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Or assuming that cooking smells in kitchens will fade on their own.

(They won't.)

Many Asians don't understand this. It can be harder to get out of a house then cigarette smoke.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Doubletrouble

Many Asians don't understand this. It can be harder to get out of a house then cigarette smoke.

I'll just say this; there were a couple of houses where I didn't make it past the foyer because I could smell the kitchen already. It wasn't a recent meal I was smelling...it was old, ground-in smell. The kind Kilz won't even cover up. The kind you have to rip the drywall out to get rid of.

[MckinneyOwnr]

LOL I bought my home from an Indian man. They cook with lots of curry and things that leave a pungent odor. He had a vent installed above the cooktop that was not standard to vent outside to help mitigate that. Not sure if it would have worked, he never ended up living in the home anyway.

Personally, I think the biggest mistake a buyer can make, not just in DFW, is not talking to the neighbors of the future house you are considering. When we bought our home in 2010, we did talk to the neighbors about the neighborhood, asked how values had appreciated, what are the demographics, etc. You also want to see if you can get a feel for who they are as people... You don't want to live next to someone that is a complete pain in the A$$.

We came away with a very good feeling for our neighborhood, and we're now good friends with that neighbor we spoke with. Even so though, we still made a mistake. Our realtor (and the seller's realtor too) listed our house as saying that we had access to a community pool. This was huge for us because our yard was sloped in the back (I live in McKinney and it's a hilly area) and it would be cost prohibitive to put a pool in. Come to find out AFTER we closed that the realtors had lied, we did NOT have access to the community pool, that was for the neighborhood across the street from us. All it took was a quick conversation with our neighbor, who told us what the realtors should have.

[GripeWater]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

Or assuming that cooking smells in kitchens will fade on their own.

(They won't.)

Our worst experience was a house with two cats, two dogs and three puppies, that was the worst house I ever smelled. They had animals crated, cookies baking and candles burning yet it smelled horrible. They forgot that these closed off centrally air conditioned homes weren't built to double as local shelter. I would take food smell over urine smell any day. It was a 2 years old house listed for $760k.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by GripeWater

Our worst experience was a house with two cats, two dogs and three puppies, that was the worst house I ever smelled. They had animals crated, cookies baking and candles burning yet it smelled horrible. They forgot that these closed off centrally air conditioned homes weren't built to double as local shelter. I would take food smell over urine smell any day. It was a 2 years old house listed for $760k.

Luckily I never encountered that in my house-hunting, but that would have been a deal-breaker too.

[Happy Goldie]

Home is one of the biggest investment of your life. "Throw" your culture out when you buy. Think local and think American. Your buyers ( someday) will most likely be local. We have been investing in real estate for about 20 years now and this is the best advice I got from our realtor/friend when we started getting our feet wet. We have never made a bad investment ( luck had a lot to do with it). Get hold of a savvy realtor and learn to trust him/her. If you find a good home to fit your families' needs, do not low ball. There is a wall the sellers hit too.

Focus on schools, community, HOA fees, safety and commute. Dallas traffic totally blew us away. The "largeness" of Dallas' everything took us by surprise. It is best to live close to work and spend time with the family. You will hear suggestions like " you get more for your $$" you can get a "bigger"..... but, all this will get old very quickly if you are sitting in traffic everyday for an hour.


Trying to focus on a certain ethnic community is not a good thing when investing in a home. Integration, adaptation and blending is key. Been there, done it with rich rewards. Just my humble opinion.

[Doubletrouble]

Originally Posted by Happy Goldie

Trying to focus on a certain ethnic community is not a good thing when investing in a home. Integration, adaptation and blending is key. Been there, done it with rich rewards. Just my humble opinion.

Good advice.

Also forget about that east facing house that has a west facing backyard. It makes the back yard so hot in the summer it's almost unusable.

[fwsavemoney]

Double Trouble, that is a good point. I never thought about that. I own a home in Minneapolis and there we pay a premium for a South facing home to get more sunshine during the winter months. Is that true here in Dallas as well?