Business & Merchant
- Last Updated on Friday, 31 May 2013 23:16
Open Your Mind to a Home's Potential
By Roger Dolanch, Broker/Owner
Cosmetic issues are easy to remedy!
Home shopping for first-time homebuyers is an exciting, and often nerve-wracking, experience. If you're like others in the market for their first home, you have imagined how soon-to-be home will look.
By Roger Dolanch, Broker/Owner
Cosmetic issues are easy to remedy!
Home shopping for first-time homebuyers is an exciting, and often nerve-wracking, experience. If you're like others in the market for their first home, you have imagined how soon-to-be home will look.
Roger Dolanch
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It's important to keep in mind that bad decorating, dingy walls and a dirt-bare back yard may NOT be a bad investment! If you look carefully past the hideous wallpaper, funky light fixtures and avocado green carpeting, you just might find yourself a home with great potential. And, if you're looking for a home in a seller's market where homes are being snatched up as soon as they go on the market, you'll come to realize you can't be choosy if you want to make a competitive offer.
One of the first things to do is to get pre-approved for a loan and determine the maximum you can afford to offer for a house. Don't look at homes that are asking for more than 5 percent above your maximum, otherwise you'll be setting yourself up for disappointment if you find the perfect—but outside your budget—home.
So what do you consider? The floor plan of the home is extremely important. If a floor plan isn't quite to your liking, consider rearranging it or adding on. If you're looking at an existing home and will need to remodel or expand to suit your needs, the estimated cost of renovation needs to be considered when making an offer.
Also, consider the features of a home:
• Walls - While these are among the easiest to remedy, they also make a huge first impression. If the walls need to be painted, are covered in wallpaper or are painted a color you find distasteful, picture them crisp and clean in the color of your choice—that's how they could look after you paint them.
• Floors - Like walls, carpet or floor surfaces that are old or outdated can be easily replaced. Based on the price point, you may even be able to ask for a carpet allowance as part of your offer.
• View - Things like old, ugly—even dirty—windows and window treatments can make a view appear less desirable. Those things can be improved, so unless the only view you have is of your neighbor's clunker on the side of the house, don't get hung up on what is surely a fixable view.
• Landscaping - Your best bet is a moderately landscaped yard because you can always improve landscaping without spending too much. Worst case, even if you're looking at dirt, landscaping is one of the easier projects to tackle. Plus you get to design it however you'd like if you're starting from scratch.
• Closets and garages - You can never have too much storage space, which is why so many newer homes have three-car garages. But if you encounter a converted garage that is now a bedroom or storage room, don't give up. Converted garages can almost always go back to their original purpose without much cost or labor.
• Kitchen - The most popular room in the house, many homeowners want their kitchen to be large and have modern appliances. Don't let outdated color schemes deter you because there's nothing like a fresh coat (or two) of paint to make a kitchen your own. Plus, if you like the rest of the house enough to make an offer, you can give the kitchen a minor spruce-up with some new appliances or a major overhaul complete with new countertops, cabinets, and flooring.
• The exterior - If the home doesn't have good curb appeal, try to picture it with a fresh coat of paint and revitalized landscaping.
When making an offer, consider what you can't live without, as well as your budget. Also, be sure you hire a professional home inspector to inspect the house. If the home's systems are in good working order and the house has everything you want except a minor item or two, make an offer accordingly.
Most importantly, keep in mind that unless you're building your dream home from scratch, you'll probably never find the “perfect” home. But seeing past a previous owner's bad or outdated decorating choices to the core of the home and its potential for livability you may find your “ideal” home for this stage of your life. It may take a little work, but that is part of the process of putting your personal stamp on the property to make it your very own place to call home!
One of the first things to do is to get pre-approved for a loan and determine the maximum you can afford to offer for a house. Don't look at homes that are asking for more than 5 percent above your maximum, otherwise you'll be setting yourself up for disappointment if you find the perfect—but outside your budget—home.
So what do you consider? The floor plan of the home is extremely important. If a floor plan isn't quite to your liking, consider rearranging it or adding on. If you're looking at an existing home and will need to remodel or expand to suit your needs, the estimated cost of renovation needs to be considered when making an offer.
Also, consider the features of a home:
• Walls - While these are among the easiest to remedy, they also make a huge first impression. If the walls need to be painted, are covered in wallpaper or are painted a color you find distasteful, picture them crisp and clean in the color of your choice—that's how they could look after you paint them.
• Floors - Like walls, carpet or floor surfaces that are old or outdated can be easily replaced. Based on the price point, you may even be able to ask for a carpet allowance as part of your offer.
• View - Things like old, ugly—even dirty—windows and window treatments can make a view appear less desirable. Those things can be improved, so unless the only view you have is of your neighbor's clunker on the side of the house, don't get hung up on what is surely a fixable view.
• Landscaping - Your best bet is a moderately landscaped yard because you can always improve landscaping without spending too much. Worst case, even if you're looking at dirt, landscaping is one of the easier projects to tackle. Plus you get to design it however you'd like if you're starting from scratch.
• Closets and garages - You can never have too much storage space, which is why so many newer homes have three-car garages. But if you encounter a converted garage that is now a bedroom or storage room, don't give up. Converted garages can almost always go back to their original purpose without much cost or labor.
• Kitchen - The most popular room in the house, many homeowners want their kitchen to be large and have modern appliances. Don't let outdated color schemes deter you because there's nothing like a fresh coat (or two) of paint to make a kitchen your own. Plus, if you like the rest of the house enough to make an offer, you can give the kitchen a minor spruce-up with some new appliances or a major overhaul complete with new countertops, cabinets, and flooring.
• The exterior - If the home doesn't have good curb appeal, try to picture it with a fresh coat of paint and revitalized landscaping.
When making an offer, consider what you can't live without, as well as your budget. Also, be sure you hire a professional home inspector to inspect the house. If the home's systems are in good working order and the house has everything you want except a minor item or two, make an offer accordingly.
Most importantly, keep in mind that unless you're building your dream home from scratch, you'll probably never find the “perfect” home. But seeing past a previous owner's bad or outdated decorating choices to the core of the home and its potential for livability you may find your “ideal” home for this stage of your life. It may take a little work, but that is part of the process of putting your personal stamp on the property to make it your very own place to call home!
