Don't Get Distracted By The Details: 4 Things You Should Ignore When Buying A House
Posted on: 20 July 2018
When looking at homes for sale, many buyers get distracted with fairly trivial things. What should be a minor cosmetic issue can keep the property from becoming their "dream home," and could keep them cruising the market for a long time to come.
1. Paint Color
Paint color is absolutely one of the first things that many home buyers look at, and it really shouldn't be; it costs almost nothing to repaint a house, especially if you're willing to do the interiors yourself. In fact, it's better to customize your home's paint color yourself regardless.
2. Draperies and Window Treatments
From blinds to wall-to-wall drapery, window treatments are sometimes the most obvious accents to a room. If the home is currently being shown empty, it may be easy to focus on the window treatments, and what you like and what you don't. Keep in mind that all of these things can be changed easily.
3. Exterior Landscaping
Fresh, green sod in one property may have been just laid down, and may not indicate anything about the maintenance that a home has really undergone. Meanwhile, a little bit of overgrowth or a flower bed that you hate can all be modified with a little care.
4. Dated Fixtures
Are the sinks, shower heads, and cabinet fixtures a little too old for your liking? These are some of the first things that house flippers usually fix, but that's because they're easy and cheap. Drawer pulls and door hardware can be changed up very easily after you move in, and shouldn't alter your impression of the home. Nevertheless, it's easy for anyone to feel as though they are in an "older" home with these types of features.
With That In Mind... What Shouldn't You Ignore?
Of course, there are some things that you really should pay attention to when you're buying a home. One of these things is a dirty home. If the property looks dirty, stained, and unkempt, there are almost always guaranteed to be other issues. The water heater may be about to blow, the HVAC system may be on its last legs, and there's probably pests in the walls. It's signs of disrepair and abuse that should be most worrying.
Listen to your real estate agent. An agent like Lisa Nolan Realtor should be asking you what you like and don't like about each property; if he or she advises you that a problem really isn't that significant, it's probably not.
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