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How to Interview your House when Shopping It

By Regina P. Brown

Real Estate Broker/Owner with MBA Broker Consultants CalBRE Broker #00983670

April 26, 2009 03:59 PM

So you're driving around town with your Realtor® in tow. You're looking at your houses on your list. And seeing some yucky houses that need some fix-it work and wondering, hmmm... which homes should I eliminate? How much work can I do myself? Is it worth it to buy a property that needs so much work?

YES! You should definitely consider buying a condo or house that need TLC, if it's only cosmetic work. However, calculate the costs and make sure you'll have enough cash after close of escrow to complete the repairs.

Some items you can NOT change. Those are the areas you should focus on:

Neighborhood
Proximity to amenities
Street Location
Parking
View
Floor Plan
Lot size, shape; placement of house on the lot
Back yard size, shape
Large Trees
Major structural issues

The items that you CAN change you should either overlook OR calculate your cost for the "sweat equity":

Messy house
Awful furniture
Paint peeling
Yucky wallpaper
Old appliances
Broken windows
Ugly exterior paint color
Out-of-date cabinets
Damaged counters
Rusty sink
Clogged toilet
Leaky faucet
Green shag carpet from 1972
Pink bathtub from 1964

Items which are questionable should be determined AFTER examining a complete home inspection (by a licensed home inspector), such as:

Mold / mildew
Water damage
Leaky roof
Termite damage
Radon or toxic poisoning

Are you a buyer looking to buy a house soon? I'd be happy to email you a copy of my Buyer Guide! Just send me an email: RpBrown @ Realtor. com (please remove the spaces, I had to put them in to try avoiding spammers).

Regina P. Brown
Broker, Realtor®, e-Pro
Author of eBook "Stop Foreclosure Fast: Solutions to Save your House"
Author of forthcoming book, "Virtual Office Guide for Business Professionals: Work & Profit from Home"
Join my NEW group for professionals who work from their home office at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice

Enjoy my NEW Books:

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Kate Elim

Dockside Realty - Spotsylvania, VA

Realtor 540-226-1964, Selling Homes & Land a

Hi Regina...Very important lists of what really is important in selecting a home and what isn't.

Some floor plans lend themselves to changes although this is generally a larger and more expensive project unless you are an experienced diyer.

Kate

Apr 26, 2009 04:04 PM

Regina P. Brown

MBA Broker Consultants - Carlsbad, CA

M.B.A., Broker, Instructor

Kate, you're right that floor plans can be changed but I generally don't recommend that to my buyers. Unless they're contractors!

Apr 26, 2009 04:11 PM

SHARON CHARBONEAU

UPSTAGING YOUR HOMES - Sechelt, BC

Or realtors can work with home stagers to ensure the homes they want to sell look their best and get a better selling price or get SOLD at all.

From what I see on the MLS listings more realtors should speak up and advise their clients that every problem a buyer sees costs them money and they can avoid a lower offer by taking care of broken windows, chipped paint, dirty carpets, cluttered counters, too much furniture etc etc before the home goes on the market.

That way, the photos of the homes look far better and will attract more buyers, who shop online for a new home.

See www.realestatestagingassociation.com for statistics on staged homes vs. not staged homes and length of time on market and selling price.

Here's to increased sales!!!

Apr 29, 2009 08:52 AM

Sharon, you're right that sellers really need to be aware of these things, especially in a competitive buyer's market. THANKS for the link to the stat's.

Apr 29, 2009 12:28 PM

How to Interview your House when Shopping It

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Regina P. Brown

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