I remember the first night my wife and I were in our brand new home 11 years ago with the windows open and the first thing she said after the lights went out was, “We paid $475,000 to listen to Route 7?” This was in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. It was a real eye-opener, no pun intended. The sound of traffic was floating through our windows from about a half-mile away and it never occurred to us in all of our giddiness of building our home, that we might be able to hear it. Mind you, it was not a major highway, but it was a 4-lane busy road that carried a lot of traffic. Upon selling the home 2 years later, one of the potential buyers stood on the front porch for quite some time after they were inside our home. I know, because I was walking the dog around the neighborhood and saw them. They did not write an offer. We did, however, sell it relatively quickly and moved on.
The point of this story is to know your neighborhoods. Buyers trust us to be professional real estate agents which means we should know the areas we are showing and the potential issues associated with these areas. I know not everyone is bothered by traffic noise, but it is important to point these things out. Sometimes buyers get swept away with a home and forget about everything else. Even if you, as an agent, are not entirely familiar with a neighborhood, you should always encourage buyers to spend time outside of the home—and listen. It may be obvious from the neighborhood that there are no major thoroughfares nearby, which is great, but listening to the outside is still important—the barking dog, the humming of electrical wires, the overhead flight pattern from the airport, etc. all affect the property and a buyer should be encouraged to listen. Noises at night are much more pronounced than during the day where there is extra noise that buffers noises that you will be more keenly aware of during the stillness of the night.
We often encourage our buyers to walk or drive the neighborhood at different times if they are not familiar with it. We also encourage them to call the City and ask if there are any changes planned for open spaces around the area. Buyers can also access the county’s geographical information system online. Using Live.com's bird's eye view is very helpful as well. Remember, it is better to be safe than sorry, so don’t just look, use your ears as well and listen.
Comments(0)