The interesting thing about lemons is that they're pretty to look at.  They also smell really good.  That's one reason why they're used as the enticing scent in a lot of cleaners. The smell of lemons makes you think clean. 

Well, if you're purchasing a brand new appliance, a new car or a new home...you should also be tuned into the "smell of lemons."  Except that in this case...it's best to avoid them.  Because purchasing a real estate lemon can be a very very expensive and heart wrenching money pit.

First of all...let's be clear on this one thing. There's no such thing as a perfect house.  Every house will have it's little quirks or develop them over time.  Maintaining a home by regularly taking care of the little things can prevent major expense.  Little things... like cleaning out roof gutters, fixing leaky faucets, repairing worn out grout, changing furnace filters, and having regular service check ups for major appliances can catch issues which are easily fixable.

But, what happens when you purchase a home which looks wonderful...or you think looks wonderful only to find that there are some major issues which need to be addressed.  We recently AVOIDED such an experience with a client.  The home was one of the cutest homes I'd seen. Our client didn't think that a home inspection was necessary.  We persisted in urging them to reconsider. 

Thankfully they did.  You see the picture perfect home sort of fell apart under closer inspection.  A qualified home inspector located all sorts of problems which were not readily discernible.  There were issues with the roof, the foundation and most significantly...an issue with the heating system in the home which could have caused grave bodily harm.  The furnace was leaking carbon monoxide!  Fortunately, our client listened to our counsel.  We were able to negotiate for these items to be repaired or completely replaced BEFORE the home was purchased. We later on found out that the homeowners had purchased the home WITHOUT having the home inspected.

Here's a Few Simple Tips that you can take to Avoid buying a Real Estate Lemon:

1.  Carefully Review what the seller has Disclosed about the home on the Seller's Disclosure form.

• By law, in the state of Michigan, this form must be shown to potential buyers of every home within 72 hours of an accepted offer. Idealy, you should be able to examine it when you are pre-viewing a home you might have an interest in purchasing.
• The Seller's Disclosure asks the home owner to reveal what they know about material aspects of their home such as the current and historical welfare of items such as: if the roof leaks, whether the furnace works, if there has been water in the basement or if there has ever been damage to the home by flooding or fire.  This form can be used as evidence of deception by a home owner in the state of Michigan.  Make sure you examine it carefully.

2.  Hire a Qualified Home Inspector to Examine the home thoroughly before you buy it.

• It's a highly risky investment to place thousands of dollars into purchasing a home and fail to pay a few hundred dollars to have it inspected professionally.  A home inspector who is ASHI certified is probably a good place to start.  In addition, make sure that you attend the home inspection.  Not only does this allow you to see first hand the items that the inspector may refer to in their report, it also provides a valuable education to you regarding maintaining your home.

3.  Obtain the services of a Competent Real Estate Agent.

• A good real estate agent will advise you to hire an inspector and may be able to give you references to inspectors they have worked with in the past.  This is a helpful starting point as a home inspection is not a service that you utilize on a regular basis.  One of the most important benefits of a good real estate agent will be their ability to negotiate on your behalf AFTER the home inspection is completed.  A good negotiator can SAVE you thousands of dollars in unexpected surprises OR facilitate an exit out of a bad situation.

If you're interested in looking for homes and getting a thorough analysis which includes making sure you don't pay TOO MUCH for the home you'd like to purchase, please contact us.  Our goal is to utilize wisdom to Move Your Dreams into Reality.

phto courtesy of charles chan on flickr.com

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