If You Want Gnomes Then Buy The House Down The Street.

“But the house down the street…… “sold for less”, “is on the market for less”, “has more square footage”, etc.  How often do we hear a buyer comparing a home they love to one down the street in an effort to get a better price?  My position is, if you like the house down the street, then buy the house down the street. Otherwise......

...when comparing homes on the same street – make sure you are actually comparing them!  Things that devalue a home include:

Gnomes, yard art, or unusual landscaping that would cost a lot to undo or turn buyers away.  Gnomes might be cute to one person – but a lot of them clumped together in a yard look creepy to another.

Gaudy bathroom renovations/improvements.  Sometimes people overdo bathroom upgrades – even though there are expensive gold leaf fixtures and ornate mirrors or even that bidet surrounded by wallpaper may have cost money – it will cost a seller more when it comes time to price their house.

Kitchen reminders of previous owners.  What is that?  Basically – an old used kitchen with stains on counters, dull sinks, outdated appliances, etc. You can clean and clean, but if a kitchen hasn’t been updated, it instantly reduces the price of a home.

DIY repairs.  An owner may have saved money on doing repairs, but in the long run – like over-doing a bathroom – it will cost. DIY repairs are obvious:  paint doesn’t match, parts are “made to fit”, ceilings are stained, and stained again, floors are uneven, etc.  Buyers aren’t interested in re-doing a DIY.

Neighborhood considerations.  Houses on the same street often are affected differently by things in an area and it all affects price.  For instance, that less expensive, bigger home might have a backyard that backs to railroad tracks, or is next door to a rundown home with more occupants and cars than a junk yard, or is adjacent to a cell phone tower, etc.  All these things can affect the price of a home.

If you want the home down the street, buy the home down the street, but "Gnome" you get what you pay for! 

Buying or selling Tucson real estate, Mt Lemmon, Tucson bank-owned homes, Tucson rental homes, or Tucson lease option homes? Visit www.KGCPropertiesLLC.com!

                                     

This blog is written with my opinions and my opinions are presented with accuracy but not guarantees. Please talk to a professional before making any real estate, financial or agency decisions.    Gabrielle Kamahele Rhind - 2011. If you want to reprint parts of this - just email me for my permission: TucsonsRealEstate@gmail.com.