You should not expect to duplicate a TV experience when you’re purchasing real estate. Use the suggestions below to avoid pitfalls of following TV advice when you’re purchasing a home.
You’ll likely have seen real estate TV shows that show Realtors explaining to homeowners how they can expand a closet or knock down a wall in order to improve the appeal of a home they’re considering purchasing. While you can likely modify any number of features of your home, you had better carefully calculate regional costs charged for your anticipated fix. Everything from permits to reliability to the overall cost of such modifications can add thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of your home.
Ignore how the homeowner has a room set up instead of considering whether a room’s purpose is clear to you from the furnishings in it. Real people use their space in different ways and if you’re not ready to consider a home’s space beyond the homeowner’s furnishings, you’re likely not interested in a particular home. You should never expect to pay less for a home because a homeowner is using the dining room as an office.
Not all new features in a home are created equally so that it’s not simply enough to know that a home has hardwood flooring without researching who installed the hardwoods and what sort of warranty is provided by either the installer or manufacturer.
It’s important to determine what projects have been accomplished by do-it-yourselfers because frequently such projects cosmetically improve the look of a home but can result in seriously expensive problems down the line.
You should not offer less money because the interior of a home needs paint, the homeowner will likely reject your offer. Inexpensive cosmetic fixes are pretty low on the bargaining list of justifications for offering a lower price on a piece of real estate.
Don’t rely on a Realtor’s word that an area is up-and-coming because today’s real estate values are not a sure thing. When it comes to researching a particular location you should look for readily available information in the form of statistics about how home prices have been in a particular area and the direction they’re moving in.
If you don’t like upgrades and other improvements in a home, you should not put an offer in on a house. While most TV shows encourage sellers to redo older kitchens and baths, as a buyer, if you don’t like the way the room looks after its redone you’re still likely to be paying for its cost.
If you don’t like the improvements made to a home, consider homes that have not been redone that you can pay less for and save your money to do a redo the way you like.
If you’re looking to purchase real estate, it’s important to keep the knowledge you’ve gotten from TV in the context of the real world. Use the considerations above to dispose of bad TV advice when you’re purchasing real estate.
Search for you next home by visiting thebostonmls.com