There are all kinds of things to consider when buying a home. Here are a few things that come up with buyers once they start actually looking at homes:
What’s That Smell?!?
You see a home online and the pictures look amazing and you can’t wait to check it out only to walk into the home and have your nostrils assaulted. Pet odors are the number one source of bad smells, especially cat urine. If smokers currently live and smoke in the home, that can be off-putting to non-smokers.. “Great views, wonderful kitchen, but it smells bad. Come check it out anyway -” is not normally in the description of the property.
How Old Is That?
Another thing you’ll want to take note of with any property is the age and condition of big ticket items like the roof and HVAC. Look to see if the windows are fogged or single pane. Is the back deck falling apart from wood rot? What condition is the wooden fence in the back yard? These are all things that come into consideration when buying a home. Hopefully the home is priced accordingly, but in some cases it is not.
There’s More Weeds than Grass
An attractive lawn gives a home much curb appeal. When you drive up to a home and see a plush lawn, it adds so much warmth to the home. However, if the grass is scraggly and barren or choked out from weeds, it subtracts from the coziness of the home. Bad landscaping is a lot of work and a big expense to fix.
Direction of the Home
This is something that didn’t occur to me when I first started showing homes several years ago. The first time I had a buyer that wanted a home to face a certain direction I was intrigued. Turns out, they were smart – if you don’t want to sit in your back patio with the hot Texas sun beating down on you in the evening, then you’ll want to find a home with a shady backyard in the evening. If the backyard faces west, there may be a covered patio or screen to shield you from the sun. If it’s important to you to have or not have sunlight in certain areas at certain times, then you’ll need to keep that in mind when looking for a home.
Miscellaneous Things
Other things to consider are corner lots (for or against), energy efficiency, flood plains, noise levels/proximity to high traffic, proximity to amenities, etc. There are a lot of factors to consider when buying a home and these are just some of the non-negotiables I’ve encountered with buyers. Take time to consider what you would love or hate in a home and that will help you narrow down your search. Just don’t be too unreasonable to the point where nothing will satisfy! 😉