Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Buying real estate is a huge commitment financially, and people who are fortunate enough to buy property need to be cautions when in evaluating a future home. Too many times home-buyers are convinced to buy a property that, when studied in detail, lacks the quality that the price tag demands. Real estate is too expensive to settle for anything less than the best, and below I've listed some red flags for home-buyers as they search the listings for their dream home.
Home buying strategies explained © Sergey Ilin - Fotolia.com
A roof can be very expensive to replace. Any roof that has average to severe damage should be a glaring red flag to a home-buyer Not only can it cost more than $10,000 to replace an entire roof on a large house, it is also a major inconvenience that you don’t deserve to deal with after just buying a home. When you pull up to the next open house, glance at the roof.
Pools are nice, but unless you’re looking for a house in a continually warm climate like Phoenix, this gigantic responsibility is yet another red flag waving high in the air. Pools add value to a list price, but they are very expensive to maintain and most are much underutilized. The point here is that unless you are the type of person or family who really enjoys having a pool, the feature can add between $20,000-$50,000 to a list price. That’s a chunk of money when it’s not just the icing on the real estate cake. Pools are nice, but a red flag here is necessary to stimulate extra analysis.
An oversized yard is already a natural concern, and one without a sprinkler system especially so maintenance wise. The reason is that yards can be extremely expensive to landscape and maintain, and a sprinkler system is pricey to install. This is not to say that a nice yard is not desirable for a house. The size focused on here describes a yard that is so big the owner would hardly ever wander to parts of it. Large areas outside the home usually require lots of water and comprehensive sprinkler systems in climates with any sort of warmth. Consider this before committing to the house.
It is every homeowners obligation and right to be cautious when looking at a house as an investment. The floor material of a home is another area that can spell expenditures in the future if there are any problems at all. Where wall to wall carpet is concerned, if there is a low yarn count, or with wood floors in say a dining room are worn excessively, replacement might be suggested before you sign the papers. These little issues become bigger after you acquire the house, and there is no reason to sign on to a property that you will immediately have to fix up.
While single pane windows do the job, they represent may not seem like a big deal when buying property, they can be a nightmare later on. For one thing, most single pane units offer far less insulation than double pane windows. This leads to higher energy costs throughout the year, primarily if the house is located in a four season climate. Single pane windows also allow in more noise and are much easier to break. IT shouldn’t be the deciding factor of your real estate purchase, but it’s something to think about.
As a potential home-buyer, you have the right to be cautious and detail oriented when deciding on a house. If not any other time in your life, take extra care in your decision making. Most Americans will never make a purchase with similar magnitude to buying a house.
About the author: Martin Oreficee is a licensed real estate agent, investor, and entrepreneur with a passion for helping people fulfill their dream of owning their own homes. In 2005 he established USLeaseOption.com, the premier site for finding Florida rent-to-own homes.
