Ok
let’s talk....me to you….no one wants to walk into a home and feel out of place,
smell the last persons cooking, or feel like you walked into a sweaty locker
room right? So think about how you feel walking in? Walk in, take a breath,
take a quick look around (What are your first impressions?? Often they are the
ones that are lasting!), and start exploring. Enjoy this part! Walk around,
feel out the floor plan – what is your routine every day? Does it fit in this
home? Where do you spend most of your time? Picture your family there with YOUR
things in it (not their custom made furniture or Ikea handiwork)….can you see
it? LOOK at each room and in each door and in each nook and cranny. Come on,
all of us are snoops at heart….here is your chance to snoop and it’s okay! When
staging a home the homeowners are told to take their personal photos out. Did
you ever think about why? Well it is MUCH harder for a buyer to picture their
own family in a home when you see the owner’s Great Grandma Louise and Uncle
Bob and Cousin Ralph on the wall. If they ignored that precious advice, ignore
the photos and don’t get caught up on who lives there now! SEE yourself there.
Sit down for a minute and picture what your life would be there!
What are the upgrades like in the home? Maybe you are handyman
or you know someone that is and can see the potential of an older home and what
you could make of it. I love my husband to pieces but there was no way he was
going to be able to whip out anything construction related so I knew I wanted
something already to my liking. I wish I knew Friemann Companies when I looked! They are awesome! Look what they did to the kitchen below! Call them for anything! They can do it! Look past the paint and wallpaper (EASY fix –
well maybe you have taken down wallpaper lately and disagree but it is
something you can fix at least!) What kinds of appliances are included? How old
are the appliances? Will they need to be replaced soon? (This will change your
budget!) Are the countertops updated (if not, is this going to bother you?)? Do
you have a washer and dryer/are the ones in the home included? How old is the
water heater and furnace? When you are looking into that, think about the
outside as well….when was the roof last shingled? Is the siding permanent or
something you will have to paint? All these things start adding up over time!!
Maybe it has an association – what are the fees and what does it cover?
Now, how do you access the great outdoors? Maybe you are the
type that wants to sit inside with your book all summer and that’s great! For
myself, however, the outside was a HUGE thing for me! I grew up with a large
ravine lot yard and didn’t want to be on top of my neighbors and wanted a yard
for myself and future children to be in. Is there even a yard? Is it a hill and
how will rain flow through it? Will you have your own pond out there after each
rain? Maybe you are looking for lake property….then be sure to know your
riparian rights, property lines on the beach, if you have a big beaver dam by
your deck, if a deck and/or lift is included, etc! Brenda can help with that!
You should always know your property lines no matter where you end of living
though! Maybe the sneaky neighbors started taking over your land…it pays to
know!
Now, for myself, we ended up purchasing a home with gazebos,
a privacy fence, a deck and hot tub. They all need to be stained at some point!
Lots of work but my husband knows how to do that (I give him credit for that!!!).
With a hot tub though becomes more responsibility….how/when/what chemicals do
you use? How often do you have to change the filters? How much is a pump? How
much is this going to cost extra in water each month? Same goes for a pool!
Think about the size of your yard as well…do you have the
right equipment needed to keep it up if you aren’t going to hire it out?? How
good of shape is the lawn in? These are all things Brenda will help you with!
Now….something we haven’t talked about….what kind of sale is
it?
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