I just bought a townhouse in April, and here are some of the important things for me:
What is going to need replaced in the next couple of years? i.e. how old is the roof, the furnace, AC, etc. I went for a house with an ugly master bath, but had a new roof, new AC, new furnace and newer appliances.
Neutral colors. One house I looked at had painted everything (including vents) various colors that were not at all neutral. The master bedroom was a dark salmon, including the ceiling.
If there's anything that would be a major pain in the butt to fix - there was Venetian plaster in both bathrooms that was on THICK, and, had various nautical themed knicknacks drilled into it. It would cost a fortune in time and/or money to make it decent.
Landscaping- keep it simple. I have a townhouse, so there's not much yard, but I didn't want anything too frou-frou for upkeep.
Trees are good -both for keeping it cool in the summer and in giving some privacy.
Little things can make a big different- replacing light fixtures, for example. Not a big cost, but they keep the buyer from focusing on something that's potentially really ugly.
If you have any sort of "collections" - put them away. The woman I bought my townhouse from had various frog items everywhere. It was ridiculous and turned into a joke as to how many frogs we could find in the house.
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