Buying A House: Must Haves & Deal Breakers?

[aephi alum]

I've bought two houses and sold one.

When buying each house, we got home inspections done, and we got credits at closing for some necessary repairs.

If you are preparing a home for showing:
- Be sure all major repairs are done
- Be sure to declutter your house, and remove all personal effects like photos; make it look like a model, not a lived-in home
- Keep your driveway and front walk clear of snow (winter is coming)
- Don't be there when your house is shown

[summer_gphib]

We just went through the home search process (we ended up building), but the things we were looking for included a lot of what others have said. We took particular interest in flooring.

Also if I were selling, I'd spend the $300 or so, and have the home inspected-- just so you know what's wrong with it, and fix any little (or big!) problems. That way you don't get an offer contingent on inspection that falls through because you have issues you weren't aware of.

One of the houses we put an offer on looked GREAT, until we got the home inspection. It was the worst our realtor had ever seen (including electricution risk in the pool.)

Just an idea to throw out there.

Good luck!

[honeychile]

I'll state up front that I don't particularly care for the newer-built homes. The houses I've liked and/or bought were all built in the early 60's or older. So, some of the things that I've learned to look for are usually already corrected in the newer houses.

Must Haves:
-Plaster Walls! Not that garbage drywall stuff that falls apart when you try to hang something on it, or *horrors* try to remove nasty wallpaper. Obviously not something you can change, but this is my fantasy house.
-Updated electricity. Is there a circuit breaker or a fuse box? Can the electricity handle computers, televisions, microwave, air conditioning, washer, dryer, etc, etc?
-Energy savers: water heater, furnace, air conditioner, newer roof all good.
-Good structure, good flow to the floor plan.
-Built-ins, such as bookcases, office, and/or kitchen really thrill me, to the point where I've learned how to do some of this myself (thanks, Daddy!).
-CLOSET SPACE!!!! Can't state this strongly enough.
-Enough bathrooms/powder rooms. You can never have too many. And if one is in the basement or mudroom, take extra care that it's sparkling clean!


Deal Breakers:
-Trampoline in the yard. Someone who looks that hard for a lawsuit isn't someone who takes good care of his/her home. Same with too many toys, leaves, or snow in the driveway.
-Mildew smell! Won't even bother taking another step. The scent of cookies or such really doesn't mask it, but if you don't have a mildew problem, that smell really does work on the senses.
-So many trees that the place looks like a freaking forest! My current house has this, and no matter what I've done (as in removing most of them), I can't get the lawn to look right. Never again!
-Small thing, but burnt out light bulbs indicate a lack of home maintainance.


As was stated, a good home inspector will let you know what's good and what needs to be fixed (that's on both sides of the purchase). If something major such as a roof or carpeting needs to be replaced, an allowance should be made for it. Also, know ahead of times which appliances you're willing to sell with the house, and which you're not. That caught me off guard on my first house sale and probably cost me a higher offer.

If this helps, I once asked my cleaning service how they got my stainless sinks sparkle, and found out that they put baby oil in the cleaner (as in, pour about a tablespoon of baby oil in a bottle of 409 or Fantastic). And, it's great on the goop that's on faucets.

Good luck!

[AGDee]

And for those white ceramic sinks, bleach and then turtle wax.

Be careful how much money you put into it because (I'm sure you know) the market in Michigan is dismal. Watch the "sell this house" type shows. They give a lot of good tips. Basically, they say you will get your money back plus out of bathroom and kitchen remodels. Of course, you want to make sure the major stuff works. Have the furnace inspected. I agree with the electrical system comments too.. if you have fuses now, have a circuit breaker system installed instead.

[kstar]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Deal Breakers:
-So many trees that the place looks like a freaking forest! My current house has this, and no matter what I've done (as in removing most of them), I can't get the lawn to look right. Never again!

Man, my deal breaker is when there is only one tree or (on acreage) sparsely treed. Shade is good for cooling in the summer and wind breaks in winter.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by kstar

Man, my deal breaker is when there is only one tree or (on acreage) sparsely treed. Shade is good for cooling in the summer and wind breaks in winter.

Eighteen trees on 1/3 of a half-acre = lotsa mold/mildew. I kept the 100-year-old rhodedendron, the holly & the ivy - but the back of the house was looking like something out of a horror movie!

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

I've bought two houses and sold one.

When buying each house, we got home inspections done, and we got credits at closing for some necessary repairs.

If you are preparing a home for showing:
- Be sure all major repairs are done
- Be sure to declutter your house, and remove all personal effects like photos; make it look like a model, not a lived-in home
- Keep your driveway and front walk clear of snow (winter is coming)
- Don't be there when your house is shown

speaking of winter...how energy efficent is the house?

Insulation can go a looooong way to keeping electricity and heating bills down.

nothing worse than living in a house where central air and heating is out the roof because nothing is on the roof....hehe

[SWTXBelle]

I have a couple coming in from California to see my house. It was built in 1990, so it's not that old but I have:
- put on a new roof (thanks, tornado!)
-installed new carpeting upstairs
-replaced pink (PINK) kitchen countertops
-painted everything that doesn't move
-replaced all faucets - they were dated.
-decluttered - everything is in the barn.

and of course, most importantly - buried St. Joseph under the For Sale sign. Hey, you never know . . .

[scbelle]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I have a couple coming in from California to see my house. It was built in 1990, so it's not that old but I have:
- put on a new roof (thanks, tornado!)
-installed new carpeting upstairs
-replaced pink (PINK) kitchen countertops
-painted everything that doesn't move
-replaced all faucets - they were dated.
-decluttered - everything is in the barn.

and of course, most importantly - buried St. Joseph under the For Sale sign. Hey, you never know . . .

^^^
Yep, did that (bury St. Joseph), and within a month, sold the house. It had been on the market nearly a year before that.