Often(SURPRISING) overlooked questions when choosing a home to buy…162

#HOA #realestate #neighborhood

Deerwood Realty and Friends Podcast

There are all these things that buyers seem to overlook…I am going to go through some that I’ve seen….let me know what you think

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Thoughts/questions:

1. Is there a risk of fire or flood? I’m a little surprised by this question. In theory, if you are getting a mortgage, they are going to need to get a flood certificate during the process. Now, I tell my buyers to avoid flood zone housing for the most part because the insurance is relatively expensive and you could use that money for other things, (like equity in your home for example.) This is something I tend to look at before we actually go look at a home.

2. Is there a chance the view might change? This is definitely a surprising question but one that has real relevance to where we currently live. For years, my parents house backed to a cemetery. There was never any danger of someone developing the property, we thought. Fast forward to 2021, where home prices are through the roof and the church that owned the land needed money. Hello new home development! Try to pay attention if you like your view. Sometimes the land behind a home will be on a ravine or it backs to a park. That will normally keep the developers away.

3. What is the quality of the schools? I have many buyers who are single or looking to downsize, and they don’t have kids going to school. They don’t particularly care about the school district. This is an issue though as it relates to stable home values. The better school district you are in, generally, the more desirable the houses are. I tell my buyers one of two things. Either pay the premium and buy in the area with the good school district, or if you don’t care at all, we can probably find a cheaper housing option where the schools aren’t as great. It’s up to the buyer. Do you believe the rankings of the schools? I’m a bit more skeptical, I guess.
4. How close are we to a gas station or quick mart? Ever need to run to the store for one or two items? Yeah, you are going to want to be close to something that has what you are looking for. A lot of buyers tend to overlook proximity to these types of stores when they are looking for a new home to buy. These stores tend to come in handy more often than one would expect.

I tend to point out where local grocery stores and retailers are when I am showing my clients homes. I think this is quite important to the overall quality of life in a community.

5. What are the approximate utility costs? You might not think to ask the sellers about average utility costs. However, if you do get a chance to get that info, it can provide some guidance in the areas of how well a home is insulated and what an overall energy budget might be. While we can ask the sellers, they really aren’t under any sort of requirement to tell us what those utility costs are. It’s always worth a shot though.

6. What are the age of the systems? Whenever I walk through a home with a buyer, I always take a moment to check the furnace in the basement, the air conditioner unit outside, and the water heater. We’re looking for an approximate age on these things because they can be some of the more costly things to replace. I also take a look at the seller’s disclosure to see if they have any documented record of the last time the roof was replaced. You can figure 20-25 years on a roof replacement. The odd thing is that most sellers default to 15 years on their roof life. If there is no documentation, just figure that the roof is towards the end of its useful life and budget accordingly

7. Is the home in a safe neighborhood? This is a tough question to answer because what one considers safe is subjective. Also, we can’t really predict specific crime and the record keeping in many municipalities is suspect. I think most people have a pretty good idea if they are in a good neighborhood.

8. How much noise should I expect if I move here? This is also tricky. Let’s say you show the house for sale at 8 p.m. and it’s totally quiet. But the next day, around noon it starts getting loud. Or, your building is right next to a main street. Noise pollution matters.

9. Can the home be used for a short term rental? Am I looking in a neighborhood that is primarily rentals? There are some neighborhoods that have become places where they are virtually all rentals.

10. Is there an HOA? If you are moving into a subdivision with an HOA, you are going to want to know about that before deciding to buy.

Sources: ME
Contact me at media@deerwoodrealtystl.com

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