Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Real Estate Tip

Ok, so this blog is almost entirely real estate related (with a personal twist, what can I say, I am a storyteller). Here is the tip--ALWAYS go on a second showing when you think you have found "the one" home. Did you read that? ALWAYS have a second look.

Here is the story. Cindy and I have had our home on the market for a little over a month now. We have been looking at homes here and there waiting for one to inspire us. Well, last Friday we went through a home that we absolutely loved. Immediately the rose-colored glasses came on. The floor plan was awesome, the hardwood floors were great, etc. etc. The problem was, as soon as we left we couldn't remember so much about the place. We couldn't even remember exactly what color the counter tops were. Cindy, in her infinite wisdom, pointed out that if we couldn't even remember the counter tops, we DEFINITELY didn't need to move on this home until we looked at it again. Plus, she said we needed to have our parents look with us because they would each have a different perspective. What a great idea she had!

Last night we looked again and discovered all manner of things that really turned us off. First, Jonas and I each have a fairly substantial allergy to pet hair and to cigarette smoke. This house had both. Worse-they tried to cover it up with a heavy air freshener--yuck! The upstairs trim was brown and all the air ducts were brown--yuck. So, right away, we would want new carpet (just upstairs, downstairs was all hardwood and tile), new paint--even the ceilings and trim, and a professional air duct cleaning. Then as we kept looking we noticed that the white cabinets in the kitchen were actually a sort of yellow color. They were those vinyl wrapped plywood cabinets and had become very discolored. Plus, several of them had actually melted--like they spilled something hot on the cabinet faces. There were some other little things, screens busted and one or two little settlement cracks (not bad at all for Rutherford County). Finally, we noticed that the hardwood had some kind of film on it. Not sure exactly what it was but we would definitely want it off. Anyway, we left with a much less rosey picture of that home. : (  We haven't ruled it out but we would definitely have to get a GREAT deal on it. Right now it is just an ok deal.

The moral of the story--when you go looking, have a list of things you want, a list of things you don't want and a list of things you could live with. Check off the list and make sure you look a second time before writing an offer. It will save you all kinds of heart ache (or sinus ache in some cases!).

3 comments:

Lindsay M said...

Is it ok to take a camera and take pictures when you are looking?

Jonathan said...

well, I don't know if it is officially ok but I certainly would not discourage it. There is a fine line though. Some people might think you are casing their house if you take a bunch of pictures. If I were looking at the home with you as your agent, I would say go for it. In the meantime, I would be watching you and making sure you don't invade privacy. Does that make sense?

Lindsay M said...

Certainly. :)

Post a Comment