10 Jul Looking for Your Next Home: Should You Buy the “Less Than Perfect” Home?

When looking for your next home, everyone wants to find a property that has it all. It is easy to get fixated on finding the “perfect” home particularly if it is your first home or if you are looking for your “forever home”. It easy to pass too quickly on homes that don’t measure up… but some of these properties have the potential to become your dream home. 

• A home that is lacking some of your desired features will most likely cost less. These savings may be more than enough to cover any upgrades or renovations you want to make.
• There will be more properties available on the market for you to consider if you look at the home’s potential as well as the features it has now.

For example, if you are determined to have a wrap-around deck, don’t cross off homes that don’t feature this. Instead, view properties with potential… How would a deck look if it were added? How much would the renovation cost?

Try to focus on the top 5 criteria – location, size, layout, number of bedrooms and bathrooms. These features are harder to change, although in some homes a bath rough-in is available or there is an opportunity to add a bedroom in the lower level.

Second visits/showings of a home you are interested in are a great opportunity to see if you get the same excited feeling when you tour the home as well as provide an opportunity to look at the details of the home more closely, i.e. age of furnace, ac, windows, etc.

A building inspection and WETT (Wood Energy Technology Transfer) inspection, and if looking at rural properties, septic and, water and well inspections, are key tools to help you assess a home’s current state and potential future costs. Including conditions, to complete these inspections in an offer on a property will assist you in understanding your budget and potential items that will need to be addressed.

Sometimes a diamond in the rough can become a home you’ll treasure for years. Please contact us if you are thinking about finding your next home, we can help you find the right property!