After months of phone calls from your Realtor®, tours, open houses and false positive drive-bys, the field has narrowed. You like the house with the big back yard. Your partner likes the house with big front yard. You like the bathroom with the football team-sized whirlpool, flat panel TV and beer tap. She likes the bathroom with the separate closet and dressing area. Space for your stuff? To be determined and allotted later on an as-needed basis.
So is your new home behind door No. 1? Or door No. 2?
Perhaps you both like each house equally -- or at this juncture think you do -- thus extending the definition of spousal agreement to a new depth. If you're in a market where the homes in your price range sell quickly and the potential for multiple offers is strong, then time becomes critical. It's a situation that can and does arise and if approached methodically and calmly can be resolved.
Get a pencil and paper and review your family needs. Include your budget and the pros and cons of each home in side-by-side columns, if you can, making it easier to compare. If the neighborhoods are different, evaluate what's good and bad in each. If being within walking distance of parks or schools is important to you or near churches and shopping, take these into consideration as you decide.
Other factors that might affect your decision include whether the homes on the street and in the neighborhood are well-maintained and well-landscaped with well-lit sidewalks. If you have school-age children, you probably have a good idea of the nearby school's quality and reputation, but it's possible you've never compared the two against each other, so now is a good time to. Check with local law enforcement officials and examine the crime statistics for each neighborhood.
An often overlooked factor is the fire department -- how far is it from the dwelling and is the staff paid or volunteer? I'd also recommend that you check with your insurance agent and get quotes for both locations you're considering. There are numerous factors that can affect an insurance premium, including age, type of construction and the distance from the nearest fire hydrant.
The quality of the fire department based on the criteria used by insurance companies is of critical importance, since a significant portion of your premium is based on the fire component of the overall exposure. It's possible for two seemingly identical homes of similar age, square footage, building materials and architecture to have drastically different insurance premiums simply because of the applicable fire rates.
Being the biggest, baddest and bawdiest boy on the block isn't always the best idea. Generally speaking, the lower value of the homes around you might reduce the value of yours when it comes time to sell.
Learn as much about the sellers as you can. Ask your Realtor about how long each home has been on the market -- there's an increased chance that the longer a home has been on the market the better the chance the seller might accept a lower offer. Conversely, if the home has been listed for just a few days and your offer is lower than the listing price, the seller might turn you down in hope that another buyer will offer more.
If your Realtor can ascertain the reason the sellers are selling, it might help you as you weigh your options. It might be work related or because of divorce, situations that could indicate the sellers want to move as fast as possible -- thus giving you a better shot at a lower purchase price.
After your list has been completed and the amenities analysis scores a tie, then assign values. Are both gourmet kitchens a 10? Which one would make the best first floor office? See which one has the most total points.
While doing this, don't lose track of the negatives or drawbacks -- they're just as important and provide a different perspective to see if one house is more enticing than the other. Go back to each home several times and at different hours of the day to get a good feel for the setting. Understand the traffic and parking patterns of the area at different times and decide if they're acceptable.
Finally, work with your Realtor and evaluate the rates of appreciation for each home. If door No. 1 is appreciating at a faster rate than door No. 2, you have your winner.
THIS WEEK'S TIP: Preparing Your Home for Sale, Part 3
Sellers should think of themselves as living in a model home when they market their property. This means that, in addition to making sure the home is constantly kept clean, they need to be willing to move out their favorite chair, end table or couch. It just makes it easier for a potential buyer to envision a home office in place of the cozy den a seller might have used a certain room for. Since buying a home is usually the biggest purchase of a consumer's life, it gets frustrating for them if they can't see past someone else's clutter.
Finally, sellers should plan ahead. Too many times sellers wait until the last minute to get their items moved and they end up paying more in the long run for services or space they don't need because what they do need isn't available at the time.
No matter what route a seller decides to take when clearing out the clutter, it's an investment in time and money that both the experts in the storage business and real estate profession agree is well worth it.
