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Real Estate Article Series
Home Resale Value IS Very Important
A home is more than a place to live. It also
represents a major financial investment. Most of us
will buy and sell several homes over the course of our lifetime, so
it is important to consider the resale potential of each home
you purchase —before you buy it.
Consider
your intentions when you go looking for a new or new-to-you
home. Are you searching for your dream home, a place
you hope to hang your coat for a long time? Or perhaps you
are looking for smaller, lower-maintenance place to ease you
into retirement? Maybe you’ve spotted a hot market and are
hoping to turn a profit with a fast buy and a fast sell sometime
in the near future. Your plans for your new house and how long
you intend to stay there can affect its Resale potential. For
example, the trendy new neighborhood where your house is located
may not be so trendy and popular ten years from now.
Regardless
of your intentions, there are several other factors that
will affect the resale potential of your home. First among
these is location. You’ve probably seen house-for-sale advertisements
boasting about a home’s location, and it’s true, location is
very important. Today’s preferred location may not be the same
five or ten years from now, but many of the elements that make
it desirable will be the same. Large lots, mature trees, wide
sidewalks, proximity to schools, shopping and public transit
are all features that increase an area’s lasting appeal and
will therefore fetch higher Resale prices than homes in areas
that do not offer the same advantages. When thinking about
location, you should also consider the population and economic
growth trends in your city or town, and in which direction
growth appears to be moving.
Demographics
can also come into play when it comes to home resale value. With baby boomers heading into retirement and
their ‘golden years’, one-level homes with wide passage ways
and rooms large enough to accommodate wheelchairs may become
more popular in certain areas, while suburbs filled with young
families may put more of an emphasis on large yards and ample
public green space and playground facilities. Try to learn
about a town or city’s population before you purchase a home
there.
Be
aware of the features that sell. Peruse local
real estate advertising to find out the most desirable
attributes in the
area in which you want to buy. You may notice that homes with
one bathroom sell for less than homes that have more bathrooms,
or that homes with old, inefficient windows sell for less than
those with newer, vinyl-clad windows and energy-efficient panes.
The same can be said about a variety of features including
closets, number of bedrooms, fireplaces, swimming pools and
kitchen functionality. Don’t despair, however, if a dated or
less desirable home is all you can afford: outdated houses
present an opportunity for renovations and upgrades that can
vastly increase their value and resale potential. With a small
investment and a little work, you can turn a fixer-upper into
cash in your bank account. The profit margin increase can be
significant enough to justify enlisting the help of a professional
to help with major projects.
A
residential building inspector can also help you identify
the ‘shelf life’ of a home you are considering buying. A
thorough inspection report will give estimates on the lifespan
of major
home components such as the roof, furnace and driveway. If
several of these components are reaching maturity at or near
the time you want to sell, the resale potential of the home
could be devalued as a result of the impending repairs. Take
these timelines into consideration if you plan on moving in
the near future, or if your cash flow will be compromised during
the same period in which upgrades will become necessary.
Buying
a house should be about meeting your needs and desires, but a
little forward-thinking can mean an easier sell, and even
a profit, a few years in the future if your needs
change or you want to move on. A purchase designed to meet
your current
needs while accommodating future resale potential is a smart
investment that will help you fund a bigger, better house when
the time comes, or to create a little nest egg for future investments
or retirement. Considering the resale value of a home before
you buy it takes little effort but produces great routines
– all in all, a logical thing to do. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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