When it comes time to resell your home, there are things to think about. First, having a home with a skyline view although beautiful may not increase the resell value of your home. Therefore, if buying a home with a view, try to pay as little as possible since you may not recovery your money back. The actual lot on which a home sits should also be considered. Level lots have better resell value opposed to those that are odd shaped or situated uniquely.
Older homes usually offer larger yards while the newer built homes have smaller lots. Buying a house where the backyard is taken up with a swimming pool is not a good idea. Also, do not buy houses that are overly landscaped. Good landscaping will always increase a property’s value but when it is overdone, it actually becomes a deterrent. Houses vary in size and if resell is important to you, do not buy the largest house in the neighborhood. The reason is that the smaller houses will pull down the appreciation on your house.
However, on the other side, if you buy the smallest house or even one in the middle, the larger homes can help pull up the value of your home. This is when you need to determine your “wants” from “needs.” The number of bedrooms and bathrooms is yet another important factor. Houses offering three or four bedrooms are the most popular so if you can purchase a house in that range, you will have an easier time reselling the house. The same would be true for bathrooms. Two bathrooms are preferred but one and a half is okay too.
Also, consider closets, laundry rooms, and garages. If you can find a home with a walk-in closet, that is a nice bonus. Having ample closet space is always a hot reseller. This would include space for clothes as well as linens. Laundry facilities are best when located on the main floor with convenient access yet out of the way so they are not necessarily seen. Garages are also great reselling items with two-car garages being the first choice. In newer homes, three-car garages have become desirable.
In most homes, the kitchen is the central gathering area. Homes with larger kitchens are best and if modern appliances are included, the better. A formal dining room is nice and viewed as a bonus. Keep in mind that you should look for homes that have easy access to the back yard for entertaining or grilling out. In addition, if you can find a home where there is easy access from the garage to the kitchen, this is extremely helpful for carrying in heavy groceries.
Added amenities such as fireplaces and swimming pools may help with the resell value. Typically if a house has a fireplace, it’s located in the family room so if you find a house with more than one, that may not necessarily help you since one located anywhere other than the family room may not be used very often, although it does make the room look nice. The same with swimming pools – you either love them or hate them. If you love them, then this is a great resell item.
If you do not, people will turn and not even look at the house. Swimming pools are great and can offer options for exercise and entertainment, but they also require on-going maintenance. Therefore, if you find a house with a pool and do not pay an astronomical price to get it, then it is probably okay. Whether you have kids or not, you pay for the local school system, for this reason, you should do some research to see if the schools are overcrowded, if there are enough schools to accommodate the local population, or if there are plans to build on to the existing schools or build new ones? All of this could affect your taxes so it is important to find out.
Depending on the location of the house, your property taxes could be higher in one area from another. The options are that you pay low taxes and do not get many improvements or higher taxes that provide you with better streets, modern schools, and community services. In addition, it is not uncommon for the higher taxed properties to cost less per square foot, which means you can buy a larger house for less money. If resell is important to you, be sure to make property taxes a consideration when choosing your location.
Finally, the number one thing to consider when buying a home is LOCATION! You have probably heard this before but it cannot be stressed enough. The location of a house makes all the difference in the world. So if you have found the perfect home that has everything on both your want and need list but it is in a bad location, unless you plan on living there until you pass on, you should really think about the purchase since the resell will be extremely poor.