Hot Tips For Home Buyers
Things every home buyer should know
Check out the neighbours
You would be amazed at the amount of extra information you can get by paying a friendly visit to your potential neighbours. Go and knock on doors and introduce yourself. Say that you're thinking of buying the house next door.
Then ask a simple open-ended question like "I was wondering what the bus service is like around here..." The vast majority of people are more than happy to have a five minute chat with you on the doorstep. If you do buy the property, you've saved yourself the introductions already.
Maybe more importantly, you will be surprised at how much the neighbours know what's going on nextdoor. They may let slip some really vital information like how long the property has been on the market, why the vendors are selling, or why they dislike the owners so much (listen carefully for the underlying message... you may decide to stay well away!!)
Go back to the property at least twice (three or four times even better)
Ain't it funny how some properties have open homes only from 10am to 11am. Isn't this a bit early for all us late Sunday risers?
There is often a legitimate reason. Go back to the same property at 3pm and its probably sitting in deep shade. Agents are there to sell you the property, not show you the weaknesses. That's up to you to spot for yourself. One thing that's really annoying is no sun when all your neighbours are getting it.
Visit the property at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and maybe even 7pm in the summer months. Have a really good look each time at where the sun is, and how it has moved across the sky. Think about how different this will be in summer/winter when the sun is further north or south. Sunlight indoors can usually be improved by installing skylights.
Look for potential to improve value
Most of us are easily influenced creatures and are swayed by first impressions. However, you would do well to put aside your preconceived ideas about the perfect house, and think more about where you could make slight changes to improve the overall appearance.
Sometimes just a fresh paint job can improve a property remarkably. The secret is that because you are one of the 10% who has spotted the potential, once the work is completed you have all 90% of us others who now think the property is superb and we should pay you back handsomely for your foresight.
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