Top Home Buying Mistakes Revealed - For all buyers in Virginia
Whether you are a first time home buyer or an investor or moving up or downsizing due to the life stay change, don't ignore the big mistakes buyers in Virginia sometimes make while purchasing a home.
The first rule of inspecting a home you want to buy is to stay
intimately involved in the process, and to leave no stone unturned.
If
you're busy or traveling during the time period, you have to complete
your due diligence investigations by enlisting the aid of a friend you
trust to stand in on your behalf -- someone who will keep you well
informed as inspections proceed.
Buyers want to be sure they get
a good deal on the home they buy. This is especially so if they're
buying in a soft market. Whether a property is a good deal depends on
its condition, its location and the price paid.
Most buyers
don't take the inspection process far enough. They hire a home
inspector to do a general home inspection to make sure that all systems
are in working order and that there aren't any serious defects that
might affect their decision to buy or not.
For some buyers, this
constitutes their due diligence inspection of the property. But, in
many cases, simply having a home inspection done is not enough to
ensure that you don't end up regretting you bought the property.
Most
home inspectors recommend further inspections. Some buyers take these
admonitions seriously and some don't. A recommendation that is often
overlooked is to research the permit history.
If you don't check
the permit history, you could find out later, when you want to take out
a permit for a renovation, that there are expired permits for work that
never received a final approval from the city inspector. You might be
required to reinstate the expired permits and finish the job to the
building department's satisfaction before you can take out a permit for
a new project. This could be expensive, take time, and at the least, be
a hassle.
Another item buyers ignore is the cost of routine home
maintenance. Some homes cost more to maintain than others.
Well-maintained homes will be easier to maintain because you'll have
little deferred maintenance to repair.
Ask the sellers for
information about how much they pay per year for tree trimming,
painting, and servicing house systems such as the roof, furnace and
drainage systems. Also ask how much the utility bills run in an average
winter and summer month. All of this will factor into the cost of
owning the home. Buyers usually focus on the price they'll pay upfront
for a house. How much it will cost them over time should also be
factored into the total cost of home ownership.
HOUSE HUNTING
TIP: Buyers tend to pay more attention to the condition of the home
they're buying than they do to finding out all they need to know about
the area in which they'll be living. The home you buy is not a good
value if you find out a year later that the neighborhood is declining.
Make sure you find out if homeowners are moving in or out of the area.
If you see a lot of remodeling going on in a neighborhood, this is a
good sign that the homeowners plan to stay put. Another good sign is if
there are few listings and the ones that come on the market sell
quickly. This indicates a high demand for the neighborhood.
You'll
also want to find out about crime in the neighborhood, and whether or
not there is development planned in the area that might have a positive
or negative impact on the neighborhood. And check into the general
state of the local economy.
THE CLOSING: Are businesses hiring new employees or issuing pink slips?
Contact
Ritu Desai,
Realtor, EcoBroker, ABR,ePRO
at Samson Properties
Cell: 703-625-4949 or
Email:Info@eNOVAHomes.com
www.eNOVAHOmes.com
You
are interested in purchasing or selling a property in Northern Virginia
Arlington County, Alexandria City, Loudoun County, Fairfax County, Falls Church
City & Prince William county.