You may have noticed in a past blog that I was hoping to get an offer on my house in Dallas. Well, I finally did and I am thrilled. I am thrilled just to be getting rid of it. Overall, I am going to lose money on the whole deal, but I am glad that it will finally be off my plate. So I was thinking, "What have I learned from this entire experience?" It would be a shame for me to not share some of what I learned to any potential home buyer out there. So here are a few things things not to do when you are buying a home. If this is your first home, don't think that this is going to be your home for the rest of your life. Chances are your life is going to come to a fork in the road and you are going to take it. This is especially true for first time home buyers. Stop and think what your life might be in 10, 20, or even 30 years when you finally pay off that 30 year fixed interest note. It is going to change and you are going to want/need a different home. So when that happens, you are going to have to sell the house. Here are things you should avoid in a home that you know you will eventually sell.
By the way, my home in Dallas is a 2,500 SF Townhome in the Deep Ellum section of Dallas, and it is cool.
Don't buy a unique/cool/groovy/trendy home:Why? Because when you want to sell it, it is really hard to find someone that thinks your home is as unique/cool/groovy/trendy as you did when you bought it. Having something different also opens the floodgates of nit pickers. These are the people that don't see the home the same way you do. One of the funniest complaints I got about my house is that it is too bright, that too much sun comes in the house. What they didn't see on the other side of the glass were the most spectacular views of Downtown Dallas. Talk about looking through the glass from only one side.
Don't buy on a busy street:The street that my home is on is not a busy street, but the next one over is. In fact it's not a street, its a fricken Expressway, Central Expressway in Dallas, Texas, which means lots of traffic and noise. When I lived in the house, I go used to the sounds of traffic and I knew I would, try telling that to a potential buyer. I have friends that have lived next to railroad tracks and swear that after a while, they don't even hear the trains. Oh and the busy street is an instant turn off to anyone that has kids. Nobody with kids wants to live on a busy street.
Don't Have a Home Surrounded By Those That Don't:How do I put this kindly? Homeless people around your home make it very difficult to sell. There were a few homeless people around when I bought the home in 2001 and I just figured they were part of the neighborhood and were harmless. Turns out I was right, I never had a problem with any of them. Sadly, many of the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita took refuge under the bridge of the expressway that I mentioned earlier. People that were new to the area immediately thought the homeless would be a problem, luckily for me, the man that is buying my house is from the neighborhood. In fact, he is currently living right down the street and is cool with the way the neighborhood is.
Finally....Price Sells:If you price your home low enough, it is amazing how people don't see everything mentioned above.
