Dont Judge a House by it's Photos

Technology is making it easier for home buyers to have more of a say so in the homes they view and what peeks their interest. Buyers can do most of the research and hand pick their showings just by searching online. I always mention a disclaimer to my buyers before visiting the properties they get so excited to see: Photos may appear different online then when you actually visit the property. I don’t mean agents are photo shopping items in or out but they selectively take photos how they want a buyer to see the property, often times hiring a professional photographer to take photos and make the home look impeccable, leaving out rooms or problems that might be a setback to a buyer or might not bring a buyer to the property. It’s also hard to show room sizes in photos especially when you have over sized furniture or an extremely small rooms. It's all about marketing. If they showed you all the detrimental things you wouldn’t take the time to visit the property, especially if you want a move in ready home. The more buyers that take a look at the property, the higher possibility of an offer.

I like to show my buyers a few homes they might not be interested in at first glance; you can’t judge a house by its photos. When most buyers are looking at photos online they see the current homeowner’s tastes- furniture, paint color, art work, etc. Some people can’t look past how the subject is decorated and immediately remove homes from their list. When in fact it might be the perfect home with a little personalization. Remember you can change paint colors around $25 a room, carpet for a couple hundred depending on the size, replace a light fixture/ceiling fan for $100. These items can add up, but you might be able to negotiate a lower purchase price based on the items you feel need updated. In my experience buyers have been pleasantly surprised at some homes they wrote off early on and ended up loving in the end. As a buyer, once you have seen all the properties you thought you would like and it seems like nothing else is coming on the market, take a chance and look at one you might have checked off. It might be the one you end up purchasing, turn a house into a home.

Knowing Your City

It sounds easy enough; you drive around your city and know all the best places to shop, to eat, to meet friends, to be entertained. But do you REALLY know what is going on with the city in which you own your home? Do you regularly attend city hall meetings? Read your cities news flyers or the city paper? If you’re like me you are too busy to bore yourself with the complicating aspects of politics and you probably have more important things to occupy your time. The reason I bring up this topic is because as a home owner you chose the place you live for a reason, whether it be location, a job, family, or friends. You want a quite place that works with your life style.

We purchased a home 3 years ago. We live behind a city pool and a few blocks from what used to be a popular restaurant that people are familiar with outside our area. About a week ago we received a surprise letter in the mail stating a new restaurant wants to rezone the old popular restaurant location for outdoor entertaining. At first when I read the news I was a bit confused, we are in the middle of the city. Restaurants like this usually pop up closer to commercial buildings or downtown entertainment Mecca’s. Most shocking was finding out that the over flow parking will be the parking lot behind our house. It turns out we found out extremely late in the process. The city had held prior meetings open to the public for discussion and no one in our neighborhood brought this to our attention. They, like us were not paying attention to the city around us evolving and trying to allow change.

Had we stayed active in the city community researching what was/is going on, we would not have been surprised and possibly done something sooner. We, along with our neighbors are trying to fight the rezoning to stop the increase in noise levels allowed. If the city does allow this establishment to move in our neighborhood, property value will plummet, we will have a higher possibility of theft, drunk drivers, cars speeding, being disrupted from sleep and normal activities in the comfort of our home. The neighbors directly across the street from the proposed establishment are holding meetings and collecting signatures from homeowners in our city. We are sending in letters to the city council members who will be making the end decisions. All we can do is hope they agree with our valid points. That all being said. Know your neighborhood and what potentially could be popping up around the corner and how it could affect your life and your home value. In the end everyone wants their home values to appreciate and live in a desirable location for future home buyers.

UPDATE 2/28: The local restaurant has decided to withdraw their special use permit. They can still open under the current zoning however they will not be allowed to move forward with all the crazy things they were wanting to do with out restarting the process.  It just shows how powerful you and your neighbors can be when you have the numbers in your favor and group together!