Top Things You Look for When Purchasing a Home (Existing, Not New Build)

1. No HOA (I don't need the drama)
2. Large yard (I can't stand the idea of these new construction homes that are all right on top of each other - what's the point?)
3. Built after 1980ish (so no worries about lead paint)
4. quality of neighborhood/schools
5. location (is it close enough to a highway so I can easily get to D/FW? Can people find me easily?)
6. solid construction (if you're in the living room, can you hear a conversation in the bedroom? Hopefully not.)
7. layout and use of space - I personally prefer fewer large rooms over more small rooms

Biggest turn offs (besides obvious structural issues): Smell-- esp. smoke, but also food! Wallper, dirty grout! Often people do not seal their tile grout, and it turns black. The house being dirty or decorated strangely are also turn-offs. Every house "feels" a certain way, and if the owners were are on the complete opposite spectrum as you, then that could be a major turn-off.

What I will look for this time-- cabinets! It is too hard to change that. Also baseboards-- again too hard to change. Obvious layout is important-- but beyond that, look for the things that are too hard to change.

When we went looking for our house, we had our lists of "must have" and "would really like."

We had to have at least 4 bedrooms, 2 stories, and a large lot. Without these, we wouldn't even go see the house.

We really wanted a playroom, formal dining, office, large bedrooms - all upstairs, cul-de-sac.

When it came down to the two houses we liked, we got specific. They were both so similar with what we liked, but was 2600 sq. ft. and had really fancy features, but the other was 3700 sq. ft. with simple features. We opted for the larger. We figured we could upgrade the features, flooring, paint, etc., but we couldn't make the bedrooms bigger and add more space. When it really came down to our choices, we looked for what we couldn't change.

As for what turned us off, usually the smell or dirty. I don't mean cluttered, dirty. There's a difference.

Are you planning to sell a home? We sold ours in 3 days and I attribute it to being DECLUTTERED & DEPERSONALIZED. We rented a sm. storage unit and moved seasonal and other things that we wouldn't need there to make the home look as spacious as possible. Plus, it is CLEAN, move in ready clean - even with 3 kids and 2 dogs. I also put cut 'n' bake cookies out when I had time before a showing!

If you're looking to buy, I created a househunting checklist that had everything I could think of and my husband & I went through and rated each item on importance. Each home we look at (if it's a possible "yes") gets one of these filled out so that if it's down to 2 or 3 homes, we can keep them straight and choose the one that makes the most sense. I'll share it with you if you want me to email it to you. It's pretty anal but I'm loving it!

Top few things we consider:

Is it move-in ready? OR Does it need updating, painting, flooring?

Is the floorplan practical for OUR family? It might be gorgeous and still not be functional for you.

Will I be happy to come home each day to this house/neighborhood?

TURN OFFS:

Deferred maintenance. If they let the little things go; you can bet there are big issues lurking.

SMELLS, ODORS, STINKS!

Crazy neighbors or ones that don't take care of their home/lawn. Drive around at different times of the day & week. Things look very different on a Monday afternoon than they do on a Saturday!

EXCLUSIONS: Sellers who list many exclusions (i.e. home for sale excluding shelves in garage; window treatments; shed in yard; playset; knobs on stove (just kidding!))tend to be difficult to work with.

Hope this helps, let me know if you want the checklist, it's pretty cool.

Hi J.,

How exciting, you are lookinhg for a new (existing) home! I am a realtor with Ready Real Estate and advise all my clients to make a list of Must haves and Would Like. Its not always a family finds a home with all the things in both columns but it will give you an idea of what to look for before you go house hunting. Your realtor can really help you find homes that match your needs and taste before you go out as well. I try to get as much info on my clients needs, families and taste to show them homes I know they will like, for example, I need 4 bedrooms but would consider 3 if the house had a pool? Or I need a family room and a game room vs a family room and a formal living. I would like only an open concept home. Also the school district seems to be on everyones priorities. Personally the number one thing on my list is schools, followed by 4 bedrooms all on the second floor, a second living area and an open concept. Also I would check to make sure the ac and roof aren't too old or the ac too small for the house. Let me know if I can help you with anything. If you dont have a realtor yet, I would be honored to assist you, We give ALL our buyers 1% cash back on the purchase of their home, regardless of the purchase price! I wish you luck!

Thanks!
C. Fernandez
###-###-####

There are several things that turn me off when looking for a home:

1. Being dirty...There's a difference between dirty from kids playing to being dirty from no one ever cleaning it.

2. Smoking inside the home. We walked in one & immediately walked right out...and the owners were there!! You just can't get the smell out.

3. Very weird colors or a lot of wallpaper. It depends on how much effort you want to put into decorating. We didn't want to have to do it with a toddler, so we skipped the houses that had lime green & purple rooms (not kidding).

Here are the first things I look for, once I've found a house that I like (i.e. rooms/bathrooms, size, aesthetics):

1. cracks in walls, brick veneer, etc. Cracks, especially severe ones, can be a sign of foundation problems
2. evidence of wall repair (either patching cracks, water damage repair, or termite damage repair)
3. if you're looking at a home with furniture in it, consider the furniture layout. Homeowners might rearrange the furniture to hide problems with flooring or carpet (like stains or scratches). If it's awkward (like the sofa doesn't face the TV), then it's probably hiding something.
4. Your realtor should have access to crime/insurance statistics for any home you're looking at. This can give you and idea of crime in your area or recent homeowners insurance claim, like fire damage, water damage, hail damage, etc.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

Looks like you've gotten some great advise. I'll just add my two cents. I always wad up some toilet paper and flush it. I don't like the really slow toilets. I also turn on the shower to check the water pressure.

Best of luck!

Dear J. E,

I have sold residential real estate for over 20 years in Texas--15 of them in the DFW area. I am also married to a homebuilder. I know what most people look for when they buy homes. Most people, especially parents, want a good neighborhood, near shopping, schools, parks and churches. They want great schools for their children. They want the home to have the rooms they need and be large enough to accommodate their furniture. They want the home to be a style they are comfortable with or easily adaptable to their style. They want the house to "feel like home". Most people know which home they want the minute they walk in the door. (Actually, they already started making that decision BEFORE they entered the home, but they may not realize that.)

I hope this helps. Happy Home Hunting!

Deb D from Keller

Hi J.! There are several things to consider, but try not to focus too much on the cosmetic things. You can change the cosmetic aspects of any home and it's fairly easy to do. The main things that you don't want to settle on are the size of the home, the floorplan and the neighborhood. You can't change those things, and they are the most important in terms of resale. Lastly, this is a great time to buy with the interest rates so low, so you've got great timing!

With that being said, do you have an agent to represent you yet? If not, I am a Keller Williams agent out of Flower Mound and would love to help you. Even if you've just got more questions about the process, please feel free to contact me at ____@____.com or ###-###-####. I am a "mama" of 2 under the age of 3, but I love being a realtor and still find the time to help as many people as I can find the right home!

I'm so glad you posted this question! We're going to be putting out house up for sale this summer and these responses are a great way for me to see what buyers may be looking for!

Thanks J.!

D.

Things to consider when buying an existing home:
1. new or recent (within last 2 yrs) updates to the home: new roof; fence; AC/heater; sprinkler system; countertops; appliances replaced (oven, stove, dishwasher). Obviously, most homes won't have all these updates, but listing some of these will sway me easily.
Having these already replaced will save you money --so you won't be shelling out this money in your first few years of living there.
2. New carpet (or allowance for new carpeting throughout). As a buyer, ask for at least a carpet allowance -- the ball is in the buyer's court right now and you should have brand new carpet once you move in!
3. A covered patio or nice backyard environment
4. At least a 2-car garage
5. A home warranty purchased by seller. All buyers of existing homes should ask for this right now -- b/c you'll get it in this tight market. A warranty will protect you if the AC/Heater breaks or there's a plumbing problem. All you pay is a service call fee (usually like $30 or something like that) -- and the cost of the repair or replacement is nothing to you.

Turn offs when looking at a home:
Clutter; lots of pets in the home

J.,

Thought you might like to know what we did not look at and now regret. We found a house we loved and in a neighborhood that we thought was very nice. One suggestion is to drive the alley. We have some slobby neighbors. Come to find out there are two rent houses on are street, one right next door and one three houses down. We have had quite a bit of trouble with trash, high weeds/yards and vandalism of our property (driveway,garage, and two cars).

I know some people say to stay away from Home owners associations, but I would have to disagree. Ours is voluntary and therefore non-existent. They could have at least been bugging my trashy neighbors about property standards! Police are trying to get them out of the neighborhood, but it is very difficult.

So long story short, drive neighborhood during different times of day and be nosy enough to check out how trashy the alley might be.

Good Luck
K.

Some things that were important when we were house-hunting:
* 2 story home, preferably with all bedrooms upstairs
* No front entry garages
* No pool (we were pregnant at the time and now have little kids. If we were a family with older kids, a pool would be on our YES list, most likely.)
* The kitchen had to feel roomy - not dark or cramped.

Really turned us off:
* If it smelled bad
* If it just wasn't clean

The biggest mistake my husband and I made when we bought our first house in 1998 in FL was the AC was the original from when the house was built in 1980. Within a year, we spent $5000 putting in a new one. We swore we would never make that mistake again.

When we were looking for our second home in Texas, any house that I walked in that just felt dirty was an immediate no on my list. There are too many newer houses on the market to settle for ones that people have not lovingly cared for.