Holy Cow! In about two weeks, I’m about to close on my first home purchase. It is very exciting to say the least. My wife and I have been searching for the past 3 months and we found the house we wanted 2 days before we had to renew our lease. God was certainly working.
Last night, we let the fam come and check it out. The two moms were going crazy, talking about paint and decorating and all that jazz. My wife was really excited and that makes me happy.
One of the cool things about the home is that I get to do whatever I want with it. I can put up pirate flags on the walls. I can have any kind of aquarium decorations I want. I can play loud music and walk around naked. I can watch movies at 2 in the morning and run my laundry whenever I want. Having a house is quite a privalege. There is so much freedom that comes with it. It’s something that this company works hard to get for people. Quite a noble task.
I am so excited to move in!
Getting your 1st home issss exciting!!! It’s yours to do whatever you want and finally you’re no longer throwing your money into a black hole
Praise God
By: hahaundermyfeet on November 6, 2007
at 7:37 pm
CONGRATULATIONS on the purchase of your first home!
It is so wonderful to see people who still have confidence in the property market DESPITE the doom and gloom spread daily, by the local media (and in particular, John Lansner of the OC Register!).
Realistically, there’s a home for everyone and when times are good (bouyant market) we rejoice for the profits that home-owners are accumulating, however, when the market is soft, we rejoice at the fact that those who couldn’t afford to buy property in a bouyant market, still have the chance to buy good property in good areas!
Although I love the comment made by the previous poster: “It’s yours to do whatever you want and finally you’re no longer throwing your money into a black hole.”, this is only partially accurate (although yes, we know what you mean!!!)
Take my neighbor ~ he bought his home 4 years ago for $585,000. It was horribly dated and had not been maintained – a fixer. He moved in and ripped out all the carpet and installed stone floors. A month later, he ripped that out and laid hardwood throughout.
O….kay! No problem, but the expense of two flooring jobs has to be taken into account when he calculates profits at time of sale.
This year, they discovered that they had a crack in their swimming pool. He ripped that out and had a humungous Grecian style pool built with a jacuzzi. The surrounding yard was hardscaped, a plastered block wall erected (with cap), raised brick flower beds installed and planted with lush palms, a bar-b-q bar and a fire pit!
Looks nice but to do this, he pulled about $150,000 of equity from his investment.
The issue here is: will he ever recoup his investment?
Let’s see… current market value of that home would be around $700,000, less what he has put into the property in hard cash, and he’s running at a loss!
In order to get more bang for your buck, I would advise that you maintain the property as it is for the first 3 years. Paint, clean and repairing only. Then put money into the kitchen and bathrooms first. Granite counters, cherry cabinets, new faucets, concealed (canned) lighting etc. In the bathroom, you might consider changing out the bath tub and shower for new or more modern units. It is a well known fact that even in tough times, you will get your greatest return from making improvements to kitchen and bathroom (about 110% return).
If yours is a small master bedroom, consider adding on or enlarging the master. Homes with dual master suites fetch higher resale prices, especially if one of those masters is on ground level. (80% return)
Curb appeal comes next. Install a sprinkler system and get that lushness growing with palms and other plants that are low maintenance (in my book, the fewer leaves I have to pick up, the better!)
Next, consider the first thing that people see when they walk into your front door. Creating that ‘Wow’ factor right at the entrance, will cause people not to even notice other small things that may need repair or updating!
Scraping ceilings and replacing windows is a must – but, in time! The newer windows not only block out a lot of noise, but they are energy efficient, too, and will pay for themselves in time.
Here’s what buyers look for (in order):
** Location (some buyers will not buy a home that backs to a busy street, or one that is situated on a ‘T’ junction)
** Proximity to good schools
** Curb appeal
** The front door! Funny how a really nice front door can forgive other things inside the house!
** That first impression as the front door is opened – your choice of colors, space and light are noticed long before the furnishings, pictures, ornaments, etc)
** The kitchen is the most important room in the house – believe it or not. Space or at minimum a sensible working area, is a must as is lots of storage space
** Direct access from the garage into the house
** The direction of the stairs. If you can stand in your front doorway and look all the way up the stairs, some buyers won’t even consider the home – bad Chi!
** Size of the bedrooms
** Condition and size of the bathrooms
** Pool or no pool. Most people feel that a pool adds value to a home, but a pool comes with costs. The bigger the pool, the more it costs to run. Also, to the family expecting a baby, the pool might be considered a liability.
** Grass for children to play. It is inadvisable to hardscape the enitre back yard. When you come to sell the property, your buyer might choose another home over yours because theirs has grass.
Silly, how much we have to consider in our own home, just for someone else to buy it! Yet, it is always a good thing to start with the end in mind. Most Americans only stay in their homes 5 – 7 years before moving up or down-sizing. It is a good thing to always consider a potential buyer, when you decorate or improve your home.
Here’s wishing you MUCH happiness and prosperity in your new home and if we can assist by offering advice (free of course!!), then please don;t hesitate to contact us!
Althea
Rose-Marie, Althea & Marti
OC Dream Home Team
http://www.ocdreamhometeam.com
By: ocdreamhometeam on December 7, 2007
at 10:13 pm