October 09, 2019
Home Maintenance Activity is Related to Home Sales
It may come as no surprise to anyone looking to buy a home that curb appeal—the way the home looks when you pull up and catch that all-important first impression—is important. But those living in a home for a long period of time may lose sight of this as normalcy sets in; and an owner’s personal feelings toward a property make no difference in the open market. Sellers can often underestimate just how important maintenance is—not only where curb appeal is concerned in home sales, but also for saving money and netting the asking price.
Landscaping, for curb appeal, is extremely important. A barren-looking yard, overgrown grass, or dead bushes make a prospective buyer wonder what sort of care an owner can possibly have put into caring for the home itself. This goes double for external features to the structure: peeling paint? Dirty siding? Give those external surfaces a new coat or a power-wash. Roof looking worn-down or, heaven forbid, leaking? It really may be worth the expense to install a new one.
As far as internal maintenance, this can really tell the tale. Beyond just the obvious-to-the-eye elements that don’t look nice, like scratches or unfilled holes on the walls, worn-out cabinetry, and so forth, there are things that an inspection are likely to catch which may be problematic and result in a sale being called off—such as water damage on the ceiling or a cracked window, not to mention a poorly-maintained furnace or air conditioning.
And it’s worth considering that maintenance on these things, while they may seem expensive at first, are much, much less expensive than having to make major replacements. (Example: to have an HVAC expert clean and maintain your heater can cost in the area of $200; but a replacement can be $4000 or more.)
If you’re looking to buy a property in Jacksonville, Florida; Rockport, Massachusetts; or Cumberland, Rhode Island, however nice that home you find appears you’ll need a title search to ensure you gain clear title to your property in order to mitigate risks—in case a storm or other natural disaster in the past scrambled the property’s title, for example. At Topouzis & Associates, P.C., we perform extensive title searches in these three states, and we provide Owners Policies of Title Insurance. Contact us for more details.
