You’re pre-approved for your mortgage and are now beginning your home search. Congratulations! Here are some 7 tips on things to ignore when viewing homes so you don’t let the perfect home in the best location get away from you:
- Home Staging is done to highlight the best that a home has to offer. But you need to remember that it’s the homeowners and designers choices to utilize the pieces they’ve chosen. Your ideas for a room might be totally different, so look past the design choices and envision your own furniture, colors and personal touches in the home instead!
- Carpeting! Don’t be turned off by a home that is filled with carpeting! Updating floors is an inexpensive update to a home you truly love. Plus, many homes will have beautiful hardwood floors beneath the carpeting in that room.
- Wallpaper. This decorating gem has made a comeback over the past couple years, and in many cases, when done right, can really accentuate a room. However, if the wallpaper isn’t your cup of tea, don’t sweat it! A good steam and elbow grease will have this off in no time; giving you a blank canvas to create the atmosphere you’re looking for.
- Bright and bold paint colors. Are you the type of individual who prefers a more neutral canvas for your walls? It’s a very easy change to make and refresh the home at the same time. Keep in mind that paint colors are personal choices of any homeowner, not something that needs to stay in place once the home is purchased.
- Bathroom or Kitchen hardware and sink styles. You walk into a home with your heart set on the new brass/black faucets and bowl sinks, but you find stainless steel and basins of yesteryear. Again, this isn’t a big problem. Swapping out faucet hardware and even upgrading your basins can be done very cost-effectively.
- Kitchen cabinet colors. Individual opinions vary deeply when it comes to a dream kitchen. If you’re looking at a home that has a great layout, island and lots of cabinets to suit your needs but they are in black and you’d like gray… not a big deal! There are plenty of interior decorating services that can spray and paint your existing cabinets to the color you desire; without totally remodeling the entire kitchen.
- Landscape. Curb appeal is critical whether you’re buying or selling a home, but again, each person has their own tastes as to what looks beautiful. If you’re seeing a yard that has lots of crazy bushes or too much maintenance, look at it as an opportunity to create your own backyard oasis. Simply axing a home because the yard and garden isn’t to you liking can cost you a great home.
Better to concentrate on the home’s more important aspects; How is the roof? Electrical? HVAC? Foundation? These are the non-negotiable parts of the home that need to be in great working order, or can cost you dearly. Cosmetics are just the choice of the homeowner and can be tailored to your own likes and needs.
