What do you look for when buying a 'used' house

[Wildcat]

I'm not talking about things an inspection would uncover, but other things. I'm thinking things like the condition of the carpet, age of appliances, paint color, grassless patches in the yard, etc. What things would either turn you off from making an offer or would make you offer less or ask for allowances? What would you let slide and just chalk up to "well, we are buying a used house, so we won't/can't ask for a discount/price decrease and just change it to our liking?" Do you/would you require that all nail holes be filled? Walls freshly painted even if it's a color you wouln't have chosen? Do you want the hardwood floors to be refinished or would you rather have an allowance so you can choose the color/gloss level? Do you want new carpet or an allowance so you can choose your own? Or, if everything is "good enough", like lived in, but not bad at all do you just let that stuff slide and now try to negotiate on those things?

Anything at all. Assume the floorplan is ideal for you and you are just deciding on an offer. Also assume the house is vacant/staged so the owners have moved out, meaning "what you see is it"... no more updates, retouches were planned in order to sell.

I've only ever bought two houses. The first we had no clue what we were doing and paid full asking price & repainted and carpeted once we were in there, and the second was new construction so this is all new to me. I'm just wondering what most people look for/how most people negotiate, and over what things?

[Ottakee]

Depends on the price and the market.   I bought a house knowing it would need a roof, hot water heater, flooring, and paint.  House was 20 years old but structurally great.  I offered full price immediately as the house fit my needs perfectly and it was priced very low compared to it's worth.

If the house was priced higher I might have asked for some allowances, etc.

 

[Arcadia]

Mold or chance of mold. If I walk into the house and my nose runs, and the house feels stuffy, that would be an absolute no.

Heating. Central heating preferred though we don’t use ours. No baseboard heating because my kids stuff too many matchbox cars in there when we rented so we consider that a safety hazard from childproofing point of view.

Fireplace. We don’t use ours but if a home we look at has a fireplace, we would be thinking about maintenance costs of an older (more than 30 years) fireplace.

My neighbor just sold her house and they recarpeted to the cheapest berber carpet before staging. We would have to do that too as our carpet is as worn out by kids as hers is.

[elegantlion]

Mold, agreed, I can smell it even if it's not visible. 

Closet space and if there are lights in the closets. 

# of outlets in a room

size and condition of electrical box. Is there room to expand, are things labeled correctly. 

Where is the main water shut off valve. Is it accessible in case of an issue

age and condition of heating and cooling units. Where are the vents in each room. 

Age of water heater - is there any rust around base. 

condition of outdoor areas of house - like the areas around a garage door and foundation - looking for water damage or other signs of rot. 

Light fixtures - do they match in quality in color somewhat. Not a deal-breaker, but I like my lighting to be similar throughout. Sometimes I will add to the budget. I hate it when some fixtures are really dated, but only one room is updated. 

Flow of the house. Is there a good way to arrange furniture in the living/dining areas. In one house we lived in there was so many entrances into the living room that it made furniture arrangement a hassle. 

Ample kitchen cabinet space, including pantry area. 

location of laundry room. I love having a laundry on the second floor. 

Windows - do they open, are they in good condition

outside lighting - are there motion sensor lights around house  - streetlights 

Ample parking for guests. For instance cul-de-sac homes can make having a lot of guests problematic for parking

We never asked for allowances because ex was a carpenter - we wanted to do our own thing, but that was also reflected in the price of houses we were looking at. The house my mom and I bought a few years ago was a similar thing, it was priced pretty much as/is, although move in condition. We did not ask for allowances for the few poorly dated items (like carpet) because we needed extra time for closing and really wanted this house. The owner waited nearly an extra 45 days for us to close. 

I moved into houses where we slowly worked to remodel to our taste, and I've had a house where we did all the work before moving in. Generally, unless it's major repair, I prefer to do it myself once we move. I don't trust those last minute type of remodels to be done completely up to my standards. A roof, yes, I'd want that done. 

[Donna]

My husband can fix most anything so cosmetic things don't concern us. We look for solid structure, foundation, safety (like electrical and plumbing) and big ticket items like the roof and chimney in decent condition. No mold or chance of mold.

We just purchased an older (1954) home and I was looking specifically for hardwood floors, larger rooms, one story, and the above mentioned items. We've repainted and put on gutters. Bathrooms are dated (late 1980-1990's) so will need remodeling eventually but fine for now. Kitchen is older but we love the solid cabinets and will only need to change floors and sink. 

[gardenmom5]

carpet, paint, and appliances are EASY to replace. (and most people will replace carpet and/or paint before they move in.)  I've found people tend to get too hung upon them.

general maintenance.  is it clean?  is stuff away from the foundation?. condition of grout. cabinetry.  things that cost more to fix/replace.  there was one house we looked at- immaculate condition, which boded well for any future surprises - but it was also last in style in the 1960s/1970s.

are there enough outlets - where are they?  ethernet ports (I have a family of geeks who don't use wireless. and whine about internet speed...)

[Katy]

I don't care about cosmetic stuff either, but IME many buyers do.  Women especially will have an emotionally positive reaction and you'll sell very quickly if you are the prettiest house in that price range. So look online at other houses with similar comps as you and aim for better but not done in such an expensive way that you have to raise the price.

Many people just want a move in ready house.

For us specifically we move every couple years (it's the nature of DH's job), and it's always a corporate relocation.  There are things we are specifically looking to avoid because if we're in an area and the bottom falls out of the housing market we want DH's company to purchase the house from us.   So we are looking for:

• No current safety hazards.  This surprisingly includes not just mold but things like broken bathroom fans.  Or fans that are vented into the attic instead of outside.
• No mold, flaking lead paint, or asbestos.  That might even include popcorn ceilings, I think it depends on the home inspector.
• No Chinese drywall
• No stucco or cement siding. They even recently updated this to include things like none of that cement board siding or cement faux stone siding that is EVERYWHERE on medium priced mcmansions that most families for DH's company lives in. I have heard no explanation as to why, but I haven't googled it either.
• safe stair, balcony, and deck railings that small dogs or children are not going to fall through.

Ideally I would like to see:

• medium brown tone satin finish floors (they hide dirt best), I think most buyers prefer a walnut brown shade that has no red undertones and is more timeless than gray tones
• Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter or Light Pewter walls, no wallpaper.  Though this may be transitioning to a more white-on-white trend in the next 5 years.
• White or Ivory interior trim (I prefer BM White Opulence or an ivory shade that I can't think of off the top of my head but if you tag me or reply to this or PM me I'll track it down for you).
• Matte black metal work throughout the house with handles that are easy for a disabled person to use (one handle bathroom and kitchen faucets, lever door nobs)
• Carerra marble, a similar engineered quartz, honed or leather finish black granite, slate, or soapstone counters
• Any real exposed stone is pretty.  For example, in some areas there are stone fireplaces that are in an ugly brown and white stone that hasn't been popular since the 1970's.  This type of thing can be made pretty by whitewashing (or cream washing) with thinned down chalk paint so you can still see that it's real rock but the jarring colors are toned down to something more soothing and subtle.

Keep in mind that unless you're starting with something you inherited or a foreclosure you got for cheap it is unlikely that there is the budget I just listed above to do everything I think is ideal.

[lmrich]

I can fix up cosmetic stuff. Our house (that we are leaving soon) was so ugly. But had a great floorplan. I do not want to alter a floorplan. 

I would not ask the seller to fix a home to my liking. I would rather do it myself.

However, when selling my home and, to be honest, while looking at homes, I really noticed that homes that were updated or homes that looked really nice gave me a great feeling. A home that was dirty or in disarray, made me think that perhaps they did not keep up with important stuff for the home. If the yard is full of weeds, what does that say about the homeowners? Maybe nothing, but it does give me pause. 

[Liz CA]

We just bought a place in the ideal location, size and layout knowing we would have to completely repaint and put in new flooring. The roof will be next - all worth it to us since we do the work ourselves or with  friends.

If it was just me purchasing and I know I cannot fix half the stuff dh can fix, I would look for something that doesn't need any work and is move-in ready.

Main points are structure, location, potential insurance costs (flood / fire zone) and HVAC / water heater. Water heaters can be replaced, HVAC is considerably more expensive and the work more involved.

[kiwik]

When I bought I chose between the two places available in my price range that had more than one bedroom.  I did check the roof, electrics and plumbing but nothing else came into it.

[DawnM]

I look at the cosmetics and upgrades.

I will ALWAYS find DH wandering around the outside of the house for a long time looking at the age of the HVAC system, inspecting the age of the roof and gutter system, looking at the siding (brick, stucco, etc...) and seeing if there is any water damage or cracking, and inspecting the garage and basement for water damage or re-painted areas.

 

[Carrie12345]

It completely depends on the market.  For me, I want land. I would absolutely consider a total gut for the right land, assuming a fair price (which can be different from a cheap price.)

You can ask for more in a hot buyer’s market than you can in a hot seller’s market. If someone else will pay more for less, futzing with details will lose you the house. If nothing’s moving, you can throw a list of a thousand things and see what sticks.  In between that, you’d need to prioritize.

My husband is a mold expert, so that wouldn’t necessarily be a deal breaker for me. However, if I needed a quick close and move, well, we just wouldn’t have the time to deal with that.  On the other hand, I don’t mind replacing appliances one bit, so I’d only be focused on the sizes that would fit.  I like a ginormous fridge. If a ginormous fridge can’t fit in the kitchen layout, that’d be a problem for me.

Where I am, prices (with or without stipulations) are highly negotiable. Which is why I can’t list my own house yet, lol. I don’t have the financial flexibility to negotiate right now.

[catz]

Both my DH and I have been through several houses.  On our own and together.  It really depends on the market, the age of the house, the neighborhood.  I will say, inspection is a requirement.  If the inspection is reasonable and the price is reasonable for what is there, then we're in business. We've had houses at a better price point that needed some work.  We've bought houses that didn't need work that were a bit higher.  It just depends what your budget is and if you want something you can just move into without touching anything for a number of years.  Even if never houses, you just never know.  We lived in a brand new house for 5 years and had to do a shocking number of odd things.  

[Lady Florida.]

We assume we're going to replace the carpet and paint but I'd like it to at least be livable until we can do that. That said, we bought our current house knowing we would completely renovate. The first thing we did was remove the disgusting carpet (we stayed with my mom for a week after closing). I expect an inspection to cover most of what I need to know. Beyond that I'd look for the kitchen layout as well as overall house layout. The kitchen needs to have good counter top space and plenty of cabinets. 

We're doing the minimum to fix this house and will probably take a hit for the things we don't intend to replace. We have sod being installed in the front yard and part of the back to give it some curb appeal. We'll paint the walls a neutral color. That's pretty much it. At some point as either a buyer or seller you have to draw a line and decide "We won't do anything other than this." or "We won't buy unless this." 

 

13 hours ago, Katy said:

 

• No stucco or cement siding. They even recently updated this to include things like none of that cement board siding or cement faux stone siding that is EVERYWHERE on medium priced mcmansions that most families for DH's company lives in. I have heard no explanation as to why, but I haven't googled it either.

 

I'm curious, why no stucco? You'd have a time of it trying to find a house in Central or South Florida. Stucco is the standard here. 

[TheReader]

When we were selling our house, we did have to paint all the rooms back to the current preferred neutral color, even though we'd been in the house only a year and had painted when we moved in (because we'd painted *colors* everywhere). 

We had to replace the roof, not just give an allowance for the roof; this was largely due to age, I think some lenders can refuse to lend based on age of the roof (even if the roof is technically in perfectly good shape).  

We'd recently replaced the flooring in the main living area(s), and steam cleaned the carpets; they showed their age, I'm sure, but otherwise we had them looking as good as possible. We weren't asked to add an allowance for flooring or anything, though that is definitely common in our area. Certainly it's something that, if two houses in a similar area, similar size, similar price, but one has older carpet and such, it's going to get a lower offer to accommodate for that. 

When we've house hunted, once we're to the point of "make an offer" we would factor in first anything the inspection found, and ask that to be taken care of, then we'd I guess "discount" the offer based on how that home compares to the other homes we've looked at (this assuming we're looking in one area, similar floorplans, sizes, price range, etc.). Obviously there's something about this house we love more than the others, that's why we're making the offer, but is the carpet older, are the appliances mismatched that are staying, are we seeing a lot of dollar signs looming to transform this house from its current state to our preferred state. We'd sort of mentally add that up and subtract it from the price in order to make our offer. 

Now, that's in a normal market; we've shopped in markets where between the time the realtor pulled the listing for you to look at, and you actually went to see it, there may already be an offer on the table for it, and probably at asking price or above. That's the stress that drove us to build instead, so.....

 

[Katy]

8 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I'm curious, why no stucco? You'd have a time of it trying to find a house in Central or South Florida. Stucco is the standard here. 

 

No idea, but many fortune-500 companies use the same corporate relocation company.  Maybe they found it's expensive to repair or it transfers too much moisture and can lead to interior mold or something. Adding no fake stone siding has put a big damper in our ability to buy a newer home in the midwest, and the package is structured in a way that you're forced to buy a newer home.

[nathandev]

A few things you should look before buying a "used" house, How many viewings has it had, Also search online the house with more reviews? How many offers has it had(Not in every house case I think)? How long has it been on the market(if it's been a month ago negotiate on your terms they'll probably accept your offer)? Check the electrical and gas installation,  Have there been any neighbor disputes? I would prefer to look up for these questions. 

[73349]

Besides what the inspector would find--

No wallpaper. It's one thing to get a room painted; dealing with wallpaper removal is too much trouble. (Which is why my kitchen has not gotten an update since we bought it 14 years ago: wallpaper, flooring and countertops all need to go). And I never like wallpaper enough to be satisfied to leave it alone.

I'd rather not pay for two homes while replacing carpet, and it's a pain to do after moving in. All hard floors would be preferable, but again, not needing me to have it taken care of before I move in, even if the finish isn't the perfect shade.

A perfect-looking lawn is a red flag for me: Is this too high-maintenance? Are we going to have to water it, spread chemicals, etc., to keep it from dying? Let me see a little clover out there so I know my weekend does not belong to yard work.

[kiwik]

4 hours ago, Katy said:

 

No idea, but many fortune-500 companies use the same corporate relocation company.  Maybe they found it's expensive to repair or it transfers too much moisture and can lead to interior mold or something. Adding no fake stone siding has put a big damper in our ability to buy a newer home in the midwest, and the package is structured in a way that you're forced to buy a newer home.

In NZ there was a problem with leaking in houses which mainly occurred in stucco houses build in the 90's.  Because of that stucco is treated with suspicion and can be an insurance issue.  My 1970's place with some stucco seems to not trouble them much though.  Maybe the same problems occurred over there 

[Lady Florida.]

14 hours ago, Katy said:

 

.  Maybe they found it's expensive to repair or it transfers too much moisture and can lead to interior mold or something. Adding no fake stone siding has put a big damper in our ability to buy a newer home in the midwest, and the package is structured in a way that you're forced to buy a newer home.

 

14 hours ago, Patty Joanna said:

 

Stucco is great for certain climates, terrible for others.  In the NW, unless it is properly installed, rain gets behind it and it never dries so you get mold IN your walls.  

I read something in an architecture magazine a number of years ago that it is generally a good idea to build the house with the most "native" materials.  They are there for a reason.  I grew up in Colorado and that meant rock or brick, not wood (it's dry there and you end up painting alllll the time).  So we moved to the NW and I thought "gotta get a brick house" but it turns out that brick is not so great here, as in the little tremblers, it gets fractured...you actually pay more for your insurance for a brick house, here.  But in the SW, I would totally do a *real* stucco house or adobe...but not here in the NW. 

 

9 hours ago, kiwik said:

In NZ there was a problem with leaking in houses which mainly occurred in stucco houses build in the 90's.  Because of that stucco is treated with suspicion and can be an insurance issue.  My 1970's place with some stucco seems to not trouble them much though.  Maybe the same problems occurred over there 

Okay, I'm thinking most of your houses are wood frame? That would make sense then to not want stucco. We do have some stucco over wood houses but stucco over block is better. Other types of siding are more of a problem here. Also, since stucco is breathable that makes it desirable in this climate. We build our houses to keep heat out not in. 

We occasionally hear of a builder getting sued or fined for not applying stucco properly and the homes end up with mold and leaks, but when it's properly (which is the majority of the time) applied it does well here. 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Lady Florida.

[Wildcat]

On 5/24/2019 at 7:03 PM, Katy said:

I don't care about cosmetic stuff either, but IME many buyers do.  Women especially will have an emotionally positive reaction and you'll sell very quickly if you are the prettiest house in that price range. So look online at other houses with similar comps as you and aim for better but not done in such an expensive way that you have to raise the price.

Many people just want a move in ready house

This is my fear for us selling our house. I'm wrestling with "fix it to new or leave". I'd rather "leave" so the new owners can choose what they want, but it might be to our benefit to fix and then list. I will be at the mercy of the realtor(s) we interview when the time comes, I guess. The paint is already neutral, but it's the flooring that I'm thinking about. The house will be move-in ready and super clean because I'm sort of OCD about having it as 'new' as possible -- we will have already vacated before we list, so any imperfections will be readily visible. I already have the upstairs all done --- fully repainted, all walls empty and nail holes filled, etc. It's just the darn flooring.... if I knew the new owners would want to keep the carpet in the bedrooms, I'd just have new stuff put in, but if * I * was the buyer, I would want wood to match the rest, and in that case, the whole wood floor would need a buffing, and possibly sanding/staining in one room where a large rug slightly discolored the floor. And this is a large house. Ugh.

Ladies, thanks so much for the replies. It's helpful to see what others look for. I'm like most of you in that cosmetic stuff doesn't bother me and any house we buy will have a professional inspection done. Some things you all look for are interesting and I wouldn't have thought of, so I've made some notes. 🙂

I fear that I will be obsessing about my current house until it's time to get a realtor to give an opinion.

 

[JustEm]

When we sold our house last April I knew the carpet upstairs needed to be torn up and considered replacing it with the flooring downstairs to match instead of doing new carpet.  My realtor told me that in our market most buyers still want carpet in the bedrooms so I followed her advice, even though as a buyer I would prefer no carpet.  So, I really think you should ask realtors who know the market and what people want.  To me the idea that anyone would want carpet anywhere seems so odd, but my realtor showed me feedback she got from a different house she had listed and the number one complaint for this move in ready house was that there was no carpet in the bedrooms.

[cjzimmer1]

2 hours ago, hjffkj said:

  To me the idea that anyone would want carpet anywhere seems so odd, but my realtor showed me feedback she got from a different house she had listed and the number one complaint for this move in ready house was that there was no carpet in the bedrooms.

I'm the complete opposite, I can't imagine why anyone would want hardwood or tile, it's cold and so uncomfortable to stand on.  Also all the homes filled with neutral toned everything drive my bonkers.  Give me color, any color please! Anyways the color/flooring issues was the number one reason we chose to build 20 years ago. I wasn't going to live with tan, beige, cream, off white anything for even one day.  We are redoing a lot of stuff in the house because it's simply warn out. The "designers" keep telling me to make everything match as much as possible, neutral tones, etc. I've learned to just ignore all of them because I will never be happy with their suggestions and we are doing this for us not for resale so I'm going to enjoy how things look. If I ever want to resell, I'll have to hope there is someone else with non traditional ideas of how to decorate or I'll have to move out first. But I've got blue, green, and pink rooms (with more than one room in each color but different shades of each) and it just makes me happy to have lots of color.

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, cjzimmer1 said:

I'm the complete opposite, I can't imagine why anyone would want hardwood or tile, it's cold and so uncomfortable to stand on.  Also all the homes filled with neutral toned everything drive my bonkers.  Give me color, any color please! Anyways the color/flooring issues was the number one reason we chose to build 20 years ago. I wasn't going to live with tan, beige, cream, off white anything for even one day.  We are redoing a lot of stuff in the house because it's simply warn out. The "designers" keep telling me to make everything match as much as possible, neutral tones, etc. I've learned to just ignore all of them because I will never be happy with their suggestions and we are doing this for us not for resale so I'm going to enjoy how things look. If I ever want to resell, I'll have to hope there is someone else with non traditional ideas of how to decorate or I'll have to move out first. But I've got blue, green, and pink rooms (with more than one room in each color but different shades of each) and it just makes me happy to have lots of color.

 

Oh I hated all the neutral color walls in all the houses I walked through.  And I hated painting my walls neutral when we were getting ready to sell.  All that grey was so boring and ugly.  But it got the darn house to sell super fast.

The house we bought has the right ratio of neutral colored walls to colorful walls for me.  Just enough to not feel the need to paint anything to feel happy in the house.

[BlsdMama]

Depends on the perspective.

As the seller, I'd consider changing out floors (if very worn) and adding closet organizers and update light fixtures.  If DIY, consider anything old/worn/nasty in the bathrooms.  First thing we replaced?  Four toilets in the first week we lived here.  The shower/tubs really need to be replaced as well.  I'd paint neutral if I was motivated to sell quickly.

If a buyer, I'd be all about the heating/AC.  When we moved in here, we knew everything was 20 years old.  Five years later, we've HAD to replace the well pump, the water heater, the bladder, the washer/dryer, fridge, oven, garbage disposal, dishwasher, all four potties and all flooring in main living areas.  Knowing what I know now?  I'd have to think long and hard about buying a house with a 20 year old furnace and A/C and I'd ask that replacements be done contingent on sale.  I'd even raise my offer to get it tossed in.

I would not consider a house with mold issues or a wet basement even if it was perfect in every other way.