The Home Purchase

What are the most important aspects of a home?

Whether you are new to real estate or you have bought and sold over twenty times, the one aspect constantly quoted as being most important with regard to property value and resale is location.  Many times I have heard it said that the three most important factors in a property are location, location and location.  Location is important.  There is no denying that fact.  

However, my first employer a Member of the Appraisal Institute, once sat me down to explain a simple premise.   He asked me if there was an area in our community where no one lived.  Did I know of an area where it was void of development?  I answered no to both questions.  He continued to explain that we as people have complex and different taste based on our lifestyle, heritage and family.  He made simple illustrations by describing people we both knew.  Were they happy in their homes? Yes.  Did they all live in the same neighborhood? No.  He followed by demanding I keep my personal opinions at bay when preparing property appraisal valuations because he stated “One person’s Trash is another person’s Treasure”.  In retrospect, I’m not sure trash was the correct noun to use, but I understood its purpose was to over emphasize the point he was making.  From that day forward, I began to look at location in a completely different light.  Location is an extremely important factor in property selection, and its value is primarily determined by the needs and desires of the individual property owner.

Almost twenty years and hundreds of buyers and sellers later, his lesson still holds true, and I have learned there are other aspects of equal importance as location with regard to value and resale.  Several such aspects must allow for the same consideration as location, while others factors are almost universal.  When selling a property, specifically a residence, clean and well maintained are two conditions that are virtually universal.  Never have I had a client looking for their future primary residence request for me to locate a dirty home in need of major repairs.   I have experienced many clients turn and run away from a showing because the home was filthy and poorly maintained.  Structurally sound is another universal aspect.  How many of us want a home that might fall down on our heads while we are sleeping.  I would condition these statements by removing investment purchasers from consideration, and focus this discussion on the intent and desires concerning primary residences.

I have broached the subject of location.  I have identified a couple of simple yet universal conditions of importance concerning value and resale of primary residences, and I’m intentionally omitting a discussion about price because it essentially depends on the willingness of both the buyer and the seller.  So now, I want to bring attention to what I consider to be truly one of the most important factors regarding single family residences and their respective value and resale ability.  Have you ever toured a home, and concluded that you just did not like the house?  But, the reason why escaped you.  I have been in that situation many times.  The home was in a favorable location.  It met all the client’s needs with regard to amenities.  It was clean and well maintained.  It was structurally sound.  I’m thinking this is exactly what you wanted, so why are you not wanting to make an offer.  My client could not explain the reason for their lack of interest in the property any more than to say “it just doesn’t feel right”.  I would guess other Realtors have hit this wall just as I have, and the lack of understanding and frustration is difficult to bear.

Then came the epiphany.  I was showing a new client with refined taste.  This was not their first home purchase as a matter of fact, it wasn’t even their tenth.  Sometimes as a Realtor, you find yourself simply as a glorified door opener when your client has equal or greater experience than you, and they maintain the advantage of having a better understanding of exactly what they are looking for in a home.  As I unlocked the residence to allow entrance and proceeded to turn on all the lights and open all the blinds, I closely studied my client’s process of touring and evaluating the property.  I made mental notes of their comments whether positive or negative. 

Most were typical until the tour had concluded, and she asked if we could sit for a while to get a feel for the comfort of the home.  We sat down in the living room in an uncomfortable silence, at least, is was for me.  She glanced around the home, and looked at her husband, when she said “this home has an excellent flow”.  He nodded in agreement, and I took this conversation as a very positive sign.  We later left the house, and returned to the office to draw up an offer.  It eventually culminated in a closed transaction.  

At a later date, I took my clients to lunch, and we discussed how they were enjoying their new home.  During the conversation, she again directed her appreciation of the house with regard to the flow.  This time she began to explain the value of the floor plan of a home, and how it related to the flow of a family’s lifestyle.  She would point out aspects of the home she considered brilliant with regard to the floor plan design. I began to think of other homes,  homes where buyers did not like or purchase due to reasons they could not explain.  She discussed the different desires of families with children and how they changed according to the ages of the children. Sometimes that meant all of the bedrooms being located closely together, or having the master and additional bedrooms being located at separate ends of the home.  She spoke of half or guest bathrooms, their location, and their need to provide privacy.  She spoke about kitchens, and the changing trends of who is the cook of the family.  She discussed bathrooms and closets, and how they are effected by humidity when located to closely to one another.  She covered doorways, pantries, utility rooms, and he interrupted to mention garages with work space.  Her face lit up when she mentioned windows and natural light.  

By the end of lunch, I felt like I had just received a Master’s Degree in Residential Home Design.  From that day forward, I never approached showing a home the same way again.  Even if we are not cognizant of the fact, the flow of a home directly influences our opinion whether positive or negative.

written by Bill Barkley