How to See Hidden Potential When House Shopping

By looking for the hidden potential in homes, you may be able to find a property that’s worth more than the asking price. This can help you gain a better property than you had hoped for without needing to exceed your budget. Plus, there’s a good chance that you can significantly increase the resale value. In particular, there are a few characteristics that indicate hidden potential.

1. Poor Curb Appeal

First impressions matter. If a home has an ugly exterior, the seller may be struggling to find interested buyers — many won’t even bother to pay the home a visit and just assume the interior is in disrepair. By considering the house objectively, you can determine if the problems are too expensive (or perhaps impossible) to solve, or if they just require some minor fixes. For instance, damage to the roof could be costly to repair, but a rundown yard with an overgrown lawn and rotten fencing could be easy to rectify.

2. Dark Spaces

Another characteristic that’s immediately off-putting to prospective buyers is a home that feels gloomy. A lack of windows, dark-coloured walls, and insufficient artificial lighting can all contribute to this. Consider if there’s any chance you could install more windows or expand the current ones to allow more light into the space. Alternatively, you may be able to brighten up rooms by using lamps and painting the walls a color that better reflects light.

3. Interior Design Faux Pas

Outdated decor can lead homebuyers to feel that the property is too old, which makes it difficult for them to imagine living in the home. If you can look past this, you may be able to find a good deal on a home. After all, you can paint over colors that have long been out of fashion, remove dated wallpaper, replace low-quality paneling, and change carpet or vinyl flooring for hardwood or ceramic.

4. Small Rooms

It may seem like there’s no remedy for rooms that are too small. However, it’s often possible to knock down walls to create an open floor plan or to turn two bedrooms into one.

Before you even start house shopping, you need to know how much you can receive in a mortgage. Receiving pre-approval will allow you to make an offer as soon as you find the home you want. Talk to a Sherwood Park mortgage broker about pre-approval by contacting Flare Mortgage Group.