Home Sellers Only Show You What They Want You To See
When house shopping it is important to realize that home owners only show you what they want you to see of their homes in their ads. That is, they make sure to show you the houses pluses, but fail to show you any detractors the home may have.
My wife and I used the Internet to look at dozens of houses, if not hundreds, over the last 6 months. During this time there have been numerous occasions where the owner of the home intentionally left out critical information on a home. Information that if disclosed would surely have turn us off as house buyers.
Here are some examples of things that were hidden or lied about:
- Unfinished basements were included in the square footage of the house. Giving the impression that the house was larger that it really was.
- A mobile home graveyard was across the street from one property.
- A wet weather creek ran right behind one home, which put it in danger of flooding every time in rained.
- Wide angle lenses were used for the pictures taken of the houses. This gave the appearance of larger rooms.
- A roof was described as a “Newer Roof” when it had been re-shingled 3 times. A roof can be re-shingled a maximum of 3 times before it has to be totally redone.
- Poor patch jobs of “fist size” holes in the walls was not disclosed in the ad. The house was described as being well taken care of.
- Pictures were carefully taken to give the appearance that a kitchen had an attached dining area. When in fact the dining area was squeezed into the kitchen.
The list goes on and on. It is essential that you think about what you see in the pictures of the property ad that you are looking at. Looking for items that are in multiple pictures can help you gauge the true size of rooms. Taking a tape measure and looking at the room dimensions in your home will also give you an idea of how large the rooms actually are.
Being skeptical of what you are being told in the ads will help you make a more informed choice about what properties you choose to look into further. If you don’t, you will waste valuable time pursing properties that you could have eliminated from your search by digging into them a little.
Don’t just take what you are told as the truth. The owners will be putting their home in the best possible light. You need to be looking out for what the property really is like.
Written by admin on September 12th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Myquo.com.