It’s one of our biggest investments and some of us are doing it more than once during our life. Like many things in our life that have changed dramatically, so did our habitation practices. Most of us don’t stay in one house for the full duration of our lives as it used to be for many people in previous generations. Our modern dynamic life style and economy, calls for flexibility, mobility and frequent changes.
People are following their jobs and careers even if it means moving from one side of the nation to the other. This tendency is in line with our culture of consuming society. We replace everything faster, we treat cloths, cars (some just lease), refrigerators and our dwellings like fashion items with short longevity. When we decide to buy a house we need to think in terms of sort to medium range periods of time and that should bring us to consider the resale value of our home in the future. Buying a home with good resale value might take a little longer, and it might take a bit more work on your part, but you’ll love the payback later, when it sells quickly and puts extra money in your bank account.
The first consideration should be your family needs but it’s cleaver to keep an open mind about what might suite future buyers as well. The most important three factors are: location, location and location…
Indeed, it’s first thing to consider when looking for a home. So, what makes a good location? There are some general elements which are obvious like:
- Does the neighborhood have easy and fast access to the schools, shopping centers and country club.
- It’s wise to pick a house that is located relatively elevated above the area, that can provide two advantages: a flow of good air and a nicer view.
- How many neighbors are adjacent to you and/or across you in proximity, off course the less the better.
- A house located at the end of the street will suffer less noises from the neighbors and their guests. If the street is a dead end it’s even better. A corner house may have more light and air.
- The positioning of the house towards the north if it’s a warm area as opposed to the south in cold areas. In general, a rule of thumb and this one is general and found right to many locations around the world, as strange as it may sound, the northern neighborhoods are usually more desirable than the southern ones exactly as the western ones are more prestigious than the eastern ones.
- The size of the lot, its shape and the square footage of the house itself. If the majority of buyers in your area are young families with children, consider a house with a large yard that’s not fronted by a busy street.
– There are many other environmental aspects to consider with respect to personal preference like a green agricultural area vs. urban area, quality of schools and other social services and facilities. In addition to these external considerations there are many important internal elements that can make a house quality higher and buyers are always looking for, such as:
- Closets, lots of closets and with as much additional storage space as possible.
– Light and bright
– Homes with lots of natural lighting are very popular.
- Split bedroom plans, with bedrooms on each end of the home, are increasingly popular with buyers.
- If you live in a scenic area, having a view can help you sell.
- Plenty of bedrooms, baths and Rest rooms.
- Large and convenient kitchen with as many cabinets and cooking space as possible.
- The tendency to work from home calls for a suitable room to be set as a home office.
- Laundry and dryer machines located at the same level as the bedrooms.
- A spacious basement is a plus.