Professional Home Renovation Assessment – Making a Property More Marketable
People in the market for buying a home have different needs based on various factors. For instance, parents with young children have different concerns than a couple whose children are grown. Some homes are more child safe than others are.
There are home shoppers who are moving upward in age and they are concerned about the adaptability of the home to their changing needs. Consider someone with an elderly parent who lives with them and is confined to a wheelchair; a lot of steep rises and stairs isn’t going to accommodate them well.
Different Home Features for Varying Buyer Needs
There are many features of a home that are the main attraction and draw for some shoppers and the main detraction for others. It all depends on each specific buyer’s wants and needs.
It doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything wrong with the house itself; it just means that every house is not designed for every buyer.
While you can’t make a home perfect in the eyes of all potential buyers, you can address features that are a problem for the average homeowner, especially those that present dangers and/or safety issues. This is when some basic home remodeling might be in order.
Home Renovations to Rectify Property Problems
Some property issues need to be rectified regardless of the individual home buyer’s needs. That’s when home renovation becomes essential in order for the property to be made marketable and safe for home buyers.
A practical home buyer considers how well a home is designed, how well it flows, how it looks, how all the parts function together, and if any potential problem areas exist. The practical home buyer is the person you most want to please when marketing a property.
Safety Hazards Do Actually Exist – A Dysfunctional Stairway
A case in point, during a recent visit at a lake house rental property, it was obvious that whoever was responsible for the home’s interior did not know the proper stair codes or have knowledge of proper safety precautions necessary to construct safe stairways, not to mention acceptable safety standards in general.
Even though the house was quite nice in most areas overall, getting from the main floor of the home to the finished out basement area was the equivalent of taking your life into your hands. The builder had attempted to put the stairs in an area that wasn’t large enough.
In this case, the stairs were so very steep it was dangerous for anyone to attempt climbing or descending them, regardless of age or ability. At the top of the stairway, there was a hole in the floor intended to be the “stair access” with a shaky and barely attached handrail, and that was the only protection to keep a person from falling to the ground floor below. The handrail served literally no purpose whatsoever.
The stairs led to the finished basement area of the lake house. Just at the foot of the stairs, there was a door that led to the dock area where visitors could enjoy the lake. So, all throughout the summer season, children and adults alike entered through this door and up the stairs, many times with wet feet. I shuddered to think of the possibilities.
Safety Hazards Cause Accidents
As my wife and I were given a quick tour of the home by the owners before they left us to ourselves, we were led to the dysfunctional stairwell. Our small dog got ahead of us and unused to the premises, walked right through the handrail, knocking it aside, and fell landing about halfway down the stairs. The dog weighs less than 10 pounds, yet the “handrail” gave way without any hesitation.
My wife immediately walked onto the stairs which took an abrupt turn to the left, and her head was in contact with the ceiling while she had to crouch to try to reach the dog. She literally had to stoop to descend the stairs.
By this time, the dog had already bounced down those hard wooden stairs and sustained internal injuries. Fortunately he survived the accident.
This type of hazard is not only unsafe for everyone who enters the dwelling; it is also an invitation for a code violation and/or a serious lawsuit.
Can you imagine showing a property to a potential buyer where this type of problem existed? Even worse, can you imagine an accident taking place during the home showing?
A Home Should Be Sellable, Safe, and Functional
Every hazardous situation on stairways may not be as obvious as this one, but remember, a practical shopper is going to evaluate many features of the home, and every effort should be made to make the home sellable, safe, and functional.
There is a reason why building codes exist for stairways. A qualified home remodeling contractor has the knowledge and expertise not only to spot potential hazard issues such as those with stairways, but the ability to make whatever home renovations are necessary to bring the problem areas up to code, ensure the safety of the property, and make the features of the home sellable to the practical home buyer.
One simple thing such as a faulty stairway can be the deciding factor in whether a home sells to a prospective buyer or not.
Affordable Home Renovations Make a Marketable Difference
Many homes have features that can be modified to more acceptable standards without a great deal of expense. Sometimes it may as simple as adding a door to make a floor plan more accessible or adding a window to give a room more light.
It is important to assess a home and try to find every negative aspect of it before attempting to sell it for the market value it should receive. An experienced home remodeler can make this assessment for you and make recommendations of any home modifications that will make the property more marketable.
Promising a buyer that you will make renovations they ask for might help to make a sale, but if you address the obvious problem items beforehand, the potential buyer’s initial impression of the property will be a positive one, which is more apt to lead to a sale than if you leave the problems for them to find.
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