Before you Make an Offer--3 Things a Buyer Should Examine About a Home

1) Views

When considering making an offer on a home, one must be very careful when it
comes to views. Views, beautiful as they may be, are often seductive and can
influence the buyer to overlook serious, costly problems a potential home may
have. Furthermore, a buyer should beware of overvaluing the view. A beautiful
view today may just be a view of your neighbor's bathroom in a year. Be sure
to investigate local legal regulations regarding new construction in the area,
the height to which homes can be built, the restrictions you may have in
altering the view as a homeowner and whether pre-existing homes can add second
or third floors. Your due diligence will pay off in at least assuring you that
you will be able to enjoy the view you paid so much for and allow you to regain
it's value at resale.

2) Landscaping

When visualizing a house with your landscaping and improvement ideas, the first
thing to consider is whether you will be allowed to make the changes that suit
your tastes. Many houses these days are built within developments and that
means rules and regulations by the score that govern exterior changes. Many
developments have strict rules regarding landscaping and any additions to
properties such as hot tubs, decks and similar exterior improvements. Most of
these rules tend to be very restrictive and potentially would disallow the very
improvements you might be considering. Before you rush off to make an offer
on a property, make absolutely sure you understand what you can and cannot
change about the property.

3) Open Land or an Empty Lot

Too many prospective buyers, especially those with pets and children, tend to
look at empty land adjacent to their lot as an added plus when buying a
property. In their minds eye, they may see their children playing baseball
after school on lazy, summer evenings and these visualizations cloud their
ability to see the potential problem about an empty lot. If there are vacant
lots of land around a property you are considering buying, you must investigate
them. You will want to find out what the future plans for those lots are? Are
they zoned only for residential use or is commercial zoning available?
You may find yourself seriously regretting your purchase if you find out after
the fact that they are approved for commercial use. Before you make the offer
on such a property, you need to investigate the matter and give some serious
thought as to whether the property will suit you. How will you feel about
living next to a business area? How much traffic will it add to your
neighborhood? How much noise pollution will there be? What will the commercial
development do to the value of the home? These are all questions you must
consider before buying the property.

If you have assessed the property in light of the items mentioned above and
have found that you are still satisfied with the home, than you are in the
clear to begin to prepare your offer and if your offer is accepted, your due
diligence will pay off and contribute to your "pride of ownership" and
enjoyment of your home for years to come.

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About the Author:
Nef Cortez has been a licensed real estate broker and has held various positions in the real estate and mortgage industry for over 25 years. If you would like to read more of Nef's pithy and timely advice (with the latest info on local foreclosures), visit his website at Diamond Bar CA Real Estate (www.nefcortez.com)