Home Exterior Considerations To Make Before You Buy

Brent Palmer
Published on May 29, 2016

Home Exterior Considerations To Make Before You Buy

When you’re house hunting it’s very easy to focus in on certain attributes of a house that you find appealing. Unfortunately when you narrow your focus in on the things that are perfect about the house, you’ll often overlook some important things in the process. Make sure you thoroughly examine the exterior of your “dream home” before you go through with your purchase. Here I’ll be giving you a specific list of key elements to examine while inspecting your potential home’s exterior. None of these issues have to be a home buying deal breaker, but the seller should be willing to help you resolve anything listed below before you sign on the dotted line and finalize your purchase.

Trees

Does the property have any trees? Trees can add to the overall beauty of the home but they can also create problems for your foundation if they get to be too big. So be sure to examine how close these trees are to your homes foundation. Also if the tree already has well established roots within the home’s foundation, there can be a drop in your foundation if those roots are removed. Before pruning or carrying out development within the root zone of a Heritage Protected tree in the Nelson region, you will need to contact either the Nelson City Council or the Tasman District Council. You will be given relevant advice and granted approval if appropriate. For tree removal or major pruning works you will have to apply to the council for resource consent. In some circumstances, the council may waive the consent fees.  While most owners value their listed trees the council does receive complaints about poor management of trees from time to time. If you breach the council rules you could receive an infringement fine, or for serious breaches be taken to the Environmental Court. And if there are any trees on the property that are large enough to encounter the roof of the house then consider inspecting the roof as well. The roof can often be overlooked when potential buyers examine the exterior of the property.

Foundation

Many buyers come across cracked concrete and think nothing of it. However, a crack in the concrete can allow for moisture to penetrate your foundation. If you live somewhere with very cold winters this can pose a very significant problem for you financially. It’s certainly advisable that if you find significant cracks in the foundation that you negotiate a repair cost with the seller. I can aid in the negotiations with the vendor on your behalf.

Pool

Pools are always big selling points, but just because you’ve always wanted a pool doesn’t mean you should forget to inspect it carefully. Pools obviously come with a significant amount of upkeep and sellers can easily neglect that upkeep. So inquire about the age of the pool itself and the equipment that comes with it. It may also be worth asking about any resurfacing.

If you encounter a problem

One or two problems with the exterior doesn’t have to break the deal. If an agreement can be reached with the vendor prior to signing the Sales and Purchase Agreement that solves the issue at hand then by all means proceed with purchasing the house. If you can’t find an affordable solution to it however, consider passing on the house. Have an in-depth inspection of the property done, and talk these through with me before submitting an offer to the vendor. In most instances the exterior issues you encounter can easily be fixed and the deal can proceed. Just don’t allow the big selling points of your possible dream home distract you from exterior issues that the seller is responsible for. Consult me if you’re not sure which issues the seller should be responsible for handling, once your inspection is complete.

About the Author: The above article on Home Exterior Considerations To Make Before You Buy was written and provided by Brent Palmer, a local leader in the field of Richmond and Nelson Real Estate sales, marketing, advanced technology for home selling, and social media.

You can contact Brent Palmer here, or at 027 544 9921. He has helped many people buy and sell homes in the Nelson, Stoke and Richmond areas for years, and would love the opportunity to help you as well.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a real passion for helping people sell their homes in our Nelson and Tasman Region, as well as the marketing, social media & advanced technology for home selling that goes along with it. I’d love to have the opportunity to sit down with you discuss how we can work together to get you the best price.

I help people buy and sell real estate in the following Nelson and Tasman  towns  & neighbourhoods: Wakefield, Brightwater, Hope, Appleby, Redwood Valley, Mapua, Stoke, Tahunanui, Atawhai and of course, Richmond and Nelson City.

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