[ted07]

We are currently house shopping. As a matter of fact, I went out and saw six houses today. We already know that we will have to either replace carpets or clean them, and that we will probably have to paint.

If the condition of the house is just too damaged, dirty, and smelly, we won't even consider it. We don't have the time to fix it up

Some of the things we look for -- (besides bedrooms, sq. ft..)

-- walls -- cleanliness, color, and condition
Even though we know we can scrub the walls, if they're just too disgustingly dirty, it's a major turn off and hard to get past. We just want to be able to put a coat or two of paint without having to do any repairs

-- condition of all doors, baseboards and trim
if these are too damaged (splintered, holes, cracks) then we take into account how much we have to spend to replace them

-- cracks, chips & holes on walls & flooring
Carpetting that is too dirty/greasy tells us that repairs might be needed when replacing it. Tile and woodfloors with chips and cracks are taken into account.


-- smell
Pet odor (urine) or cigarette smell is very difficult to get rid of. We won't consider a house with these smells.

-- outdoor fencing
we look to see if it's leaning, broken, or if there are major holes

-- central air/heat
Our summers are very HOT so a/c is a must

-- condition of roof

-- condition of windows

-- plumbing & water heater (my hubby is a plumber, so this is a must)

-- foundation

-- trees
cracks in pavement caused by roots or roots sticking/bulging out in the yards. Roots are bad for plumbing!

-- wiring
any wiring hanging out and condition of sockets, etc
We are not paying too much attention if the home has upgrades. What we care about is if it's CLEAN and undamaged. We are realistic and know that we're not going to find a house in our price range that is in "like new" condition. But we've seen so many houses that are so filthy and damaged, it's difficult to imagine what it would be like fixed up. If people can't afford to paint, then scrubbing walls down goes a long way. Simple repairs, like replacing baseboards and trim also make a huge difference.

If the house is occupied, declutter, put the stuff in boxes in the garage or rent a storage unit. We look in closets and cabinets. If they're too full, it's hard to imagine if our stuff will fit in it. Too much stuff on the walls or counters also is distracting.