Buying a house is a huge investment in which you pour every penny that you ever earned. Taking your needs into consideration is indeed a wise thing to do. But is that all you want to consider when buying a home?
What if you have to move and sell the house in future? Does it grow in value over a period of time and earn you the benefits of real estate appreciation?
Considering resale value of the property you’re buying is of utmost importance. One fine day when you plan to sell your house it must not so happen that you have no buyers or you have to let it go for the same price you once bought years ago. Below is the list of features you must consider before buying a house that drastically brings its resale value up (Jun 13, 2015).
1. Location-The peculiarity of a good location is that people want to reside in a place that’s convenient yet away from a high-traffic or commercial area. Home-buyers look for convenience in the form of easy access to public transport, schools, colleges, hospitals, shopping centers, etc. Another factor to consider is the current rate of development with additions such as shopping malls, grocery stores, or any commercial development, around the area that might put the locality in demand going forward.
2. Size and shape of the plot- The shape and size of the ploton which the house is built matters a lot. A plot must with irregular shape like triangle or plot with odd number of corners might not be appealing for buyers. Square shaped plots or rectangles are the best when it comes to finding a good resale value. People are sometimes finicky over vastu in India so looking for vastu compliance in the plot is good any day. For example,the direction of road and facing of the entrance gate is significantly checked, 5-cornered plot is not considered auspicious, etc.
3. Buyers in the locality- If the potential buyers in the area are a blend of age groups and a nice mix of status or is it attracting certain age group like young couples with kids or newly married or senior citizens? Gauging this will allow you to evaluate the locality and its suitability for any particular bracket of buyers. Newly wedded tend to buy a house that is small and under budget, young couples would like to buy a place which is convenient and close to schools/colleges, senior citizens again might be looking to invest the amount gained after retirement and for them hospital around is a must.
4. House Layout – The design of the house does matter and adds up to the house appraisal at the time of selling. The location of the bedrooms must be convenient and ideally kids room must be close to master bedroom and guest room must be situated away. In case of multi level houses at least one bedroom and bathroom is necessary in the first level. Attached bathrooms are almost a norm for any buyers so the house should have at the least an attach bathroom for the master bedroom. Kitchen should ideally be located in the first level and next to dining room for convenience. Open-concept design for kitchen appeals more, as it looks more spacious over boxed space that sometimes feels suffocating. Thus, get a house with convenient and effective layout as a good plan never goes out of demand.
5. Avoid outdated features- Yes, future is unpredictable, but if you’re already buying something that is considered outdated at present then it just can’t appeal to the buyers in future. Houses without attached baths can be hard to sell while bedrooms with wooden flooring are hot hence can be appealing even after few years from now. Consider interiors and their value proportions in the present conditions. But if you plan to remodel and revamp the house then you may just have to worry about the additional costs.
6. Storage space- It is 21st century and people are on the shopping spree for no reasons. Too much stuff and no space to store can become a bottleneck to sell your property. Look for ample storage in bedrooms, kitchen, and every possible place in the house including underground storage if possible.
7. Quality of materials used for construction- Goes without saying, but most people tend to buy a house based on the convenience and interiors. Whereas it is extremely important to make sure the materials used for construction are of standard quality. What is the use if the construction quality deteriorates sooner than you thought it would? And also look for materials complied with latest technology of its time. For example, sustainable building concept is catching up and hence it makes sense to see if some of the materials used are Eco-friendly.
8. The appeal- Yeah this is important. Any building’s architectural appeal is its strongest point in holding the attention of a potential buyer. The exteriors of the house, the type of roofing done the landscape of the house, etc. everything matters. Once you buy the house there is definitely scope for improvement like painting, adding façade to the walls or replacing the roof with clay tiles, but some of the things cannot actually be undone or require huge investment to remodel.
The idea of selling a house that you don’t even own still, looks crazy. But if you really want to sell your house in future for premium after your comfortable stay in the house then you must find a place that increases in the value with time and help you sell it quickly. Don’t just buy a property based on your requirements alone, instead it’s a good idea to take a professional help if need be and get the resale value evaluated.
About Wienerberger India: We are a group of building experts from Wienerberger, the world leaders in Building Material solutions, present across 30 countries and 215 manufacturing units across the globe, provides complete solutions to our clients by delivering smart building materials and smart solutions.
Contributed by: Wienerberger India Building Experts