DAVIDSONVILLE, ANNAPOLIS, EDGEWATER, ARNOLD AND SEVERNA PARK REAL ESTATE
Despite the well-documented national shortfall in residential housing, determined house hunters still can find Annapolis homes for sale that are priced to sell. Given today’s extremely low mortgage interest rates, affordable options are out there right now. As those home shoppers soon discover, the properties with the most attractive asking prices are usually priced correctly—that is, there are tradeoffs that make the bargain rational. Sometimes, there are location factors that the market (i.e., most buyers) consider to be a negative pronounced enough to warrant the price tag. A home that’s across the street from a busy school can deter many buyers looking for less traffic and less noise. But for a young family with school-age youngsters of their own, the same property might be more than acceptable. Even so, they should take into account that if and when they decide to move on, the market reality might affect their future resale. More commonly, a more-attractive-than-comparable asking price is due to maintenance or floorplan design issues: aka, the property is a fixer-upper—one the seller either doesn’t have the time or energy to pursue. For buyers who are attracted by the more-than-affordable bottom line, the opportunity can be hard to turn down. But before saddling up for the signing table, they’d be wise to entertain four relevant questions. Interestingly, they are questions about themselves:
- Stress tolerance. A major renovation represents a commitment of time and effort that can even tax a professional contractor. Especially this year, when so many other extraordinary disruptions are ongoing, is it realistic to add an additional major undertaking to every day’s agenda?
- Professional relationships. Do you have strong connections with trusted Annapolis tradespeople—or will locating, interviewing, and vetting them need to become a new (hugely important) time drain?
- If you are sensitive to disruptions in your daily routine, have you considered whether you will be able to live in the house during the renovation—or will you be forced to find other living quarters during some phases of the project?
- Creative vision. Do you have the ability to imagine the project from start to finish, or is it simply a matter of knowing that the current state of the new property needs to be fixed. If the latter fits, you’ll probably do well to hire a contractor—and should budget accordingly.
Annapolis home fixer-uppers can represent terrific opportunities for energetic buyers with the right personal makeup—just as they can become misery-producing miscues for others. Today’s Annapolis market has offerings for every kind of buyer—call me for examples
DEBORAH LAGGINI, Long and Foster Real Estate, Annapolis, MD 21403
CELL 410.991.6560
EMAIL [email protected]
REALTOR, Annapolis, Davidsonville, Edgewater, and Surrounding Communities