When searching for a new house, you might hear a real estate agent say that a house has good bones. It's something that you may often hear them saying when you walk through a house that doesn’t look very attractive. Usually, a realtor will use this phrase to describe a house that has need for repair but has a decent foundation and structure that can be built around. Even though such a house won’t have a strong curb appeal it will have immense potential that can turn it into something great with the right amount of investment.
Benefits of a house with good bones
If you choose to buy a fixer-upper house, you can easily maximize your investment in the following ways:
- You can buy a fixed-upper home at a low price, make the necessary improvements, and increase the value of your property.
- You can purchase a property at a price below the market cost and sell it at a comparatively higher price.
- You can take advantage of the low property tax on fixer-upper houses as they have a few exclusive structural details. You may not get this provision if you buy a new and ready-to-move house.
Here we will determine a few important characteristics that will help you identify a good bones house accurately:
Powerful structure and system
One of the important characteristics of a good-bones house is that its electrical, structural, mechanical, and plumbing systems are in working condition. Although these structures aren’t visible, they are extremely important and should be considered as the vital organs of your house. You may not think much about them when they are working fine, but if there’s a problem, the consequences will be severe, and it will cost you a lot of money to fix things.
Here’s how you can identify issues in the various systems and structures of a house:
- Focus on discoloration and inconsistency in the structure as well as in the finishing of the house.
- Keep your eye on sagging/uneven floors or beams, large cracks on the plaster, damp areas on the ceiling, or any other abnormalities in the texture of the column, wood beams, and other components.
- Finding any of the above irregularities is an indication of leakage or an overload of structural components that can cause damage to beam or floors. Moreover, these signs can indicate larger problems like termites, in which case we recommend you immediately call for professional help.
- If the rooms have an air conditioner mounted on the window, it signifies that there is central air conditioning in the house. Of course, this isn’t something you are required to have in your house, however it will be vital for specific climate states.
- In case you find a central air conditioner in the house, we suggest you ask your real estate agent how old it is.
Indication of cosmetic problems
If you find a place filled with ugly wallpaper furniture and décor that isn’t your style and poor paint, we suggest you look beyond those flaws. As long as the house has good bones, it can be easily renovated to look great. Overall, cosmetic problems aren’t too costly and can be addressed easily compared to deep-rooted foundation problems.
Floor plans
After sifting out any bad decor or cosmetics from your house, we suggest you focus on the course of your house and the size, proportion, and existence of deficiencies or wasted space in the rooms.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Check the floor plan of the house and quickly identify any weirdly shaped rooms, adjacent areas, and possible ways that you can utilize the vacant square footage in the rooms.
- Make sure you check if there are four closets lined up one after the other near the kitchen. You can use this space to make more counter space.
- Don’t forget to identify any structural beams that might interfere with construction or redesigning.
Scenic view and natural light
- When touring a new house, check its size, window count, and general structure to see whether it has good bones or not.
- A window facing the south receives natural light throughout the day while a window towards the north receives lesser light. Moreover, windows located towards the east or west receive stronger light in the morning and afternoon, respectively.
- Think about spaces with no windows or few windows and whether or not its worth it to add windows or invest in more lighting since both processes are expensive.
Quality materials and finishes
- Keeping the aesthetic aside, you should think about the finishing of a house which has lasted through time and has an enduring quality.
- Concrete wood doors, hardwood floors, plaster walls, and molds are a few such components that are durable. Therefore, it’s costly to replace them with similar quality elements at the current time.
Location of the property
You can never change the location and orientation of a property even if you don’t like the way it is. Location is often the most important aspect of a house. For instance, a beautiful townhouse can suddenly look unattractive if it’s located in a faraway place or area that is not suited to one’s needs.
Extra room
Buying a house that has a mother-in-law suite or an extremely large garage with huge storage space can be an added benefit for you. Not only will this increase the resale value of the house, but it will also bring a lot of convenience for other homebuyers. If a house has an extra room for guests, relatives, or in-laws, it will be a house with good bones.
What’s Next?
There’s no need to hurry while you are choosing a house with good bones, so we suggest you do the inspection yourself. Of course, you can rely on the words of a real estate agent since you will be choosing them after doing intensive research. However, there’s no harm in doing the house inspection keeping in mind the pointers we have discussed throughout.
After you have selected a house with good bones to buy, we suggest you hire a reliable professional mover who will help you move smoothly to your new home.