Location, Location, Location. Long held as the three most important words in real estate. And with good reason. The value of a home to the home owner, and the value of the home to others is largely dependent on Location. But, why use these words 3 times to make the point?
“Location” three times for emphasis, or is it really three parts? First, we typically consider the top level concerns such as a state, county & community. Depending on our goals, we may already be living in the state where we wish to focus so we typically turn to surrounding counties to meet our personal needs – financial concerns aligning with top level goals of affordability, proximity to work, environment for raising their family, etc.
“Location” number 2 is the neighborhood of the community. By examining the most important aspect of home we would find what matters most to the home owner – proximity to schools, shopping, transportation, employment, etc. This is what YOU want. That seems fairly straight forward, but adding the next dimension may help dial in with better clarity why the second Location is vital. For some it is a stretch, but it is pretty simple.
“Location” number 3 is for emphasis is what others want. Your home’s ultimate value is often realized when you go to sell it some time later. When selecting a home imagine the drawbacks that you are willing to accept and justify for the cost value of a home to you. But, will others justify this cost value similarly? An example is the high profile destination community where everybody who is anybody lives. Two similar homes in age and quality of the identical floor plan are available where one is on a cul-de-sac in the rear of the community – quiet and backing to the edge of the sub or woods. The other is near the entry of the sub and backs to the busy main road offered at 10-15% less than the former home. Do you take the lower priced home acknowledging that you may be unique and willing to run into trouble selling the home later?
In all three purposes as presented here, the whittling down of what is important to you will ultimately be important to others in the future when reviewing your home for purchase. How will this choice hold up over time, and will others see in this home all that you saw. Sometimes this is simply a value call & a risk that we are willing to take. But there is one way to minimize the risk…can you guess what that way is?
Utilize a local professional Realtor. It is not enough that the agent is licensed for a long time, or even that they are a full-time career agent or part-time. It matters most that they are a local expert. Where do they live, how long have they served the local community, do they have ties to the community, where is their office location. While most agents can write an offer and conduct fiduciary tasks with competency, NOTHING replaces local expertise in assisting a buyer with making a decision about where to call home. Local agent is a key component to choosing the best location.