5 Features Home Buyers Are Most Likely To Fight About

When you’re shopping for a property, you probably have a list of must-have features for your dream home. But when you’re shopping for a home with your partner, your list of must-haves and their list of must-haves might not quite align—and those discrepancies can lead to disagreements, arguments, and some good, old-fashioned bickering.

But what features are most likely to spark those debates? A recent survey from home remodeling website Porch had some interesting findings. Among other things, they found that:

“49% of people who house hunted with a partner said it strained their relationship” 

and

“The most important room was the master bedroom for men and the kitchen for women”.

They found that the home features couples are most likely to disagree on include:

• Wood-burning fireplaces;
• In-ground pools;
• Hardwood flooring;
• An outdoor bar or barbecue area; and
• A finished garage.

While the fireplace debate isn’t a big one here in Central Florida, I do often see couples disagree about whether or not having a pool is right for their family and their budget. Flooring and finishes are also a big factor, especially with all of the flooring (wood, wood look tile, luxury vinyl plank, marble, terrazzo) and finishes available today.

Another thing I see couples disagree on is often the condition of the home. Sometimes one person wants a home that is “move in ready” while another wants to shoot for a larger home that’s a “fixer upper”. Have honest conversations with each other about what you can do and what type of renovation budget you would have. One of the best things to do is to find a realtor who can walk you through the houses and the process of buying them. You want to ensure that you get this right and having an expert by your side will really help to dispel the arguments about hardwood floors. By the way, I do personally enjoy renovating homes and have lots of photos if you’d like to look through some “before and after photos” for inspiration. I’m always happy to share budget info too if you’re curious. I have several completed projects if you look in the Home Flipping and Investing tab in the menu bar. Here’s a link to the complete renovation of a 60’s home to get you started on some before/after photos of a renovation done on a budget. I’ll also include a “pinnable” photo in case you want to Pin it for later: 

Here’s the link to the blog post: Complete Renovation of a 1960’s home

(I think I went off topic a bit there, but I personally enjoy a good fixer upper)

What does all of this mean for you? If you and your partner are planning on buying a home, make sure to talk about your must-haves before you go house shopping; that way, you’re on the same page—and you won’t find yourself bickering over fireplaces or flooring during the home-buying process.

Good luck and happy shopping!

Marcia

Looking for even more info? I have additional resources in a private resource library. It is totally free, but since it has a lot of 25-30 page downloadable booklets for home buyers, I do keep this as a password protected resource. For access, just sign in below and you can have access to everything in the library. And always feel free to let me know if you have any questions at all!