What Features do Moms Love in Homes?
In Honor of Mother's Day, let's focus on features that moms love in homes.
Homeowners are sometimes hesitant to upgrade when it's time to sell. After all, you won't be living there much longer, and according to Remodeling magazine’s 2017 Cost vs. Value report, nothing will recoup 100% of the cost in resale.
But think again, home sellers. The cost of skipping the updates can be far greater than the small loss you’ll incur on any home-improvement projects. It can mean the difference between getting multiple offers at once and driving up the selling price, or getting no offers and lingering on the market. The longer your house lingers on the market, the more buyers wonder what is wrong with it and skip look at it all together. Plus, you'll likely pay ongoing mortgage, maintenance and staging costs, incur the headache of keeping the home ready for showings for a longer period of time and potentially miss out on purchasing the home you are moving to next.
So what updates should you do? It depends on who your home may attract. Condos and small homes usually don't attract big families but if you have a home with at least three bedrooms, you may want to consider the following.
When it comes to working with couples, my experience shows me that while the husband may have features on the wish list, the wife often has the final say or at least must agree. And single moms are often more particular about things since it's all on them. While every mom and every buyer is different, let's look at features I hear many mom's want in a home.
Home buyers, and moms in particular, are always asking me to find homes in the Twin Cities with the following features:
- A Workable Kitchen- preferably with a pantry and extra counter space.
- Storage Space - families have stuff. Lot's of stuff!
- Mud Room - a place for shoes/boots, coats, snow pants, hats, backpacks, umbrellas - after all, this is Minnesota!
- More than one bathroom with at least one tub.
- Convenient/Clean laundry room - Not a basement dungeon!
- An area for a desk/office.
- Three bedrooms on one level. After all US Cencus Beaureau average persons per household, 2011-2015 is 2.64.
- An area where kids can play under a watchful eye
- An extra family room space
- Good outdoor space for kids to play or at least a park nearby.
All these items aside, the layout of the home is VERY important to most people. Some layouts are more attractive than others. For example, the "open concept" with a kitchen that is open to the dining and living room areas is very popular right now. Many mothers are concerned about the distance from the garage to the kitchen for caring groceries.
And probably most importantly, many moms, dads and families are too busy to buy a "fixer-upper" even if it means they could build equity. They simply don't have the time, cash on hand, skills or a combination of those things to do the work.
Are you a mom that has an opinion on the "must haves" for this era? I would love to hear your comments!
Are you thinking about selling your home? Let me help you prepare it to attract the most buyers! Start by getting your free local market snapshot and then contact me to set up a phone call or meeting.
Other articles about popular home features:
Market Watch: What moms look for when buying a house
http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/real-estate/T01...