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Have you ever been watching HGTV and heard someone say "this home has good bones" and thought to yourself, "what does that even mean?!" If so, I promise you that you're not alone!
When someone says a house has good bones, they are typically referring to the layout and overall feeling of the home, not the current aesthetic. Reading a little between the lines here you can typically deduce that the house might not look the prettiest or have the newest updates or best finishes, but that there is still a lot of good that a new owner can work with!
Stephanie, first time home buyer, who worked with our team of REALTORS®, experienced just this.
"Being a first-time home buyer can be intimidating," Stephanie sighed. "I learned very quickly how fast the market had changed in the last two years. What I could afford two years ago, was vastly different to what I could afford today. So I had to reevaluate my expectations to what I could actually afford in this market."
Fortunately, our team was able to help Stephanie become comfortable with purchasing a home that required some improvements and upgrades. "It took some time for me to see that the home that was in my price range may not be as aesthetically pleasing as I hoped," she admitted. "It was also difficult envisioning the potential of a home as I am not a handy person, nor do I have the skills to change things drastically myself. But Toni really helped me see what my home could become."
Once Stephanie began to look past the cosmetics of the houses, she realized the immense potential they could have. "We were very thorough when walking through houses. We looked at the bones of the house, like the foundation, layout, and roof and I realized that other than those important features, everything else could be changed or remodeled."
After adjusting her expectations, Stephanie quickly found a house that "had good bones," and she instantly fell in love with it! "The layout was perfect for my lifestyle now and for many years to come. I also instantly fell in love with how much natural light came into my home. I knew this was the house for me," she stated.
Sometimes all a home needs is a bit of a face lift and your own style added to it and it truly becomes the house of your dreams. Once Stephanie found her dream home, we asked her if she had any suggestions for future first time home buyers. "Be open to looking at homes that you maybe thought you would have overlooked because of cosmetic reasons like carpets, floors, and wallpaper," she advised. "In this market you cannot rule out a house that seems like a fixer-upper and you just have to be open-minded!"