Sometimes the differences are not what’s outside, but what’s inside. When Silicon Valley home buyers are looking at real estate around the south bay, they tend to care a lot about the rooms which are most expensive to remodel: the kitchen and the bathrooms.
But sometimes they don’t look closely enough, or ask questions, when they ought to.
If you only look at the cabinetry from the outside, for instance, you won’t know:
- whether the cabinets have been refaced or replaced – but if you open up a door, you can tell!
- whether the vent seems to blow air back into the kitchen or if it’s more likely to vent outside
- whether the cabinet’s interiors are shelves, pullouts or include other special features such as a lazy Susan, deep pantry or spice shelves, recycling tubs, or other goodies!
- on a simple level, whether or not the drawers and cabinet doors operate smoothly or not
While it’s not OK to open up drawers of furniture (such as dresser drawers), since they don’t get sold with the house, you should inspect carefully any of the attached features which are part of the real estate transaction.
Some San Jose, Los Gatos or Saratoga kitchens and baths look good from the outside, but not so impressive if you look “under the hood” as it were. Slow down and make sure you check these things out before you draft that offer!
Related reading:
How may I help you to buy a home?
