Things You Should Consider When Buying Portland Homes

Many home buyers walk into prospective Portland homes with an “as is” attitude. They fail to consider that the home sellers may be willing to make repairs or updates in order to get the home sold.

This isn’t hard to understand. Most people do not buy Portland homes frequently so they aren’t familiar with exactly what they can and cannot ask for. A home isn’t like a car that you might purchase new every few years, or clothes that you shop for all the time and know how to investigate, compare, and price appropriately.

Home Buying Isn’t A Frequent Event

This lack of frequency is possibly the BEST reason for seeking the help of a qualified professional REALTOR®. They handle home purchases daily and can help you with what to watch out for, what price to pay and what you can and can’t haggle over.  They’ll even handle the negotiations for you.

Let’s get back to repairs, updates or price reductions you may want to have your agent negotiate for you:

Electrical Wiring:

Especially in older Portland homes the wiring is likely to be old, outdated or even hazardous. Make sure you have the wiring thoroughly inspected. This is not a cheap fix.  If there are problems, they should be solved before you purchase, or you should be offered a greatly reduced price to reflect the cost to you of replacement. This is a very important item and even if you accept a price reduction do not be tempted to simply enjoy the extra cost benefits without using it to make the needed repairs. Bad wiring is a fire hazard that can destroy your purchase, not to mention be fatal if not fixed.

Breaker Boxes:

Older homes may still have fuse boxes. These are very outdated and some may even use types of fuses that are hard to find. While updating an old fuse box to a breaker switch box isn’t extremely expensive, it should be done by a qualified electrician. This is something that should be done before you buy. It isn’t worth asking for a price reduction, but it also isn’t something you should have to deal with when you move into your new home.

These are just a couple of negotiable items to think about when you look at a prospective purchase.  There are many more and depending on the market, getting these items negotiated as part of the deal may be easier than you think. Check out some more helpful tips on our Portland Real Estate Blog.