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When you are getting ready to close on that prime piece of Sarasota real estate, there are a few questions you want to ask yourself before you finish the transaction. Can you really afford the home you’re trying to buy? Is the home really want you want? Is it going to have enough room if your family expands in the near future?
These questions can be tough to answer but they are obviously important. Another major question that you want to make sure you have answered before you close on your home is how much the current owners paid for the home and when. This information may not seem like a big deal, but it can give you a lot of insight into your new Sarasota home. Let’s take a look at why that information is so important.
By knowing when the home was purchased and for how much, it will give you a great idea of the property values in your area. When you’re researching the true value of a home, you can, at best, get a close idea based on the homes in the surrounding area. But in most cases, you can’t find a home that is the same age, with the same square footage with the same number rooms. You are left with a value that may or may not be accurate. By knowing what the current owners paid for the home and how long ago they bought it, you can get a much clearer picture of what the home is actually worth without having to try to add value here or take away value there. This allows you to give a much more accurate bid on the home you’re looking to buy.
By knowing when the home was bought and how long ago it was bought, it will give you great insight on equity in that area. Of course, if the home was bought only six months ago and "flipped" it won’t work quite as well, but if the home was bought, say, ten years ago, you can get a perfect idea of how homes in that area appreciate over time. This is a huge piece of information if you’re looking to buy the home as an investment. You’ll have to take into account any work that was done on the home and any work that you plan on doing on the home that will allow the property to appreciate faster than it has been, but by knowing the date the home was bought on and for how much, you can get a clear picture of how good an investment opportunity this home is.
You can also get a clear picture of the surrounding area and if it is headed up or down in value. Most neighborhoods tend to rise and fall over time. Some become better areas and some become worse. By knowing what the previous owners paid for a home and when, you can get a good idea of the current trend that is affecting that neighborhood. This can really affect your offer price. If it looks like the area is headed downwards, you might not even want to buy the property, or if you do, you might want to flip it as quickly as possible so you don’t lose much value. If you feel that the area is headed up, you might want to up your offer price to make sure you get the property since you’re most likely going to make a profit fixing the place up. By knowing the history of the property, it can really shed some light on its future.
One final tip, if the previous owners paid far under market value for the property, there could be something wrong with it. If you find out that the previous owners bought the home five years ago for much, much less then what you’re being asked to pay for it, ask questions. You don’t want to buy a home you’ll later regret.
By knowing the history of the home you’re looking to buy, you are essentially covering your bases when it comes to your offer price. Taking the history of the home, the trend of the neighborhood and the local equity rates are all key parts of smart home bidding.
GBrey | 
