In the book Acres of Diamonds, there’s a story about a boar farmer in Africa who had a large fertile farm but who hated being a farmer.
He’d heard stories of people finding diamonds all over South Africa and he wanted to find diamonds so badly that he sold his farm, bought mining equipment and set out in search of diamonds.
But, after searching for twenty years, he never found a single diamond. Broke and disheartened, he jumped into a river and drowned.
Meanwhile, the man who had bought the farm was walking along the creek bed one day when he noticed a large, black object that looked like a piece of coal. After examining the object he noticed there were many of these black coal pieces all around. He gathered a few up and sent one in to town to be examined.
It turned out to be a huge diamond and that very farm went on to become the largest diamond mine in Africa.
The first farmer didn’t know what a diamond in the rough looked like and gave away a fortune because he couldn’t recognize an opportunity when he saw it.
Are you looking at houses that could be your ideal home but only seeing problems?
Remember, even when homes are selling fast here on the Space Coast, opportunity is everywhere.
Sellers are not obligated to get they’re house in showing condition before they list it for sale. But a lazy seller can present an opportunity for the savvy home buyer.
Unsightly things about a home can be alarming but that doesn’t mean you have to scratch it off your list of considerations if the general layout and the location of the home is a good fit for you.
There are 3 common scenarios I run into all the time that could help you find the perfect home…even when houses are selling fast.
Stained, dingy carpet and wallpaper peeling off the walls
Many buyers love ready to move in, turn-key properties. And that’s understandable. Taking on big home renovation projects may not be something they feel they have time for.
But putting down new carpets or installing tile or wood floors can be done faster than you might think. The same goes for interior paint.
A seller who isn’t willing to rip up and replace that ugly old carpet or paint the interior is only hurting their chance of finding a good buyer and getting a good price. And that could spell opportunity for you.
New flooring or fresh paint isn’t that expensive and can be done in just a little over a week completely transforming the look and feel of a house.
I once had a rental property in Palm Bay that needed interior paint, fast! I had one tenant moving out on the last day of the month and another moving in on the first, which was the next day. The previous tenants had scuffed up the walls and just didn’t have time to touch up before moving out.
My painting contractor sprung into action! He started painting that afternoon and painted late into the night. When new tenants arrived the next day to move in the entire house looked and smelled like new. Complete interior paint job in less than 24 hours! Of course it took some know-how and the right contacts to accomplish that but it can be done. And you can do it too!
A bedroom in the garage? A gym in the dining room?
It happens more often than you might think. People using rooms of their homes for things other than what they were originally intended.
Often you’ll see a family room being used as a dining room or a fourth bedroom being used as a living room. You might see a tread mill in the dining room or a garage that’s now a fifth bedroom.
But this rather unusual use of living space by no means obligates you to furnish the home that way when it belongs to you. Look past this oddity and imagine the home after the seller has moved out.
That tread mill won’t be in the dining room anymore and the chandelier strangely hanging in the living room could easily be moved back to the dining room where it belongs.
A strong sense of the current home owner
When a home is adorned with the personal pictures, old artwork or other belongings of the seller it can be difficult for you, as a potential buyer, to picture yourself living in that home. But it can also be difficult for others buyers too.
Even worse than being surrounded by the owner’s private things is a seller that hangs around while a showing is taking place. This just makes everyone uncomfortable.
Inexperienced home shoppers feel more like house guests than prospective buyers and this limits their ability to look at the house thoroughly. They’re also afraid to speak up and give their opinion or ask questions for fear of offending the current owner.
When a house is over personalized or when the owner is always around this can cause the house to take a long time to sell. After awhile it can also give the home a negative reputation.
But as a prospective buyer this might be to your advantage and enable you to negotiate the house into your desired price range.
Sellers that unwittingly sabotage the sale of their home present an interesting opportunity for buyers during times when multiple offers are common.
While most buyers struggle to see past the seller’s clutter, over personalized style or customized changes you can be one of the savvy few who know how to look past these things, and land yourself a bargain…even when most homes are selling fast.
Opportunity is everywhere. The next time you see a house that’s a little off-putting, think about the man that bought the African boar farm.
Look at the house closely and carefully and ask yourself, “How can I turn this into a diamond mine?"
Want some help finding that diamond in the rough? Click here to schedule a free strategy call.