The red flags veterans and military homebuyers should

THE RED FLAGS VETERANS & MILITARY HOMEBUYERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF WHEN BUYING A HOME

Jenny Gonzalez

Every new homebuyer is usually excited by their breakthrough. Home buying is an exciting yet emotional milestone. This has proved to be accurate, especially for the first-time veteran homebuyers, who have spent most of their time on tour and are looking forward to a place to settle down finally. A place they call their own, a home.

Homebuying no matter how exciting, it is an overwhelming process, but with the internet, every resource you need to make your home buying success is readily available to you. This makes the process a lot simpler and more affordable for the people who have served in the military. If you are a veteran or an active military member and you are in the quest for a new home, it is important that you know these red flags and try to avoid them as much as possible.

1. Too many houses

Well, there is nothing wrong with having houses on the market; after all, the lesser the bidding wars, the lower the competition hence lower prices, and there is nothing wrong with two-three open houses on the streets. However, there is a problem when you see an army of ‘for sale’ signs on the same streets. Consider looking for your dream house elsewhere.

“This points to illiquidity in the market and pricing pressure, which is a risk for buyers,” says Alison Bernstein, the founder of Suburban Jungle, which helps families find their ideal suburb. However, it is good to point out that there are varied reasons for the ‘for sale’ signs, and one of them may be that the neighborhood is rapidly facing gentrification where the longterm residents may have decided to chip in. Alternatively, there may be older residents who

have decided to downsize; whatever the reason is be sure first to investigate because you will find the vacancy rates high due to some sinister reasons like increased crime rate.

2. Recent renovations

Renovations are good, after all, who would live in a house for more than ten years without making any major changes. Well, the homeowner may have decided to take down part of a wall just to create more of an open floor plan, that looks amazing, but there is a potential red flag. How was the renovation done? You will find that when a homeowner makes any big changes to the house, some other thing might go wrong, for instance, it is not uncommon to find that where a wall was removed without proper adjustments of the frames, weight can shift to other parts of the house which is a potential catastrophe. As such, before you move into your brandnew home, a home that, as a veteran, you are proud of, make sure to check any new renovations, particularly the major renovations. Ask the city for construction permits and records to ascertain the very nature of any renovations done and whether they pose any real risk.

3. Your surroundings matter

As a veteran, your home is not the only thing you should be concerned with when you buy it. It is not also the only thing to inspect when considering the purchase option—your surroundings, too, does matter. Before making the big decision, take a closer look at the community you want to move in to. Furthermore, just like the first red flag we mentioned, if you notice many vacant homes, it could mean that the residents are not too happy with the neighborhood. Make sure to take a quick drive through the neighborhood, both at day and at night, and get to feel what the neighborhood is like before committing to buy the house. Talk with your to-be neighbors, ask for their opinions about the neighborhood. It is important.

4. Check also the schools

You have kids, good because this red flag concerns them. Schools are healthy for the personal nourishment and intellectual growth of both the children and the adults. In any neighborhood, by design, schools should be continuously enrolling children or at least keeping the school population steady.

“Shrinking class sizes are a red flag,” Bernstein says.

Several reasons may cause the number of enrollments to decrease, and one of them is poor management. This has caused so many parents to flee to private schools, and we both know the cost of private schools is particularly high in some neighborhoods. Well, this might seem like a non-issue, but in this day and time, it is something you need to consider seriously.

These are some of the potential red flags you may want to consider before finally moving into a neighborhood. If you would like to know more about property investment, or get help with VA loans, reach out to Jenny. Jenny is an industry professional, and a member of the Power Is Now Media VIP Agents. To learn more about Jenny, follow this link, https://thepowerisnow.com/ jenny-gonzalez/

Sources

https://www.redfin.com/blog/veteran-homebuying-tips/ https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/badneighborhood-red-flags-when-buying-a-home/ https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/things-tolook-for-when-buying-a-home/ https://www.veteransunited.com/realestate/3- pitfalls-military-buyers-need-to-avoid-beforeclosing-day/ https://www.wyndhamcapital.com/blog/redflags-when-buying-a-home