Buying a house isn’t just finding a space to live—it’s also a really important investment opportunity. To ensure that you’re making a good investment on your real estate transaction, there are certain things to look for before you purchase a home. What kinds of things should you be looking for when you are getting ready to invest in real estate? Whether you’re just perusing the local real estate market or you’re seriously considering buying a property, here are ways to know if your new home will have good resale potential.

1. Buying in a Good School District

There’s almost no better way to ensure that you will get good resale value on your home than if you purchase in a good school district. Even if you don’t have children and never plan to have any, it’s still a good idea to buy a house that’s in a school district with rave reviews so that when you put it up on the market, families will be interested in the house. If they’re not interested, it will limit the pool of potential buyers for your home and could decrease the price.

2. A Neighborhood that Is Close to Everything

When it comes to real estate, location is everything. If you buy a home in a cool neighborhood it can only help your resale value. These days, a good location entails great walkability, proximity to popular restaurants and entertainment, not to mention parks or waterfronts. If you find a home in this type of neighborhood, consider yourself fortunate. Younger homebuyers today want to be in close proximity to the best of what the city has to offer, making for an easy commute to work, school, and fun. If your neighborhood has all of this and more, you’ll likely be able to get a great return on your investment.

3. A Home that Has More Than Two Bedrooms

Another way to tell if you’ll be able to have good resale value is if you have more than two bedrooms in the house. The magic number of bedrooms for many prospective homebuyers is three, so if your home has two bedrooms or less it may not appeal to certain buyers and could be more difficult to sell (unless you’re in a large city like New York or San Francisco where space is at a premium and two bedrooms in an apartment often seems ideal).

4. More Than One Bathroom

No one likes to share a bathroom, which is why having more than one in your house is much better for resale value. If your home only has one bathroom in it, consider converting a small part of the home into a half bath for guest use. Though closet space is sacred, a bathroom may be king when it comes to real estate value.

5. The Home has Natural Light and Open Space

If you watch any programming on channels like HGTV you’ll quickly find out that most buyers are looking for large and open living spaces where they can cook while still feeling they’re a part of the action in the living room (or keep a watchful eye on little ones while preparing meals). Buyers are also always mentioning that they want rooms that are filled with natural light so that it looks inviting and less like a cave. Buying a home with these features will likely get you great resale value when and if you decide to put it up on the market.

6. Your Home Features Updated Kitchen and Baths

If the kitchen or bathrooms in your home look like they haven’t been updated since “The Brady Bunch” was on the air, then your home’s resale value might not be as high as it could be. Buyers are looking for nicely updated kitchens and bathrooms that they don’t have to renovate much when they move in. When making home improvements, consider choosing updates that are seemingly timeless like subway tiles and stainless steel appliances. The goal is to look modern without bending to trends that could easily change in a few years.

7. Choosing a Home Style That’s Popular in your Region

Though you may love a traditional Colonial-style home, buying one in California may not get you as big of a return on investment that you like. Before you buy a home, check into what the most popular style of home is in the region. For example, while Mediterranean styles are hugely popular on the west coast, buying one in Texas and trying to resell it later may not get you the kind of value that you prefer. While traditional ranch style homes are very popular in states like Texas and Oklahoma, that style of home may not sell as well in New England where cottages and Cape Cods are in demand. Paying attention to what kind of real estate your region loves is a smart idea when investing in real estate.

Courtesy of Unisom

By: Benjamin Feldman

Director of Content