The Issue Of Furniture And A Prospective Home
31st January 2008
A home is not a stand alone object when it comes to living life. When considering making an offer on a home, the issue of how one?s furniture will look in the property comes up.
When selling a home, you can tell when a potential buyer is serious when they start doing a certain thing in your home. First, they start walking around with their hands forming a virtual frame like an artist. Alternatively, they may whip out a tape measure and actually start mentally marketing off rooms. This occurs because they are trying to project their furniture into the property.
When sizing up a potential home for purchase, buyers almost always start trying to envision how their furniture will fit into the property. If they cannot ?see the fit?, they may pass on the home. In general, this is a bad idea.
First and foremost, the furniture you have accumulated over the years is never, ever going to be a perfect fit in a new home. The only exception would be if you are buying the same exact floor plan, which will be an extremely rare event. Regardless, the furniture isn?t going to fit and you should not evaluate the merits on this basis.
Which is more difficult ? finding the perfect home or finding new furniture? Which is going to appreciate over the next few years? The answer to both questions is clearly the home. When house hunting, it is vitally important that you evaluate the home sans furniture considerations. You can always buy different furniture. Yes, you have probably put together a nice collection, but its value will never equate to a good property buy.
So, what happens if you have unique furniture that is either hard to find, a family heirloom or some other situation? As surprising as this may sound, you should still discount it when evaluating the merits of a particular property. You are buying the home for your personal comfort and investment, not for the concerns of the furniture. You can always store that unique furniture or give heirlooms to a family member.
There are many factors that go into the decision to purchase a property. Determining whether your furniture goes with the property or fits should not be one of them.
