Everybody has a horror story of some kind, when talking about Butte real estate. There are just some things most people don’t think about when searching for property to buy or sell, whether you’re the buyer, the seller or even, yes, the agent.

Exhibit A

Sheryl (name changed to protect the innocent) is exhibit A. Now, she thought she’d bought a nice house at a good price. Everything seemed to be perfect. The one place that Sheryl went wrong was forgetting to do a home inspection on that beautiful piece of Butte real estate.

After a pleasant day of moving in, she went to take a shower. Turning on the faucet, she noticed the water pressure wasn’t what it should be. Ignoring the indications of worse yet to come, she flipped from faucet to shower. Only a few lonely, sad drips came from the showerhead. To compound the issue, she discovered that the washer didn’t have enough pressure to get her clothes clean, washing dishes was an exercise in futility and if a hose was turned on in the garden the second story toilet wouldn’t flush.

After much ado, many phone calls and two plumbers, Sheryl found that the beautiful tree in the front yard that had sealed the deal had also burst the pipes. She now had to pay to have the tree removed (it couldn’t be saved), as well as the pipe dug up and replaced. In addition, she owed the water company for all the water lost through the break.

The moral: Don’t skimp on the details just because you’re under pressure.

Exhibit B

Bob, a real estate agent (again, name changed), still loves open houses. They’re a big deal for him and he makes plenty of contacts that way. However, even Bob, who has been in the industry for years, forgot to do a last walk through before a certain open house started. Unfortunately, he and the potential buyers found an unpleasant surprise in the upstairs bathroom, deposited thoughtfully by the current owner. In trying to take care of the surprise, he found the toilet was blocked and the bathroom fan didn’t work. Needless to say, the potential buyers didn’t stick around to tour the rest of the house.

The moral: A short walk-through can save a lot of embarrassment.

With any Butte real estate, there’s always the chance that you’ll miss something. A homebuyer’s checklist or home seller’s checklist is a great way to make sure you don’t. If you do, try to take what comes with a grain of salt, a lot of patience and as much of a smile as you can muster.

If you’re trying to find a great home without the horror, I can help. Call me at 406-491-1234 or email me for more information.

Links:

Water pressure

http://www.hometips.com/repair-fix/low-water-pressure-problems.html

Open houses

http://homebuying.about.com/od/sellingahouse/qt/OpenHouse.htm

Homebuyer’s checklist:  If you have your own homebuyer’s checklist link, to it.  Or create one (or have your Virtual Assistant create one) that you can give away in exchange for people giving you their name and email address.  If you don’t have one, you can use this link instead:

http://www.doghousetodollhouse.com/Home_Buyer_Checklist.htm