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You Might Get a Better Deal If You Buy a House Where Kids Live

children

It’s common knowledge that home buyers are interested in purchasing properties in good school districts.

After all, many individuals purchase homes because they either have kids, or plan to in the near future.

Simply put, families and families-to-be need more space, and a house is where you get that.

But even if you don’t have children (and no plans to start a family), it can be smart to buy a house in a solid school district to ensure the resale value is strong when it comes time to sell.

What’s perhaps more interesting is the idea that you might be able to get a better deal on a home purchase if you buy it from a family.

Homeowners with Kids Sell More Urgently

  • 23% of homeowners with kids sold “very urgently” per Realtor survey
  • Versus just 14% of homeowners without kids
  • Nearly half of homeowners with kids sold “somewhat urgently”
  • While half of homeowners without kids said they could wait for right offer

A new survey from the National Association of Realtors revealed that homeowners with children sold more urgently than those with no children.

Specifically, 23% of sellers with children reported to NAR that they sold their home “very urgently.”

Comparatively, only 14% of sellers without kids said they had to sell their home quickly.

Additionally, 46% of those with children residing in the home said they had to sell “somewhat urgently,” while about half of sellers with no children said they were “able to wait for the right offer.”

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted that when faced with an “upcoming school year or the outgrowing of a home – sellers find themselves rushed and forced to accept a less than ideal offer.”

Often, these parental homeowners are put in situations where they have to sell in shorter amounts of time versus the non-parent cohort.

For example, they may need to sell because they want to move into a different school district if their child is going from elementary to middle school.

It’s also more common for these homeowners to upgrade to larger homes once they find out another baby is on the way.

Per the survey, some 25% of home sellers with children said they sold because their prior home was too small.

And 19% said a job relocation forced them to sell, while 13% said a change in their family situation led to the sale.

Meanwhile, just 7% of those without kids indicated that they felt their home was too small.

This all lends itself to the idea that you might be able to get a deal if you know the seller has kids.

In other words, you could see greater success in trying to negotiate and/or lowballing a bit, asking for seller concessions, and so on.

Chances are a home seller won’t want to mess around if they have children to consider.

Conversely, a seller without kids might be happy to sit on their listing and play hardball with any prospective buyer who comes along.

The Downside to Buying a Home Kids Occupied

  • If kids lived in the home prior to you purchasing it
  • There’s a good chance it’s going to have some damage
  • You may need to repaint and make minor (or major) repairs
  • But you can ask for seller credits to bring down your acquisition cost

To put it bluntly, the house might be a mess. Kids can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time, so the property itself could be in need of some TLC.

Think slime stains on the carpet, strange paint colors on the walls, stickers on the windows and doors, dents in the drywall, and on and on.

Ultimately, having more people in the house will lead to more wear and tear, which could cost you once you move in.

You might need to repaint the place, replace the flooring, make minor repairs, etc.

The upside here, again, is if there is obvious damage, you can include repair requests in your offer to get the price down even further.

If you’re willing to overlook some of the aforementioned issues, you might be able to snag a home at a great price.

Even if kids didn’t live in the home, chances are it’ll need work anyway.

Assuming you can get some credits for those renovation/repair costs, and the seller is willing to accept a lower sales price, you could make out really well, even in a competitive housing market.

Read more: Why You Should Buy a Home Next to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods

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