Talk to any real estate agent or Michigan mortgage banker and they’ll tell you there’s no shortage of new homes for sale throughout southeast Michigan, but the Metro-Detroit area and outlying communities are also home to aging properties.  There can be real value in purchasing one of these older homes whether you’re talking about depth of character or return on investment.

Still, if you’re buying a home in Michigan – be it in upscale communities like Royal Oak or in communities like Farmington, Livonia and Plymouth – you want to make sure that you look beyond the image that has been established to make you feel comfortable.

Look Beyond the Bling of Home Staging in Michigan

In order to entice buyers in a market saturated by homes, with falling home values, it’s a common practice for home owners and their agents to stage the home using specific techniques.  Rearranging furniture to open up a room, bringing in baked goods to give a home a pleasant aroma, removing personalized photos and clutter to help a buyer better imagine their family in the home, etc.

Don’t take this wrong; it’s not about being deceptive, and not all staging is trickery.  It’s about creating an environment that is presentable and inviting. If you’re serious about making that first home purchase however, you need to look past what is being presented to make sure the home is a good fit for you.

Pay Attention to the Floor Plan

While the arrangement of furniture can make a room or a home feel more open, wipe the placement of furniture from your consideration and think about what you cannot change in a home, or what would be a heavy expense to change.

If you have children and want them near you, in a safe location, but the extra bedroom is in the back near the basement (or in the basement), that’s something that is difficult to change.

The same goes for a kitchen.  You may love the way the kitchen is presented in a home, but if it’s central to the floor plan and you prefer a kitchen that is more to the front or rear of a home, that’s also something that would be nearly impossible to change without serious investment.

Home Staging Techniques to Ignore

As a buyer, you have to be aware of how a home changes between when you are buying it (and someone else is selling it), and when you actually live in it.  When homes are stages, interior doors are often removed to make a home seem more open.  Put those doors back in place and close up the floor plan considerably.

Undersized furniture is also brought in by home-staging professional to make a living room or other living space seem bigger, and personal belongings are often moved to storage.

While it might look open and inviting, check how doors are placed, and know the measurement of your furniture to ensure that your possessions are going to fit comfortably into the home.

Looks Aren’t Everything

Older homes get a touch up when it’s time to sell, but the question is:  How much has been done?  Sellers aren’t likely to renovate a home just before a sale to make it the most appealing.  Typically they do the “lipstick and rouge” to create a good first impression.  As a buyer, you need to look beyond the new paint of a home, even if it’s in a nicer community like Royal Oak.

If the air filter looks like it’s from the Jurassic period and the areas under sinks and around fittings are a disaster then it could be an indicator that the previous owners/seller haven’t properly maintained the property.

When you’re viewing a home, don’t be skittish about moving things like furniture, rugs and boxes to look for water stains, damage to floors, wall conditions, plumbing, etc.  This can help you find trouble spots and make a checklist for your inspector.

Renovations Happen

There are some instances where an older does undergo some renovation before it is sold.  If a property you’re considering is touting new updates throughout, then inspect them.  Look for solid doors that are hung properly, inspect the corner of tiles to make sure it has been installed carefully, has the caulking been done properly, are windows installed correctly, does the hardware look cheap?

Look at the quality of everything as a good indicator of the type of renovation that was done.  If the place has been fixed up on the cheap, then you are more likely to experience problems later on. A well-remodeled and solidly built home might cost more but it’s a better value because cheap updates require more maintenance over time.

Lighting is Important

Some homes are staged to take advantage of lighting at certain times of day, and walk-throughs are scheduled in these time blocks.  Ask to see the home at a time that is convenient for you, and return to see it in the evening where the sun is down in the sky.  You may not notice that a house has little to no overhead lighting or poor natural lighting until you see it in the evening where direct sunlight is diminished or light angles change.

Make sure you open every window as well as the curtains.  Sometimes larger curtains are placed over windows to overlap the wall, giving the impression that windows are larger than they actually are.

Don’t Let Your Nose Betray You

The sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses we have.  While bad odors could indicate an issue, potent pleasant smells may also indicate a problem. Overuse of things like air fresheners or scented candles could be hiding an unpleasant smell such as a damp basement, musty cabinets or a difficult to clean fireplace.

When you’re ready to buy a home and you already have a loan pre-approval secured through a Michigan mortgage banker, then you have the leverage and you also have plenty of time to find the right home.  Take a notepad, a flashlight and a mindset that you won’t settle for a home that just looks great.

Ignore how the seller makes it look and really think about how you’ll store your things, how you’ll move throughout the home and ultimately how you will be living in this space for years to come.