Buying
Half the job is telling you which houses not to buy.
- I will tell you not to buy things
- The house on the arroyo that floods, the addition with no permit, the one where the seller will not fix the roof. Losing a commission is cheaper than watching somebody buy a problem.
- Out-of-state buyers get the unglamorous briefing
- Water rights, septic, wells, propane, and what adobe maintenance actually costs. None of it is in the listing and all of it changes what a house costs to own.
- You pay your own agent now, often
- The compensation rules changed and are still settling. What you would owe me, and whether a seller is offering anything toward it, is agreed in writing before we look at a single house.
- About a dozen clients a year
- Which is the ceiling for doing every showing personally. If I am full I will tell you and give you two names rather than take you on badly.
The unglamorous briefing
Five things that are not in any listing and all of which change what a house costs to own here. Out-of-state buyers get this conversation before they see anything.
- Water
- Where it comes from, who else has a right to it, and what happens in a dry year. A well is not a tap.
- Septic
- Age, capacity, and the last inspection. Replacement is a five-figure number and it is nobody's favourite surprise.
- Adobe and stucco
- Beautiful, and maintenance. Ask what was last done and when, and budget for re-mudding on a cycle.
- Arroyos and drainage
- Where the water goes in a July storm. Stand on the lot and look uphill; it is the single most useful five minutes of a viewing.
- Historic district review
- If it is in one, your window replacement is somebody else's decision. Worth knowing before you fall in love with it.