Do Not Buy The Best House in the Neighborhood

You’ve been house-hunting and you’ve found it – the perfect property aka The One!

It’s got the perfect amount of bedrooms, the ideal size, you love the architecture, it has an immaculate garden, the largest swimming pool, a great site, perfect everything!

So what if the price is higher than every other house in the neighborhood?!

This kind of opportunity only comes along once in a blue moon, so snap it up!

Right?

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Real estate experts for once will all agree without exception: even if it’s the mansion of your dreams, the best house on the block might not leave you in the best position!

Here are 4 reasons why you never buy the best house in the neighborhood:

Reason #1 – To buy the best house in the neighborhood will mean your value will increase at a snail’s pace

All things being equal, the value of your property will increase.

Never Buy the Best House In The Neighborhood

Interested in the most expensive home in the city? – Understand you must avoid it at all costs

Eventually!

Compared to the worst home in the neighborhood, the increase in the value of the most expensive home will be a rather slow one.

This is because every improvement or repairs in the worst home will add value immediately.

However, the home improvements you will make in the most expensive home have no power to affect drastic increases in value!

For example, you might find the worst home on the block increasing in value by as much as 20-30%.

In the same period, the most expensive home might increase by less than 5%.

Also, if your home is in the low to mid-range, sales on the same block of a higher value will boost your property value.

If your home value is at the top of the pile, there will, of course, be no higher sales in the area.

So, unfortunately, no benefit to your home value!

Reason #2 – To buy the best house in the neighborhood will prove quite the tough resale one day

Sure, you might think you are moving in for life right now!

Or at least for the medium-to-long term.

But many buyers don’t realize that there may be major changes to your circumstances.

For example, there may be a career change that requires relocation; a sudden change in family situation (i.e. divorce), or financial troubles.

Those kinds of changes are exactly the ones that result in the homeowner’s (unexpected) need to sell.

If yours is the most expensive home in the suburb, there are many reasons why it may be difficult to resell.

For one, there is the value issue described above.

For another, the majority of the market tends to purchase in the mid-range of the desired area.

This means that there will be a smaller pool of buyers looking at the top home on the market in that particular area when it’s time to start selling.

Is the home surrounded by unattractive properties?

You better hope not, because, even if the home itself is quite the looker, you will battle to sell it if it’s surrounded by eyesores!

Have a look at what’s next door:

Apartment buildings, parking garages, houses in disrepair, shabby, unkempt gardens, landscapes or verges, and even rented homes next to your mansion will all be big turnoffs for your prospective buyers.

Reason #3 – Buying the best house in the neighborhood won’t affect whether the overall area will improve (or not)

Nobody has a crystal ball – at least not one that can actually predict the future.

Why You Never Buy the Best House in the Neighborhood

Do not make the mistake and look at the most expensive home – good advice

You might think that the suburb is up-and-coming.

And you’ve clearly placed your bet with the action to purchase the most expensive residence in the neighborhood!

However, buying the most expensive residence is still a major gamble.

There is always a chance that the market will stagnate or even decline!

You thought there would be an improvement, but instead, you are now stuck at the top in a suburb where prices are sliding every quarter.

And now?

Reason #4 – To buy the best home in the neighborhood purely for bragging rights is still overrated

Some people might say:

“Okay, okay – I see what you’re saying, but it’s still worth it to me to purchase this place – it’s AMAZING. I’ll be able to tell my friends there’s no one living in the suburb with a better residence than me. And that I quickly bagged the most expensive residence to boot!”

Maybe the above reasons haven’t convinced you about the harm to your pocket in the long run.

And maybe you’re all about impressing your friends.

Think about this: your neighbors will be laughing at you for paying much more for your place than they did.

Guess who will be called the sucker now?

Closing thoughts

Considering the points above: what is a better course of action?

Take a look at what you might be able to afford if you located to a better suburb at the same price.

You could even go lower in price!

Immediately invest the balance into some home improvements.

Doing so will increase your equity right away!

Just don’t keep improving your home until it’s the most expensive in your new neighborhood!

Unless you want to become the topic of the next blog article on overcapitalizing!

Other Helpful and Related Articles:
Community Details to Consider When Purchasing a Home via Bill Gassett
Tips to Help Choose a Good Area When Acquiring a Home via Kyle Hiscock
What to Consider About a Suburb When Buying a Home via Anita Clark

If you have enjoyed reading this guest blog post, please make sure to share it across your social media networks!

About the author: The above-featured article “4 Reasons Why You Never Buy the Most Expensive Dwelling in the Suburb was provided by Xavier De Buck, your top-producing Johannesburg (South Africa) real estate agent with Chas Everitt International Luxury Portfolio, who’s passionate about the property market, technology and the synergy of both! You can read his blog at LuxuryHomesJohannesburg.com.

  • Contact us for more information
    (262) 305-0680
  • Fill out the form and a member of our team will contact you within 24 hours.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Filed under: Real Estate

Luke Skar

Luke Skar is the web developer and content strategist for MadisonMortgageGuys.com. Currently working for NRL Mortgage which serves 47 states including Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Florida. Guided by his 20-plus years of various mortgage marketing experience, Luke provides top-quality SEO services, effective social media management, and web development and maintenance. Luke’s career in the mortgage industry began back in 2001, as a loan processor. After becoming a loan officer for a number of years, Luke now runs madisonmortgageguys.com. To ensure that all the information he posts is fresh, accurate, and up-to-date, Luke relies on the knowledge which his years of dedication to keeping up with the constant change that the mortgage industry provides.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *