"Across the room assessment"

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"Across the room assessment"

Eric Brewer
Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 10 posts · 2 votes

What's up guys, newbie here to the real estate investing world. I wanted to get some opinions from the old and new investors out there about what are the first things they look at on a MLS report or any other real estate website (realtor.com, Zillow, etc). What makes up your "first impression". What are some of your hard stops when looking at the house details (price, square footage, price/sqft, neighborhood, etc.) What are your absolute H-to-the-no's and what are somethings you see that push you to explore more on that property. I know these are very general questions but for me I am in a very unique position where I can explore a lot of different types of houses and scenarios so I will take whatever feedback I can get. My exception would be, it would have to be my "primary residence" since I am a first time home buyer.

I am an emergency room nurse and one of the skills I have developed over time is to determine if a person is "sick or not sick" by being able to look at the patient from across the room and make a decision. I'ts call our "across the room assessment" and nurses have that skill dialed in. I want to utilize that skill when I look online and really dial it in. I want to be able to tell from across the room if a house is "sick or not sick" just by looking at the initial listing. 

I've been plowing through all these resources and find myself getting a little overwhelmed looking at house after house after house trying to find a good deal. I feel like at some point everything just looks the same.

Thanks in advance for any and all feedback...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3EOD6xbWHs

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  • Account Closed
    Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 861 posts · 1k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Eric Brewer:

    What's up guys, newbie here to the real estate investing world. I wanted to get some opinions from the old and new investors out there about what are the first things they look at on a MLS report or any other real estate website (realtor.com, Zillow, etc). What makes up your "first impression". What are some of your hard stops when looking at the house details (price, square footage, price/sqft, neighborhood, etc.) What are your absolute H-to-the-no's and what are somethings you see that push you to explore more on that property. I know these are very general questions but for me I am in a very unique position where I can explore a lot of different types of houses and scenarios so I will take whatever feedback I can get. My exception would be, it would have to be my "primary residence" since I am a first time home buyer.

    I am an emergency room nurse and one of the skills I have developed over time is to determine if a person is "sick or not sick" by being able to look at the patient from across the room and make a decision. I'ts call our "across the room assessment" and nurses have that skill dialed in. I want to utilize that skill when I look online and really dial it in. I want to be able to tell from across the room if a house is "sick or not sick" just by looking at the initial listing. 

    I've been plowing through all these resources and find myself getting a little overwhelmed looking at house after house after house trying to find a good deal. I feel like at some point everything just looks the same.

    Thanks in advance for any and all feedback...
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3EOD6xbWHs

    Sick/Not-Sick for neighborhoods:    how close is it to freeways, reasonable shopping, and public transportation options? are all the front yards chain-link fenced?  are people improving their front yards and personal spaces?   are there cars in front yards?  Is it trashy? (literally trash around) 

    Sick/Not-sick for house exteriors:  go onto google streetview and look through the historical photos. Have the roof gutters been kept clean? (years of clogged gutters lead to foundation problems, rot, moisture intrusion and termites)  Is the yard graded away from the house? (same issues)  have the roof/windows been replaced recently? etc

    I really only deal with houses in one particular part of town, and the construction is basically all 1945-1960, with some pockets of 1920s. I have learned a ton about the different construction styles thru the eras and what problems they will have. I completely avoid anything pre-1945, 1945-1953 seems like it was "build them sturdy" then post 1953 they started really cutting corners where they could.   I can basically look at a house in my area, know exactly what problems it has (stupid floorplan, cheap thin roof decking, poorly built foundation, etc) and plan accordingly. It is a huge benefit when buying foreclosures/etc where I can't legally get inside to look around. Only reason I can do that is from specializing. 

    Side note, I used to live in the suburbs though, and I had noticed some tract home developments can get really trashy. One of the warning signs of a trashy neighborhood were lots of houses with vinyl siding that had green mildew/moss/whatever staining. I guess nobody cared enough to wash their houses occasionally.

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  • Jonathan R McLaughlin
    Rental Property Investor · Boston, Massachusetts (MA) · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    great question. What you are talking about is pattern recognition. Until AI takes over completely you can either do it via spreadsheet and variable regressions or do exactly what you do in the emergency room: learn enough to recognize patterns that indicate something. 

    Fastest way to do this online if you are not a spreadsheet jock? Learn a market inside and out and look at everything that comes on, look at what sold in the last 3 years, too. Compare 3 beds/2 baths and 3 beds/1 bath etc. Read the local crime excerpts, check rentometer, look at craigslist and facebook. One long evening should suffice for a small metro area. By the end you will have a sense of the place and what are outliers and what aren't. For your primary, find where you want to live, find the stuff you really like and compare it to the known and current prices. You'll spot the relative deals quickly.

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