Pros and Cons of Popular Residential Amenities

There are certain things that home buyers tend to flock to when looking for houses available on the market. These are amenities which are considered popular across the board, despite some of them coming with notable downsides. In this article, we are going to talk about some popular residential amenities which are frequently used to help sell homes, and we’ll discuss some pros and cons that come with each. In the end, it will be up to you to decide whether a given amenity is something you want to have attached to your next house.

A Swimming Pool

When you are browsing through home listings and you find a house for sale which includes a pool, that feature is likely to be prominently mentioned in the listing. And, for good reason — many people would love to have a pool on their property. When the weather turns warm, your own private pool is a great way to relax and refresh.

Unfortunately, buying a home which includes a pool also comes with some potential downsides that you’ll want to consider carefully. The first is safety. Water always presents some degree of a safety risk, and that is particularly true if you have a family with small children. Should you decide to buy a home with a pool, making sure the pool area is secure and as safe as possible will need to be a top priority. Also, you will want to think about the cost of operating the pool. There are supplies required to keep a pool running properly, and you’ll likely incur energy costs associated with the heating of the water.

So, is it worth it in the end to own your own pool? That’s up for you to decide, of course. If you think that the benefit of being able to enjoy a pool is worth the other concerns, then it makes sense to consider houses which offer this feature. If not, you should be able to save money by looking at properties that don’t include a pool.

Living on a Golf Course

This is another feature that is commonly listed as a benefit when homes hit the market. And, as was the case with a pool, it is easy to understand the appeal of living on a golf course. Rather than another home directly behind your backyard, you will have the open expanse of a golf course. Even if you aren’t a golfer, you can still enjoy the view of the open space and beautiful green grass. And, if you are a golfer, you will be living in proximity of a place where you can enjoy your hobby.

So, what are the downsides here? There are a couple to consider. For starters, golf courses don’t always remain golf courses in the long run. Golf is a game which has suffered a bit of a decline in popularity recently, and some courses have gone out of business. What will happen to the land that the golf course occupies if it is forced to close? It’s hard to guess in advance — it could be developed as further housing, or it could be left as some other type of open space. Either way, the value of your home is likely to be negatively impacted by the closure of the course.

Also, you may not enjoy the same level of privacy in your backyard when living on a course. If the course is popular with local golfers, there will frequently be players heading down the fairway during the daytime hours. This may or may not be something that bothers you, but it is at least a point to consider.

We certainly aren’t arguing that you should not consider homes which are situated on golf courses. Rather, we are simply asking you to think it through carefully before you proceed. As with nearly everything in the home buying process, there are pros and cons here, and the smart shopper will think about the big picture before acting.

Hardwood Flooring

The last feature we are going to discuss is hardwood flooring. Many luxury and high-end homes include hardwood floors in at least part of the layout, if not the whole home. Most people would agree that hardwood floors are beautiful to look at, and in some ways, they are easier to maintain than carpet. Rather than needing to vacuum regularly and eventually replace the carpet, hardwood floors can simply be swept up from time to time. With their impressive looks and modest maintenance requirements, the appeal of hardwood floors is obvious.

With that said, the functionality of hardwood floors on a day to day basis will depend on the makeup of your family. If you only have adults living in the home, hardwood floors should work just fine. On the other hand, those with children — especially small children — may find hardwood floors to be a little inconvenient. They can be slippery for little feet, and they won’t be as comfortable to crawl around on a carpet.

There is also the issue of damage to consider with hardwood, a concern that is amplified with kids around. Some hardwood floors are particularly susceptible to being damaged, so dropping items onto the floor or dragging furniture from place to place can easily leave marks. You may find that you would rather have carpet or another more forgiving surface, so you don’t have to worry about damaging your pretty hardwood floors.

The nice thing about hardwood flooring is that is doesn’t have to be carried throughout the entire home. For instance, a family with small kids may choose to have hardwood floors in the living room and other common areas, while having a playroom and the bedrooms finished with carpet. In this way, flooring can easily be customized to suit your requirements.

We don’t mean to dissuade you from any of the items we have included above. We hope that our discussion will cause you to think carefully about these three things, as they come with their pros and cons just like anything else. In the end, you will have to take into account everything that a given home has to offer before making the choice that will be best for you and your family. Contact me today to find your next Kamloops home today!

Categorised in: Buyers, Real Estate

This post was written by Redman Team