Are Skylights a Good Idea in Older Homes?

Dear Dave,

I own an older home that doesn’t have very many windows. I have been throwing around the idea of putting in a skylight or solar tubes. I have heard of people having problems with these things leaking, but I have also heard stories where people didn’t have any problems with them. What is your experience with skylights and/or solar tubes? Would you recommend putting them in a house?

Thanks for the help-

Bob - Grand Junction, CO

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Bob,

I love them!  I love Skylights and solar tubes.   A dark home is NOT a good thing and bringing in more natural light is always a good thing!  You can’t get too much natural light, especially if your home tends to come off dark.   Skylights and Solar Tubes are a wonderful way to brighten up any home with few lingering issues.

There is always a chance for leaking when you penetrate your roof with a hole and then attempt to seal it up, however if installed properly I think you will find few, if any, lingering problems.  The added benefits certainly outweigh the risks and introducing more natural light will not only add value to your home, but also increase your quality of life!  Trust me, it will be some of the best money you can spend on your home.  It is time for you to come into the light!

Dave Kimbrough

The Kimbrough Team

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Are Pre-home Inspections a Good Idea on Older Homes?

Dave,

We will soon be selling our home and looking to downsize.  We have lived here almost 15 years and are the second owners.  We have taken good care of our home and have kept up on routine maintenance and also fixed any items needed over the years.   Our home is older, built in 1976, but has been well taken care of.  We are considering a Pre-home inspection, as one of our friends intimated that it might be a good idea.  Your thoughts on pre home inspections?  Thanks.

Dwight, Grand Junction

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Dwight,

On face value it sounds like you could go either way.   Your friend is right, it can be a really good thing and offer you, the buyer, and the real estate agents some peace of mind that the home is in good condition and free of any major problems.   The decision should be based on your knowledge of the home and how likely you believe it is that a problem may come up during the home inspection period. With any home built in the 70’s there is a reasonable chance that quite a few items will come up on the home inspection, not because you haven’t taken care of your home, but because it is old!   Generally I think it is a good idea, based on the age of your home, but it will set you back $300-$400.  This may be a very small sum in the long run, if it prevents a deal from falling apart.

One major thing that a pre home inspection will do is likely bring any “deal killers” to the surface before you get your home on the market and under contract.  If you do find a significant issue up front this will allow you to get it resolved prior to putting it on the market and getting it under contract.  There is no doubt in my mind that many things that happen during and related to the inspection period, after a home goes under contract, are blown way out of proportion and have as much to do with leverage, emotion, fear and lack of knowledge than the problems that are discovered and their remedies.  Once a For Sale sign goes up in your yard, regardless of what anyone says, everything changes and everything gets magnified, especially in a market where buyers can be difficult to find.

There are two things that I think are a great idea, regardless of the age of your home.    If you are currently on a septic system, I highly recommend you have your tank pumped and inspected prior to putting the home on the market as this serves not only as great preventive maintenance but will also put a stop to any potential septic issues before they generally get started.  Also, have a Licensed heating and air conditioning professional come and give your heating and cooling systems the once over and provide a receipt for a clean bill of health.  Septic systems and your homes mechanical systems (especially heating) are two items that many home inspectors single out and recommend buyers have those evaluated by Septic and HVAC professionals.  It is good preventive maintenance and eliminates the potential for a conflict of interest to have those things checked out ahead of time.   One more thing, if you have any question or doubts about your roof, have that inspected also.  Roof inspections are generally free and will bring any potential issues to light and notify you in advance if your roof is at the end of its expected life. 

I recommend a pre-home inspection if you have ANY concerns about a “deal killer” issue that may come to light.  If you have no concerns about that, then I would not do one.  If you do have concerns that there may be an issue there, some little nagging hunch, then I would pull the trigger on one and not even think twice about it.  You know your home better than anyone and if you think you need to have one done let me know and I will be happy to recommend a few that will do a great job!  A pre-home inspection is not for everyone, but maybe it should be….. I am finding myself rethinking the issue as I write this column.   Thanks for the thought-provoking question.

Dave Kimbrough

The Kimbrough Team

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What Is The Best Way To Estimate The Value of Our Home?

Dave,

We are thinking about selling our house, but we would first like to know how much our home is worth. We’ve seen a few websites—like Zillow and Truila, just to name a couple of them—that say they can estimate the value for us, but we aren’t sure if they are reliable. We know you’ve been doing this for quite a while and trust your advice. When you are selling a house how do you determine if these web sites are a reliable source for establishing the value of our home?

Tom, Grand Junction

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Tom,

I love this question!   For the purpose of this answer we will focus on Zillow as it is by far the most used and relied upon real estate web site.  Zillow is, in my opinion, the best of all the real estate web sites at marketing to the public and to Real Estate agents.  It has established itself as the “go to” web site for helping the public not only keep track of local and national real estate trends and homes for sale, but has also been effective at instilling the perception that it can help you establish a value for your home.  The Zillow.com home valuation tool is called a “Zestimate”. 

I encourage you to go to Zillow.com and click on the FAQ, frequently asked questions, and scroll down to the “How accurate is the Zestimate?” and click to open.  What you will find is what very few know or ever venture to find out.  Here you will find out how good their marketing has been.  The marketing has been so good that the public has willingly flocked to a product that is almost wrong more often than right.  In the terms of statistical accuracy a “Zestimate” is virtually worthless.  What Zillow.com is admitting, in the fine print, is that their Zestimate is not overly accurate.  Actually, statistically speaking it is amazingly inaccurate!  There are too many variables, that don’t have to do with measurable and quantifiable characteristics, to allow a computer to provide an accurate statistical analysis on a home’s value.  Lets dive into some of the specifics!

When the Zillow website states that the Zestimate is accurate within 5, 10 or 20% keep in mind that can potentially mean a PLUS or MINUS percentage number!  In other words, IN COLORADO, if an “off market” (meaning the home is not currently for sale) home zestimate is $400,000 you can figure that value is correct within 10% ($360k - $440k…. an $80k spread) only 68.4% of the time… that means that 31.6% of the time they are even more inaccurate!  In Colorado the Zestimate gets it right to within (+ or - 5%) only 43% of the time!  This means that if you are on Zillow and your home is NOT on the market, the value provided by the Zestimate can not be considered accurate… its more of a poor guesstimate!  On the bright side…. If we look at the Zestimate numbers of “on market” homes the numbers are much more reliable. 

Zillow’s accuracy numbers in Colorado for “ON MARKET” homes (meaning a home that has been listed for sale by a real estate agent or for sale by owner) the accuracy increases significantly (90% are within +/- 5%) and are much more reliable.  Why such a dramatic increase in accuracy AFTER a home goes on the market?  This is because they have a local real estate agent establish a market number so the Zestimate can react accordingly.  In their own FAQ’s they site that after a home is listed that their algorithm incorporates new listing data to provide “valuable signals” about the homes eventual sales price!  I find this statement funny….. the new listing data or “valuable signal” is an accurate list price established by someone with local market knowledge!  

Overall, I would say that online valuation modulators are not a reliable source to establish a homes value.  At Zillow.com it goes on to say that a “Zestimate is a good starting point as well as a historical reference, but it should not be used for pricing a home.”  The very best way to establish your homes value is to have a local real estate professional (or two or three) out to view your home and help you establish a proper market value for your home based on neighborhood home sales and what those numbers indicate that a buyer is willing to pay for similar homes!  These quick computer tools are novel and potentially useful to gauge the overall market temperature, but that may be the limit of their usefulness at this juncture.  No doubt there will be many that work to improve the AI in an attempt to better hone property values, but that day has yet to arrive. 

Hope that helps,

Dave Kimbrough

The Kimbrough Team

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Advice For Those Getting "Locked Out" And How Good Are Comparables In Naming Your List Price?

Dave,

I always look forward to your advice and try to file it away for future real estate transactions.

Today's advice for the folks that get "locked out" early in their search, neglected to advise them to find a realtor who gives them an alert the minute a home in their price range goes on the market!!

Also, how good are comparables in your neighborhood for naming your listing price?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Cheers,

Janet, Grand Junction

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Janet,

Thanks for reading my column! I am blessed to have many loyal readers who enjoy it and I am very appreciative of your support and your question. 

You are right and I appreciate the reminder, because I did fail to mention one of the most important aspects of finding a good agent to help in a home search. In an active market, like our market now, making sure you have an agent that has you on, what we call a drip campaign, is vital. A “drip campaign” is imperative to any buyer who is seriously looking to be competitive and find the best properties first! When you are enrolled in a drip campaign, you will be immediately notified when a property that meets your criteria hits the market. This is how you beat other buyers to the best new properties! Now, when it comes to determining your list price, better not ignore the house around the corner.

I consider comparable sales from the same neighborhood the most important comparable properties when determining a properties list price.  Generally homes in the same neighborhood are the strongest comparable properties because they were built around the same time, many by the same builders and most likely used similar finishes and floor plans.  What price similar homes in the neighborhood are selling for are typically your most accurate predictor of what your home will sell for and the ones I look for first!  Of course you have to take upgrades or significant remodels into account when looking at each property and determining how they comparatively stack up.

Lastly, I love that you signed your question, ‘Cheers’!  Just such a friendly and positive way to sign off … I love it. Thanks again, Janet.

Dave Kimbrough

The Kimbrough Team

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From a Value Perspective is an Older Home as Good as a New Home?

Dave,

My wife and I are moving this spring. She likes the charm of older homes, but I tend to like new construction homes. We’ve talked a lot about the pros and cons of each but when it comes down to it, we’ve decided that value is the “make it or break it” for us. From a value perspective is an older home as good as a new home? 

Thank you!

Betty & Steve, Grand Junction

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Betty & Steve,

Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder and very subjective to “what” value means to you. What you value, another may not, and thus the reason true value is a very individual determination and really must be done on a case by case basis. Keep in mind that “value” to some people is measured in happiness, peace, comfort, or a myriad of other things and may only be minimally impacted by monetary considerations! For others, monetary value is the “bottom line”. How much will the value go up on one house vs. the other? For the purposes of this article we will simply look at the monetary perspective, as that is typically the main goal when people are seeking information about “value”.

I would say, in my experience, appreciation will be greater on newer homes than it will on ones that are older. This is of course a broad generalization and not an “absolute truth”. For example, if you have two homes in the same neighborhood and one is 4 years old and one is 15 years old, the newer home will gain value at a comparatively accelerated pace. This does not mean that the older home is not a good home, it simply means that the newer home is most likely more in tune with current buyer wants, finishes, and floor plans because it is only 4 years old. The house that is 4 years old most likely has oil rubbed bronze or brushed nickel finishes and the older one may have polished brass fixtures. It is simply not as up to date and thus will not gain value at the same pace. 

On the flip side, while we are on the topic of value, your best value in the long run can also be the older home! If you can purchase the home that is 15 years old for a good price, change out some of the dated features and finishes and bring it up to a more current look and appeal then your best “value” may be the older home that just needs some cosmetic updating. Let’s add one more twist, the older home has an incredible view and the newer one does not. Which one will do better given that change in scenario? I would say, all things being equal and age being the only major difference, the home with the view will outperform the newer home!  Homes with unique features or benefits tend to have exaggerated value gains. As you can see, there are so many things that go into measuring value that it gets very difficult to determine which houses will perform best over time from an appreciation perspective.

“You have to evaluate each one on a case by case basis and by using all the factors involved to make the best decision possible at that point in time.”

You have to evaluate each one on a case by case basis and by using all the factors involved to make the best decision possible at that point in time. Go with the one you love and the one that you will most enjoy living in and don’t focus only on monetary value, but  lifestyle, peace and happiness value! Focus on your house being your home and don’t worry about what you can’t control, like the future of the real estate market! Live happier, live longer! Now that’s what I would call “real” value. Hope this helped a little! Best of luck.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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