fbtrack
Facebook Share Twitter Share Linkedin Share Pinterest Share
5 Eyesores You Should Overlook When Choosing a New Home

5 Eyesores You Should Overlook When Choosing a New Home

After months of searching and touring homes for sale in Pittsburgh and Western PA, you’ve finally found the perfect sized house in the neighborhood you love, but its appearance isn’t quite what you desired. Before you send your real estate agent back on a house hunt, reconsider the home’s potential.


Below are five common eyesores that can actually be fixed without breaking the bank.

Curb Has No Appeal
The first thing you (and your future guests) will see when visiting the home is its exterior. Untrimmed shrubbery, weed-ridden flower beds and poorly maintained grass could make you turn the other way. However, there are many simple things you can do to bring new life to a front yard. Trimming or replanting shrubbery, cutting the grass, weeding and replanting flower beds and replacing an old mailbox are all simple upkeeps that will greatly enhance the exterior appearance of a home.

Retro Walls
Did its faded orange, floral wallpaper send you straight back to 1972? Don’t hop back on your time machine too quickly! Yes, removing wallpaper can be a bit of a chore, but don’t let that deter you from seeing what the home could be. Aside from tearing down the wallpaper, updating the wall color is a fairly easy and inexpensive fix that can totally modernize the room. Also, installing beadboard wainscoting or a simple baseboard trim will give the walls a fresh, updated look.

Outdated Kitchen
The kitchen is often the homeowner’s favorite room in the house, so an outdated kitchen could send house hunters onto the next. While remodeling a kitchen isn’t always the easiest project, there are many simple things you can do to revive its appeal. Adding a fresh coat of paint and replacing old handles and knobs can recover dingy cupboards. Changing the faucet, countertops, and lighting fixtures are also reasonable ways to spice up the kitchen, all of which can be found in most home improvement stores in a variety of sizes, styles, colors and price ranges.  If you’re feeling really creative, you can install a tile backsplash or paint a wall with chalkboard paint to give it a trendy, modern look.


Boring Bathroom
It has everything it needs, but it’s just plain boring. Get a spa-worthy bathroom by making a few small changes. A good place to start is to find a shower curtain that you love and then choose a color palette based on it. Paint the walls and the cabinets in a color that fits within your palette. If the sink is still in good condition, replace only the faucet.  Also, adding wall shelves and replacing the mirror can help give a remodeled look to your bathroom.

Unflattering Floors
Not only does it have wallpaper, it has shag carpeting! If the home is sporting some unattractive flooring, there could still be hope. Check to see if there is hardwood under the carpeting, if so, you’re in luck! Hardwood floors have become increasingly more popular and restoring them can often be achieved. If hardwood floors aren’t your thing, but you don’t want to purchase new carpeting consider an area rug. Area rugs aren’t as expensive and allow you to swap out colors and patterns as often as you’d like.

Be sure to ask your real estate agent for ideas, as he/she can give you recommendations and suggestions based on the home you are considering. If you are just beginning you home search, see homes for sale in Pittsburgh