Chapter 12 of 20
Comparing homes
A consistent method for comparing candidates, so the decision is not driven by whichever you saw last.
1 min read
Once you have two or three genuine candidates, compare them on paper in a fixed set of dimensions. Viewing homes in sequence makes recency and cosmetics dominate, and cosmetics are the cheapest thing to fix and the least important thing to pay for.
For each home, record: total monthly cost as built in Chapter 6; land arrangement; year built and whether it is post-HUD-Code; sections and total square footage; the condition of roof, floors, windows, and HVAC; the state of the skirting, crawl space, and anchoring; and what the community rules permit if applicable.
Weight the expensive, permanent things heavily and the cheap, changeable things lightly. Roof condition, floor soundness, moisture in the crawl space, HVAC age, window quality, and setup quality are what determine your costs over the next decade. Paint, flooring, fixtures, and landscaping are inexpensive and should not decide anything.
Be deliberately sceptical of recent cosmetic work on an older home. New flooring and fresh paint are sometimes exactly what they appear to be, and sometimes they are covering something. A home that has been visibly prepared for sale warrants a closer look at what is underneath, not less.
Key points
- Compare on paper in fixed dimensions, not by which you saw most recently.
- Weight roof, floors, moisture, HVAC, and setup heavily.
- Weight paint, flooring, and fixtures close to zero.
- Recent cosmetic work on an old home is a reason to look harder, not to relax.
Watch out
Square footage is not comparable across homes without also comparing layout. A single-wide and a double-wide of the same area live very differently, and the double-wide will resell more easily.