When searching for a bargain, your best friends are dirt and clutter. Mess turns off buyers and can reduce the price you have to pay. "There was dust, garbage and debris everywhere when I first looked in my current house," says Dobson. "But I could see a beautiful floor layout. The rooms were large and spacious. And even though there was no landscaping, it had a fairly large front and backyard with a driveway and small garage. There was great value there."
Like Dobson, you have to look beyond the obvious to find a deal. First rule: get out of the car and take a look no matter how bad a place may appear from the curb. Second rule: be systematic in evaluating a home. Because clutter can deceive you into thinking rooms are smaller than they really are, carry a tape measure to check room sizes. Pack a digital camera so you can snap photos to remind yourself of key points.
If a house is broken into a warren of small rooms or seems awkwardly laid out, tap the walls to figure out which ones are weightbearing. A solid sound indicates a structural wall — one that bears weight. Changing a structural wall can cost thousands of dollars and sabotage your renovation budget.
On the other hand, a hollow sound usually indicates a non-weight-bearing wall that can be removed with relative ease for a couple of hundred dollars and a few hours of your own labor. If all that stands between you and a beautiful new floor plan are a few non-weight-bearing walls, you may have found a diamond in the rough.
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