In
buying or selling your home, it’s a given that the house is in competition with
other houses in the area. So how do you find out if your house is functionally
obsolete against your competition?
Firstly,
what does it even mean if a house is considered functionally obsolete? Sure, it
might be in working order, but does it match up properly with the housing
market around it?
Usually
when a real estate agent is talking to you about functional obsolescence, it
has to do with the economy of the housing market that your house is in. It may
be obsolete because there is a feature that makes the house deficient compared
to the houses around it. For example, your house could be a small, dated house
among larger, brand new homes. It can be the other way around as well, where
you have a new home, but the houses near you are all smaller, older homes.
Functional
obsolescence doesn’t only apply to location. It can also be interior features
or added features to the house that put off buyers in the specific market, and
thus makes the home functionally obsolete.
In the
end, a functionally obsolete house will come with you needing compromise,
whether you are the buyer (dealing with upgrades) or the seller (changing the
selling price) of the house.
To read more and gain tips on appraisals for functionally obsolete homes, you can visit this article provided: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/functional-obsolescence-259126