Expert: Derek Hamilton - 4/2/2009

Question
I am considering buying house in Ontario.  The house dates from about 1984. It has been listed since last fall and hasn't yet had any offers.  When asked why, other than the poor real estate market, there have been no offers on the house, the listing agent said that people tend to find that the rooms are smaller than they look in the pictures.  That didn't seem to be a noticeable flaw to me until I took a measurement of floor to ceiling height and found that to be 7'6".  One supporting overhead beam is only 6'5" above the floor.  
 On the one hand it seems that there could be a cost saving as far as heating is concerned.  On the other hand I can imagine that it could be an issue for very tall people.  But my greater concern is to learn what, if any, negative impact on resale value measurements such as these would have.
 I appreciate any thoughts you might have on the subject.
 Steven


Answer
Hi Steve,
I'm concerned about this ceiling height? The min.height should be 8 Ft. Maybe the previous owners raised the floor for some reason? You could arrange for a showing and bring in a Home Inspector to see if there are any structural problems with the property?
If the property has been on the market for a long time there is usually a reason for that. Even if you get this property for a reasonable price,you may have a hard time selling it down the road.
You will not save any money on heating so don't go there.
This is a great opportunity to buy a nice home with very low interest rates. Take your time and buy a property with the least amount of negatives as possible so when it's time to sell you won't have any issues.
Let this property go and find another one!!
Good luck.

Derek