The Draw of the Flaw

Making Defects Sell

There are times when something that most people consider a defect is perceived as a benefit by others.

Take power lines. Some buyers have no fear of them at all and can't find any scientific evidence that living under them is dangerous. They may also like the wide-open spaces that generally surround homes sitting under such lines.

Valerie Huffman, regional vice president with Weichert Realtors, said that some buyers are happy to pay a little less to purchase a home under power lines. Some are even planning ahead, eagerly awaiting the day when enough evidence exists to prove conclusively that the lines pose no threat. They can then sell their homes for normal prices, content that more buyers than ever will consider power lines to be a nonissue.

"You just need to disclose everything you can when selling these homes," Huffman said. "If a house is by power lines, you should have all the information about the lines and the property that a buyer would want. This helps them make an educated decision."

Some buyers actually prefer homes that sit on busy roads, which could prove a deal-breaker for many others, Huffman said.

Huffman has sold several houses that sit along well-traveled roads. In two of these cases, the buyers purchased the home because they felt it would be safer to live in a busier area, that there would be less crime than in a more secluded neighborhood. Other buyers liked the idea of popping quickly onto the main road, which makes for an easier commute.

Successful sellers focus on the positive aspects of their homes' defects. For instance, Huffman said, a home on the edge of a noisy business district may offer five bedrooms for a price that generally buys only four.

"You have to let people know that with this home you can get so much more than you otherwise could find at the same price," Huffman said. "If you are selling a house in an area with a defect, you have to greatly focus on the other positives."

Not All Problems Persist

There are times when something looks and feels like an obvious defect, but, upon closer examination, isn't really a problem.

There are homes next to busy highways that have enough landscaping and sound barriers to mask the noise of SUVs and trucks whooshing past. Houses under power lines may have their windows arranged so that their owners look out onto a clear field, not at metal towers.

Then there are those homes with serious-seeming defects that can be cured relatively easily.

Take the case of Dmitry Krylov. He loved the Colonial-style house in Rockville as soon as he saw it in 2004. It had two issues, though, that Krylov and his wife considered obvious defects: It had an onsite septic system, something with which Krylov had never dealt. And it had high radon readings.