Big Ticket Tracking
How old is your roof? Your furnace – how old is that? Have any idea when your water heater was installed? Is your refrigerator old?
When touring houses, buyers have lots of questions. I ask sellers for dates on their roofs and mechanicals in the process of listing their houses – anticipating these questions from prospective buyers.
Why does no one ever know?? That’s not true. Some homeowners have a pretty good idea of the dates on the parts and pieces of their home, but many do not. To be fair, if people buy a home without knowing the roof's age, they still won’t know the age when they try to sell the house three years later. The roof will just be three years older than whatever age it was before!
But, I propose that we do better. Let’s change this situation. How hard is recording the dates when making major changes or home-related purchases? Could paperwork from appliances, mechanicals, roofers, etc., be saved and filed? Imagine the idea!
I don’t really care what system people use. The above photo may or may not be a real example of some people I know (quite well) who throw all the paperwork in the bottom of a file drawer. Is it organized? Hmmm – maybe not, but it’s there! Other people might maintain an entire file system, nicely alphabetized with tabs and color-coding. I’m not judging! I just want people to start some sort of record-keeping. I don’t care if they write dates on a stud with a Sharpie in the unfinished part of their basement! Actually, that might not be a bad idea!
And a side note, you can look up the serial number for your mechanicals online to determine a manufacture date. Hunt around the unit to find the serial number. Even though it might be in code, the internet will help you decipher it. You can feel like a detective!
Do the ages really matter? Yes. Sellers who have purchased big-ticket items in the not-so-distant past may charge more for their homes because of the value of these purchases. Imagine two similar properties, one has a brand new $22,000 roof and one has an older roof. Obviously, the new roof adds value. A new furnace and air conditioning unit add value. And, newer things also add a lot of appeal. Buyers love to know the windows have been replaced, the furnace is new, the patio was recently upgraded. Write down the dates! Extra points if you record the installer and the manufacturer.
Find a system or make a system – just record your system upgrades in some way!