Buying a Home When the Land is Covered in Snow

The dreaded four letter word of the last few has months has been S-N-O-W. Snow, snow and more snow. It's early March - daylight saving time happened today - and we still have at least a foot of snow on the ground. And based on the temperatures that we've consistently been experiencing, I'm thinking it could be here for the next month. Ughhh.... Not only is it tiresome, but it's getting in the way of the home buying process. In our neck of the woods (Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns) and especially this winter, buying a home when the land is covered in snow is not a possibility - it's a reality. The way I see it, there are two significant problems with buying a home in the winter when everything is snow covered....

First, you can't see the land. And so, it's very hard to see what you're buying in terms of the exterior space and its components. Where does the patio start and end? Where does the lawn begin? How far does it extend? Is there enough land for the kids to play soccer and lacrosse? What are the gardens like, and are they sizable? It's a bit unsettling, to say the least, not to be able to see what you're buying, especially given that a home is such a major, expensive investment and asset. To help with this problem, ask the seller if he has photos of the property taken in the spring or summer. And/or if the property has been on the market before, look up the prior listing sheets to see if they include any summer outdoor photos. This should help give you a better sense of the outside, but it's still not a perfect solution by any means.

Second, it's difficult for your home inspector to assess the exterior aspects of the property. This has happened to several of my buyer clients this winter. The inspector's comments for the roof, walkways, patios, bulkhead, grading and more were that they were "covered with snow and ice and can't be effectively viewed or evaluated." And then, "Recommend inspection after areas are cleared from obstruction," i.e. snow and ice.

So what are you to do? This is a tough one because a seller won't allow the inspection contingency to go on until the snow melts thus allowing the outside areas to be observed and assessed. This winter, for instance, if the inspection took place in early January that could mean a re-inspection as late as the end of March - and that assumes that the snow has melted by then. In some cases, you could have closed on the property in that amount of time (closings occur in 60 days on average). There is no chance a seller would allow this. And so, you have to find out as much information as possible about the areas in question and trust that the seller is fully disclosing any issues. Also it needs to be highlighted in the Purchase & Sale Agreement - as it usually is - that the seller is responsible for conveying the property to you in the same condition in which you saw it. So if there is an ice dam between the inspection and the closing, the seller needs to repair the damage. It's certainly less than ideal, but "it is what it is" as we all like to say.

If both issues cause you too much stress and discomfort, then the only option is to wait until the snow melts to begin your home search process. If we take this year as an example, that would mean delaying your quest until sometime later in March. Unfortunately that also means missing some potentially great inventory and homes in which to live, which is also suboptimal.

No matter how you look at it, extensive snow and cold temperatures, which delay the snow from melting, can create some serious roadblocks to your home searching and buying processes. Have you ever bought a home in the winter and faced this scenario? If so, what did you do to ameliorate the situation? Or did you opt to begin your home buying process when the snow was nonexistent? I can't wait to hear....

For more information on this or about the real estate market in Weston, Wellesley, Wayland and the surrounding towns, please contact me, Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 or www.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.