How to Read the MLS Property Report—A Guide for Charlotte NC Home Buyers (Part 5)
If you are a Charlotte NC home buyer, you will want to understand the wealth of information you can get from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) property reports that your real estate agent gives you. 
This guide will lead you through a property report and make you a better-informed home buyer. Part 1 covered the basic property information found at the top of the report. Part 2 addressed what you should know and what you should investigate if the report indicates that the property is subject to a Home Owners Association (HOA). Square footage, including heated area and unheated area, was covered in Part 3. Part 4 described how you can determine what type of rooms the home has and how some of these rooms, such as bedrooms, are defined in the Charlotte marketplace.
How to Read the MLS Property Report—A Guide for Charlotte NC Home Buyers (Part 1)
How to Read the MLS Property Report—A Guide for Charlotte NC Home Buyers (Part 2)
How to Read the MLS Property Report—A Guide for Charlotte NC Home Buyers (Part 3)
How to Read the MLS Property Report—A Guide for Charlotte NC Home Buyers (Part 4)
The MLS property report gives quite a bit of detail about the features of the home in a section called Description. In this section, you can find out whether the home is a ranch or a two-story home, whether it has a garage or carport and what type of foundation it has.
Style is a descriptive category that can cause some confusion to home buyers. Transitional is a style often used in Charlotte. What is the difference between a transitional home and a traditional home? Transitional homes have open interiors often with two-story or vaulted rooms and traditional-looking exteriors. Traditional homes have individually defined rooms usually without the open flow of a transitional.
The description will also tell you what the exterior building materials are. A full brick home is defined as one with all exterior walls of brick excluding dormers.
You can get a good feel for the interior of the home from this section of the property report. You’ll learn whether the home has fireplaces and where they are located, where the laundry is and what type it is, floorcoverings, the appliances and “equipment” that comes with the home as well as special features of the interior such as a garden tub or whirlpool tub.
There are two categories that describe features of the exterior. The first, called Exterior Features, includes only permanent fixtures deeded to the property. A deck or porch and fenced yard would be exterior features. A boat slip deeded to the property would also be an exterior feature. Community features describe subdivision amenities that are available to the property. Here you will find community pools, walking trails and other common amenities.
Finally, the Description section has two “green” categories. The first is Green Certification. Homes certified as environmentally friendly, such as Energy Star homes would be noted here. A second category is for homes scored by the Residential Energy Services Network as energy efficient.
Want to know more about buying and selling real estate in Charlotte NC? Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com.
Copyright 2011. Carol Fox. Allen Tate Realtors. *How to Read the MLS Property Report—A Guide for Charlotte NC Home Buyers (Part 5)*
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