Name of your website?Buy Small House
Your name?
Lu Prescott
Your Location (city, etc)
Houston
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Educates first time home buyers on how to look for hidden defects when viewing a home to buy.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I have been considering buying a larger home and realized how differently I look at homes now then I did when I bought my first home. After having lived in the same home for 20 years I know where the problem areas are. I know the lies real estate agents tell and am tired of real estate agents telling me not to look at things, to leave it to the inspector.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
My first website was launched in 1997 for my web design business.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
When I bought the domain BuySmallHouse.com it was orignally going to be about the advantages of buying a small house. Many people are being foreclosed on these days because they bought more house than they could really afford. After house shopping myself and seeing all the problems with the homes out there I changed the main purpose of the site.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
All the first time home buyer web sites I have seen deal with the financial aspects of buying a home. Nothing tells home buyers where to look for potentially expensive problems. They just say have a home inspection and they don't warn about all the bad inspectors out there. Buyers need to have a good idea of what problems there are before they put their money down and hire an inspector. Buyers need to know that buying a new home doesn't mean it is defect free.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I plan to keep the site and home that by informing consumers of shoddy building practices and real estate agent lies that eventually the way things are done in the industry will change. The only way change will occur is if consumers demand it.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
It's a new site, I hope it will generate some spare income but it's main pupose is consumer information.
What changes would you like to see in the real estate industry.
I would like to walk into a house I am interested in and pick up a sheet of paper written by the owner that gives me a history of the house. What types of repairs have they made over the years, what do they like about the neighborhood, how old is the a/c and heater, what material are the water pipes made of, why are the owners moving. As it is now the listing agents know nothing about the homes they are selling, all they do is let you in the door. There is talk that real estate agents will die out just like travel agents. If they don't change the way they do business, then the sooner the better.
I would like to see better construction practices in the new home building industry. How hard is it to not overdrive nails into siding? (the number one cause of siding failure) Educated consumers demand better products.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
n/a
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
none
What has been your biggest challenge?
none
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
brand new
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
n/a
What is your website address?
Buy Small House
