Before I was in the real estate business, I remember hearing that my sister-in-law and my brother were thinking about buying another house. Apparently my brother’s part in the initial screening of available properties was to first drive to each available listing to evaluate its driveway. If the driveway didn’t make the cut with him, the house wasn’t one that my brother would seriously consider. Although at the time I probably thought he was just a little bit obsessive, I have since learned that my brother was totally right about the importance of a good driveway. Now that we are in a “down” market in which buyers have more than enough time to study a property before making their first (low) offer, it is doubly important that buyers undertake a rigorous evaluation of a property’s features, with an eye to any “incurable defects.” These are the problems for which there is no feasible remedy, and which will always establish a ceiling for a property’s price at resale, no matter how appealing the property has become or been made in other respects.

As an agent, from the moment that I pull up a record in MLS, I make it my business to be aware of any and all of a property’s serious drawbacks, especially the ones that cannot easily be changed. For example, a property’s location on a lot with the neighborhood’s brick monument sign in the yard, or the property’s proximity to a busy road, are features that will usually remain outside of the owner’s control. Many times I have encountered driveways that have been installed so thoughtlessly that they inevitably fall into the category of incurable defect. Although there are many driveways that are obviously inadequate, due to lack of surfacing, poor location on the lot, or being out of proportion to the house, these are not the driveways to be concerned about. On the contrary, these are often deficiencies that can easily (if not cheaply) be corrected; if the seller is willing to make a price concession, and the buyer is willing to undertake the risk of an unknown outcome, often a deal can be made that is a good match for both parties.

However, many a buyer (who then becomes a sadder but wiser seller!) has been fooled by a driveway that appears to be fully functional. It does not have any of the aforementioned problems; more often that not (because it has been installed by a builder) it will be expensively surfaced and attractively placed as well as sized in proportion to the house. Its problem? such a driveway may be far too steep, too straight, or may have an apron that is much higher than the grade of the street and prevents access without scraping. And, there can be no cure for any of these defects, because these features are a function of the placement on the lot of the house’s attached garage. It is important to understand that this is a house with an incurable defect; as such, it will always be relatively difficult to market and will never bring the same price as comparable houses without a driveway problem.

I always encourage my clients to make a full investigation of the driveway at each house they consider. Only after walking up and down a driveway (preferably in high heels, as your party guests will have to do!); after driving into it and backing out of it (possibly scraping your car’s bottom on it!); after turning around (or not!) in it and slowly pulling into the garage or carport from it; will you know what the defects of a particular driveway are, thereby knowing more about the potential appreciation of the property where it has been installed.