West Cleveland Suburbs ~ Home Buyer Tips ~ #4 - Try to see the forest, not just the trees

Here's Tip #4 of the Top 10 Tips To Take the Stress Out of Homebuying:

4. Accept that no house is ever perfect. If it's in the right location, the yard may be a bit smaller than you had hoped. The kitchen may be perfect, but the roof needs repair. Make a list of your top priorities and focus in on things that are most important to you. Let the minor ones go.

Close your eyes and imagine driving into a beautiful neighborhood, in the suburb you've always wanted to live. As you drive down the quiet, tree-lined street you arrive at the house at the end of the cul-de-sac...with the FOR SALE sign in the front yard. The lawn is green, the rose bushes are in bloom, and the sun is shining brightly on your new house! You can just feel it - it's perfect!! You walk up to the front door with your realtor, and as she unlocks the door and you enter your ‘future home' - everything stops. The carpet is yellow shag, there's flocked wallpaper on the walls ~ and I mean EVERY SINGLE WALL ~ the kitchen appliances are a "gorgeous" shade of avocado green. You could very well have stepped onto the set of "That 70s Show".

What now?? Well, go back to the list you made when you started your home search. Even folks who have houses built usually find a few things they wish had been done differently, after they've moved in. Wallpaper and carpet can be removed. Even walls can sometimes be removed! But an entire house?? Not so easy to do. Hopefully you'll be in your new home for many years to come, and you don't have to change everything all at once.

I spent New Year's Eve 2001 stripping 50-year old wallpaper from the living room of the house I'd closed on that afternoon. When I finally went back to my apartment at 2:00am and crawled into bed, I had such a sense of accomplishment! Little by little, my home has become what I envisioned almost 8 years ago. Except for that roof. Maybe next year!

So when you find your dream house, don't let cosmetics turn that dream into a nightmare!

Home Buyer Tip #1

Home Buyer Tip #2

Home Buyer Tip #3

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