Emotional Buyers & Sellers

I’ve heard that buyers buy with emotion. I have found that to be true many, many times. I’ve been showing a property to buyers that I’ve been working with for a while and I know upon entrance to the property that they want to buy this property.
As a buyer’s agent, I try to educate them to look carefully at the infrastructure of the property. They must fight the temptation to fall in love with a property. In this market of foreclosures, the competition for a great deal is fierce at times. Often REALTORS love the fact that buyers buy with emotion. I think sometimes sellers sell with emotion too.  Emotion confuses the situation tremendously. Emotions often cause major mistakes. A wise person is one who is aware of the part that emotion plays in the situation and locates a proper place to put it.

As an agent for the seller (aka Listing Agent), I should help them emotionally detach themselves from their house. To start with, I call it a house versus calling it a home. This is subtle but can help with the emotional detachment process. Sellers should be careful not to factor too much of their “sweat equity” into the selling process – not if they really want to sell their home. This kind of emotional attachment makes the seller unreasonable. Negotiation is impossible between two parties, when one party is completely unreasonable.

Buying or selling a home should be a carefully made decision based upon facts and available resources and a clear understanding of the market conditions. I council buyers to make sure they are comfortable with the payment structure of the purchase. If they love to eat out, go on vacation, go to the movies and other fun stuff; they should factor all of this into their budget. I encourage them to be married to their spouse NOT their house! I will council sellers to set realistic goals regarding the proceeds from the sale of their house. I know that they would like to make a lot of money on the sale, but in the market is oblivious to this. The market value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay for their house. Market value is often skewed by the sellers.

If I want my buyers & sellers to refer me later to a friend, I must show competence and offer wise council through the purchase process of their new home or the sale of their house.

Pressing On!
Dwayne