In some regions of the country, including Sacramento, we are beginning to witness a shift from a glut of properties on the market with few homebuyers, to one where current market reports reflect more homes transitioning to “pending sale” status, than homes being listed For Sale.
This shift can add to the urgency or stress levels of homebuyers. Here are a number of steps, which can help alleviate anxiety, and make buying your special home more pleasurable.
1. Find a real estate professional who’s compatible. Buying a home is a big financial commitment, and it is often an emotional experience. It is important that your real estate professional be skilled, and a good fit with your personality.
2. It is important to understand that real estate markets are cyclic. There is no absolutely “perfect” time to buy a home, nor is there a “perfect” time to sell a home. A number of factors incorporate marketplaces. For example, currently, there are fewer homes to select from than a year ago. However, prices continue to remain low in many areas of the country. And mortgage interest rates are at lows not seen in decades. If you try second-guessing the market on interest rates and prices, you risk missing out!
3. Asking Uncle Bernie for his advice, can sometimes confuse your thinking. Homebuyers often want reassurance when making a big purchase like buying a home. But conflicting ideas can make it difficult to come to the best decisions.
4. If you find that “perfect” home, with the great location and a good price, don’t attempt to low-ball an offer. Chances are, other buyers may be interested in this home as well, and are contemplating their own offers.
5. Your competition is not the seller. Your competition is usually other homebuyers, who hope to also make this house their home.
6. It is important to meet with a lender and begin the pre-approval process for a home loan prior to your property search. The lender can accurately judge how much mortgage you can qualify for. This saves time and angst from viewing homes you cannot afford. And it places you in a stronger position with your offer.
7. Buyer’s remorse often visits homebuyers after offers have been written and accepted. Understand a little remorse is inevitable. Buying a home is a huge commitment. I sometimes joke with my homebuyer clients, that remorse nearly always hits at 2:00 am in the morning, but often dissipates by dawn when the light of day puts things back into proper prospective once again. I also advise against their calling me at 2:00 am; but to instead wait until 6:30 am:-)
8. It is important to understand the benefits of owning a home, and the potential for appreciation. With the current low home prices and interest rates, mortgage payments are often similar to what many folks have been paying for rent.
9. By planning and taking certain steps in the home-buying process, much stress can be reduced, and the pleasure of the accomplishment can be more joyfully embraced.
Good Luck to YOU!
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39 Comments on Making Home Buying More Stress Free
Myrl what a great list. So true, getting too many opinions can cause even more stress. Love # 7 don't call at 2:00 am wait until 6:30 :)
Great post! I like point #5. So many buyers think that the seller is against them. Remember, he wants to sell this home just as much as you want to buy it!
Hi Mryl,
Great post.
It is a different time, and buyers have to adjust, just as we have, to the new market
Phil
Hi Myrl,
Thanks for sharing these important points. I especially like point #7 addressing buyers remorse. It's natural for consumers to question their decision after making a large purchase; it's as if all the IFs..... come tumbling down. You addressed this concern well with a positive spin in a light hearted manner.
Have a wonderful day!
Great list Myrl. I wish everybody would follow this list. Well done!
Myrl, excellent list of important points every home buyer should read. Nice Post!
I feel so sorry for the home buyers in Sacramento who are getting beat up. It's like a war zone out there. It's really crazy. I'm almost afraid to put a home on the market, LOL. I try to prepare my sellers but they just sit there and stare at me with big round eyes like I'm speaking a foreign language when I tell them what's going to happen.
The most painless way to do it is for a seller to get into the market quickly and out of the market quickly. That results in the fewest amount of bruises on all sides.
"Find a real estate professional who’s compatible" - you are already with the 1st sentence of advise making a great point. A good realtor that understands you, gets your communication style and hears what you say will make a huge difference in both the Sellers' and Buyers' real estate experience!
Realtors are supposed to make the transaction as stress free as possible, however, some have the opposite effect.
Good post.
Excellent advice for home buyers.
Have a most productive spring as home buyers take advantage of the record low mortgage interest rates.
Hi Myrl, great post. Buying a home is in the top five of most stressful things to do. Thanks for the reminder.
Suzanne - I can say that the advice has worked "most" of the time:-)
Richard - It is no secret that a career in real estate can be a high stress realm. One of the first investments I made after receiving my license to sell real estate, was in a spa for my backyard. There have been times, when I swear that contraption has saved my life. . .LOL
Eileen - They can email me all they want in the middle of the night. But, I won't read it until morning:-)
Reuben - Understanding real estate cycles is key. The fact that we often switch rapidly from a buyer's to a seller's market, and the other way around, can add to the complexity.
Carla - Over the years I have found those points can work most of the time. However in a seller's market, it is best for homebuyers to understand their competition isn't with the seller as much as it is with other buyers wanting the same property.
Nogui - Thank you!
Judi - Hopefully it will help them in making better choices and take more effective action for themselves.
Kevin - Within a few months of receiving my real estate license back in 1981, I began seeing a pattern of homebuyers getting remorseful after signing the contract. It nearly always hit in the middle of the night, but lessened a little by dawn. A huge investment can do that to folks. Understanding that it's natural, helps!
William - When "simpatico" exists in a real estate relationship it can be magical. There are literally scores of clients I have had over the decades, whom I continue to remember fondly. They enrich the life experience!
Jennifer - #7 is a big one on my list:-) Nine times out of ten you can't fix anything at that hour contracturally, or otherwise. And unfortunately I have no training as a barkeeper or a psychologist, so I'm of no good in that way:-)
Donald - I have consistently noted in my career that the smoothest of transactions were those where the seller and buyer were trying to achieve the same thing, and understood that!
Phil - While the points I tried to make will work in most markets, knowing what type of a market you are trying to buy in will help additionally.
Wandanna - Buyer's Remorse is one of those topics that isn't always talked about in the realm of real estate; but it does exist, and I think knowing it and addressing it may help. I just don't want to address it at 2:00 a.m. in the morning:-)
Christiansen Team - I'm glad you liked it! I hope you are having a GREAT week!
Michael - Thank you for your kind words!
Elizabeth - It is no secret the last several years have presented a great deal of heartbreak witnessed by real estate professionals. First it was watching so many folks lose their homes. While it continues, we are watching first-time homebuyers, competing with investors for the entry level homes and being out-gunned. At some point I am hopeful things will smooth out to a more pleasant housing environment for all. I fully relate to your term, "getting beat up." The arena has felt more like a heavyweight boxing ring, than it has a real estate marketplace.
Myrl:
They should ask uncle Bernie, after all he bought a home once, so he is an expert now. Seriously, your list is what buyer should pay attention to. Forget Uncle Bernie.
Myrl, That is a great list to have for homebuyers, especially first timers! It is important that they realize that we really have (in many areas) switched to low priced sellers market.
Good advice, Myrl. Leave Uncle Bernie out and don't second guess the market!
Heck Myrl. I didn't know you were featured...I was just stopping by since you ALWAYS post good stuff. Like this...
Excellent info Myrl! Buyer's expectations aren't in line with the current market situation in many areas. ..
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