Buying a home can be an exciting time, but it can also be challenging
and stressful. There are so many issues to consider, processes to understand and obstacles to contend with. My goal is to provide the kind or process that smooths out as many of the rough parts as possible and be a solid resource to achieving your goals as a home buyer. Having completed many transactions over 15 years and experienced markets in various conditions, I’ve learned a few things to help my buyers achieve their goals more often than not.
With that experience in mind and knowing things change, and often change quickly, I’ve come up with these keys to Home Buying Happiness.
- Set realistic expectations. It seems to be a universal law that whatever our budget is, what we really want tends to be just outside of it. By no means am I saying to compromise on your key desires, but as the process unfolds most of the time buyers reassess what their goals may be in light of the available inventory and their budget.
- Understand the way the market is moving and adjust expectations accordingly. When a market is flat or declining, a well-priced, well prepared home may be had at or below the list price. But, when the inventory is low and competition is high, the same home may receive multiple offers and sell well above list price. Understanding the type of market you are in and also understanding that a List Price, is not a value, it’s a strategy can help you adjust your strategies in finding and getting that home.
- Use top professionals in all aspects. Having a top Agent, Lender, Inspector and other vendors on your team will make a huge difference in your experience and total happiness. You may have a friend or relative who recently got their license and expects you to use them. The choice is always yours, but being a test subject for a new or inexperienced agent can be very risky & stressful. As someone who’s been around for a while, who stays up to date with technology & trends, I know my profession, my colleagues and vendors well. I wrote Use Top Pros not Expensive Prose to illustrate the difference between a quality agent versus someone with a budget.
- Don’t rely on false, misleading or uninformed sources. Family means well, websites have their own agendas, newspapers are there to sell newspapers not homes. No one knows what’s really going on in the market like the people who daily participate in the market. As you are involved in the process, your perspectives will change and what you have heard, read and been told will either ring true or be proven out of date or outright false. No website can accurately determine a home’s value. Your friends and families’ experiences are good to hear, but will not likely be the same as yours and the strategies used just a few years ago may not be the most helpful now.
- Endurance can pay off. In my current market, there is a shortage of homes and an abundance of buyers. It’s not uncommon at all for a buyer to lose out in a bidding war a few times. The temptation is to give up and wait, but that can backfire if the values continue to climb and you end up priced out of the market. Sometimes, it takes working through the process and taking a few swings before you finally connect. When you do, you’ll feel like it was meant to be. Don’t let the ones that got away get you down, learn from them and move forward until it all comes together.
These are just a few Keys to Home Buying Happiness. There are likely more and the process will have rough spots. I believe by referring back to this list and staying positive when things don’t go as you hoped, the final outcome can be a great one and you can find Home Buying Happiness.
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