Try Not to Fall for the First Pretty Facade You See
Sometimes it happens even before a buyer walks through the threshold of a home he’s visiting: Adoration intervenes.
Maybe the home has a handsome stone exterior like the castles in fairy tales the buyer read as a child. Or perhaps it’s set in a prestigious neighborhood where doctors and judges reside.
No matter the allure, the buyer who experiences immediate amour is at risk of making an irrational choice, real estate specialists caution.
“I’ve seen people fall in love with a house that wasn’t the right one for them,” said Gill Woods, former president of the National Assn. of Realtors.
“If you bond emotionally to a property, you’re in danger of making a blunder from which you cannot recover,” warned Linda Cutter, a broker-associate for the Re/Max realty chain.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with feeling passion for a particular property. More than 50% of all buyers experience it, Cutter estimated. And certainly no agent wants to be a killjoy. But a good one will help the infatuated buyer evaluate the merits of a home in a dispassionate manner. “Otherwise, you’ll be seeing only one tree, not the whole forest,” Cutter said.
Some buyers hanker for a house that fails to truly fulfill their lifestyle requirements, Cutter noted. Perhaps it lacks ample space for their style of living or requires expensive upgrades to be comfortable, such as an enlarged kitchen.
And some “right” houses are in distinctly “wrong” neighborhoods. Maybe you’re smitten by a brand-new property featuring a fancy room for billiards. Or maybe you’re drawn to the luxurious Jacuzzi tub in the home’s master bedroom suite.
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Still, suppose that such a princely place is surrounded by small bungalows bearing much lower price tags. Your family fortune could be at stake if you don’t carefully examine the environment around the property.
“Buying the most impressive home in a lesser area is always a ticket to losing money,” said Woods, who heads an independent, family-owned realty firm.
Even a grand neighborhood could be the wrong one for your household if you have small children and few live in the tony community. Or maybe the trophy area is so far from your office that your commute would prove burdensome.
Then, too, the neighborhood could be on the verge of a major transition. Perhaps the beautiful meadow behind the home you fancy will soon be crowded with a new development of oversized houses on tiny lots, yanking away the privacy that drew you to the meadowland home in the first place.
It’s no fun for a buyer seeking an idyllic feeling of isolation to wake up one morning to the sound of bulldozers clearing ground for a small city of intrusive neighbors.
“Even if you fall in love with a house, you ought to take your time and look at the surrounding area, though not so much time that you might lose the house,” said Nancy J. Connon, who sells homes through the Prudential chain.
Here are four suggestions for avoiding painful errors when you buy a home:
No. 1: Give yourself a brief “cooling-off” period.
Cutter recommends you allow yourself at least 24 hours for second thoughts before you submit a contract offer to the seller of a home you fancy. Not only does a cooling-off period let you take a sober second look, it also allows you time to talk to neighbors and government officials about near-term plans for changes to the community.
Is the property so attractive that you dare not wait to make your offer? Then be sure that your contract is conditional on a thorough home inspection, which permits you an “out” if you discover a serious shortcoming with the property.
No. 2: Bond with an agent who will steer you clear of the wrong purchase.
Some would-be buyers drift from agent to agent, based on the false belief that they’ll find one with a secret formula for finding the perfect home, said Connon of Prudential.
In truth, there is no secret formula for home selection, and your best bet is a seasoned agent who is loyal to your best interests. That means the agent may try to talk you out of a home you love if he knows it will eventually disappoint you.
A top-drawer agent will not only listen to what you say you desire but also carefully observe your reactions to various properties during the home-hunting process.
“People don’t always know what they want,” Connon observed.
Still, an experienced agent has less reason to work diligently on your behalf if it’s apparent that you’re prone to changing agents frequently, Connon said. Even if you don’t reveal your habit of shifting agents often, word of your practice will probably circulate within the real estate sales community, she noted.
Smart agents soon discover that some would-be customers will not return their loyalty by staying the course with them, even though they’re performing to a professional standard.
“You learn the hard way not to spin your wheels in this business,” Connon said.
No. 3: Worry if you don’t fall in love after a lengthy home search.
Certainly there are perils that can await the love-at-first-sight home buyer who is blinded by emotion. But the prospect who can’t seem to find anything that suits her tastes may also have problems.
Virtually all buyers who visit 30 well-selected properties should find a place that’s right for them, assuming their agent is a good listener and that they’re looking in the right price range, Woods contended.
Of course, some buyers have a taste for fine wine on a beer budget. But a buyer whose financing limits have been clearly established by a mortgage lender in advance of a home search shouldn’t spend much time looking at properties well under his range, unless he chooses to spend less than he might.
No. 4: Don’t assume that a beloved home is the wrong home.
Emotion plays an important role in property selection, as any one in the real estate business is aware. Fortunately, it’s not unusual to be instantly captivated by a place that also proves to be perfect for your household. When such a serendipitous event occurs, you have reason to cheer, as does your agent.
“The agent doesn’t have to utter six words, and the house has already been sold,” Woods said.
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.
