It has been a pretty tough market to be a buyer these last couple of years. Steadily rising prices, low inventory of homes, and many buyers in competition for the same property can lead to some discouragement and frustration. Especially when they are trying to stick to a firm budget and perhaps they NEED concessions in a market in which they are extremely hard to attain. There comes a point after seeing a number of houses when I hear discouraged buyers start trying to force a house into being the one, when I can tell they don’t FEEL anything for it. Perhaps they just think they might have a decent shot at it because no one else seems to want it. Or they flat-out say “We’ve seen so many houses, I’m ready to just pick one and be done with the search”. Or they apologize as if they are taking up too much of my time, looking at too many homes.
That’s when I have to interrupt with a “NO, NO, NO!! I don’t want you to settle. I want you to feel something. Trust me, there will be one that makes you feel something. One that feels like home. I’m not here to sell you a house, I’m here to help you find the right house”
Now, it is important to note that there is definitely a difference between compromising and settling. In every home search, buyers have a checklist of things that their ideal place would have. Yet so often they fall in love with a place that is missing one (or more) of those items they thought they really had to have. But when they meet the one that they feel something for, compromises are quickly made. Perhaps they say in the beginning that central air is an absolute must, but they fall in love with everything else about a house that has baseboard heat and no AC. Another time of compromise often comes after buyers see a few properties, start to learn the market and begin to realize that all those wants they listed are not realistic for their price range in the area they wish to be. So compromises are made. It is very rare that a buyer will find exactly everything they pictured and wished for. Compromises are frequent and neccesary in a house hunt.
But settling is a different story. I don’t care if we see one house or thirty, I want my buyers to fall in love with a house, I don’t want them to settle. This is a HUGE purchase. Probably the largest purchase of your life. Don’t settle! Hold out for one that gives you butterflies, one that you picture the kids in the backyard, one you can’t wait to entertain your friends in…one that makes you start dreaming of your life within it. And then be ready to fight like heck to win it. Honestly, a buyer may need to find more than one house they feel something for along the journey when they are in stiff competition against multiple offers and the seller can only pick one. But time and time again, I see things fall together for buyers. The right one always seems to come along at the right time. The patient, strong and persistent buyers will eventually meet and attain their match.
