BUYERS CAN SAVE THOUSANDS
Most homebuyers have two main objectives in mind when they start looking for a home:
- they want to find a home that perfectly meets their needs and desires, and
- they want to buy this home for the lowest possible price.
Accomplishing these objectives is easier said than done.
It is important to recognize that buying a house is ultimately an emotional decision. However, buying primarily on emotion usually ensures that you don’t make the wisest choice. The more that emotion can be put in the background while the search process is underway, the better.
Emotion can blind us to defects or shortcomings that can become very apparent after the big emotional moment has dissipated (“Where did that come from? I sure didn’t see THAT before!). When a home purchase is made as a logical step or progression in an overall home buying plan, the results are almost always better than spur of the moment or "gut feeling" decisions.
Negotiating the best price and terms are important factors if you want to save thousands on your purchase. But there is more to it than that.
In addition to the negotiating skills of your realtor, there are other factors at play that will save you big money on your purchase and get you closer to achieving those objectives by reducing the influence of emotion upon your home buying decision:
Knowing what you want - develop a plan
As simple as that sounds, many buyers are hoping for inspiration even when they are well into their home search. As someone said,” If you don’t know what you are looking for, you probably won’t have much luck finding it.”
You don’t have to know down to the colour of the house, but having a very clear idea of what you absolutely need to have is a good starting point. Put your needs first and deal with your wants “it would be nice to have” later.
In an ideal world, you will find a house that fills all your needs and your wants. In the world that most of us live in, this doesn’t always occur.
When you're looking at homes, you'll find that you fall in love with one home or another for entirely different reasons.
Do you buy the 4- bedroom home with room for your family to grow, or the one with the big eat-in kitchen that entices you with thoughts of big weekend family brunches? What's more important: a big backyard, or proximity to your child's school?
The splashy granite countertop that tipped the decision to buy doesn’t seem quite as appealing when you realize that you bought a place without the extra storage space you needed.
Stay focused on meeting the needs that absolutely must be met. Far too often, people buy a home for the wrong reasons, and then regret their decision when the home doesn't meet their needs.
Know your limitations and accept them. It may be that you have a higher borrowing capacity than you feel comfortable taking on. If servicing a big mortgage is going to keep you awake at night, it may not be a good idea to buy that big a place.
Looking at houses in a price range that you will not be purchasing in may set up unrealistic expectations about what is achievable within your comfort zone.
It may be that you will be able to meet all your needs and wants in your new home. If so, great, you are one of the few really lucky ones that get everything they wanted.
Be prepared from the outset that compromises are likely going to have to be made as it is highly unlikely that you can have it all. Avoid the temptation to keep adding to the list in the heat of the search.
Remember that you made your list of needs and wants after careful thought and consideration. Before modifying it significantly, it would be a good idea to examine the impact of doing so on your overall plan.
Be systematic in your Home Search
Ensure that you review as many potential houses as possible, taking note of their suitability and ranking them.
Keep only 3 houses on your list at any time. If a better house comes available, one house has to be taken off the list. In this way, you remain tightly focused on just a few houses at a time.
Get on an automated notification system that alerts you whenever houses matching your general requirements come one the market. Study these houses carefully and analyze what they offer in relation to your criteria.
After a suitable search period, when you have got a good idea of the product available in the market, you will be able to move quickly and decisively when your choice appears. You will have a very good idea of the value of the house and you will not be so prepared to deviate from your plan on not much more than a whim.
Following these ideas will go a long way to making sure that your purchase is a wise decision and that it will not be one that you will quickly come to regret having made.
