Homebuying – Compromise; Don’t Settle

0 COMMENTS

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Karen Crowson in Buyers

Now, please understand, I don’t mean this to be an unrealistic approach to buying a home.

You probably started out your home search with a very specific list of what you wanted, how much you were willing to pay, and where you wanted to live.  Your budget it the largest factor in determining if all of those factors line up.

So far I haven’t met anyone who didn’t want the perfect house, in the best location and please, pretty please can it be in our budget?  Those with endless financial power may win on all accounts. But for most people, there is a price limit and ‘perfect’ usually comes at too high a price. 

So as you map out your home buying strategy, really give some consideration to what factors weigh the most:  is it location? the home size? condition?   These are probably the most important aspects to consider (which way it faces, how many garage spaces, layout of kitchen) may be a little further down in the pecking order.

You (and whoever is involved in making the buying decision) should really talk about which aspects of your home purchase comes 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd. If budget dictates that you can’t find all of those things within your price range, which one wins out?

If there is a compromise to be made, make sure you’ve considered what you actually will compromise on. Is it the number of bedrooms, or the school that becomes most important? Is it the to-die-for updates, or is it the amount of time spent commuting?  A big back yard for the kids to hang out in, or a remodeled kitchen.

If the number one most important factor you started with was ‘no commute’, you are apt to be less thrilled with the fully updated house that adds two more hours to your commute time. Home inventory in Livermore is exceptionally low right now. It’s easy for buyers to get discouraged, worrying that they won’t find a suitable home. New listings come on the market each week.

There’s a house out there with your name on it. It just may not be on the market – yet.