We often speak about home sellers who are unrealistic when it comes to things like the price their homes are likely to fetch and other aspects of the sale. But we think there are many unrealistic home buyers too. Everyone wants to clinch a fantastic deal when they’re buying a home. Of course, this is not what the seller has in mind because he’s looking for a fabulous deal, too.
We’ve been noticing that lately home sellers are getting more realistic. If a neighbor’s home sold for an unbelievable amount, they accept that they might not bag a similar deal when they put their homes up for sale.
Unrealistic Home Buyers
We sometimes find that home buyers appear to be losing a grip on actual reality. Some clients come up with really unbelievable comments like:
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I’d like to make an offer of $25K below the list price.
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My budget is $150K and I’m looking for a detached house for a single family and it must be on a golf course.
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We recently foreclosed and want a new place. Our credit is very poor and we cannot make any down payment.
The list is endless. Our answer for all such comments is “Sorry, simply not possible.”
Understanding Markets
When hunting for a home, being realistic is of utmost importance. Most unrealistic expectations stem from the fact that potential buyers do not really comprehend the happenings of the real estate world. Real estate markets cannot be understood merely by watching TV news channels and reading your local newspaper. You must understand market patterns related to your specific area of interest.
Average Price
When the average home price of an area is being discussed, mainstream media might battle about it– sometimes it’s rising, sometimes it’s falling, or hopeless or recovering. So what does an average price indicate?Absolutely nothing. It’s simply not possible to lump all homes in a broad area of 10,000 square miles into one number – it’s quite meaningless.
Being Realistic
We mentioned a client with a budget of $150K who wanted a detached house for a single family on a golf course. Yes, he can surely get the house, but it’ll not be on a golf course. At the said budget, expecting the single family, detached house is realistic, but the golf course is not. So, you’ll only be wasting your time as well as your agent’s time trying to hunt for homes that just don’t exist.
You will never get everything that’s available in a $500K home for $250K – things simply don’t work like that. You cannot (and probably will not) steal a home from your lender, regardless of how much he annoys you.
Seek Advice from Agents
We’ve seen a lot of buyers who are much smarter than normal human beings. But as a general rule, for a smoother buying path, you need to believe what your agent tells you. Agents are as keen to make you purchase a home as you are to get one.
Discussing your expectations with your agent will help you understand whether you’re being realistic. Your stress levels will greatly reduce when you have realistic expectations. And your agent’s stress levels will follow suit.
When you decide make a realistic offer on a house, you should be able to figure out the property’s value. Remember, you can always rely on a free home valuation report from Neighborhood IQ to help you in the buying process. Also, the Home Loan Advisor can analyze your property, current market conditions, local market comps, and other variables in our proprietary algorithm, and match you with potential lenders.
