When it comes to buying property, you know more than a Realtor. Don’t get me wrong. Selling Real Estate is hard, especially in a market like this. I’ve been doing it for over 25 years.
But you know more than your Realtor.
I don’t mean you are more intelligent, although many of you are. And I don’t mean you are better educated, although this may very well be true also.
It is probably easier to find poorly trained and under-educated practitioners in Real Estate and financial services than in any other profession. Doctors have Medical School and internship, Lawyers have Law School and the Bar exam, we have a two-day seminar on how to pass the State License Exam.
But even the best Realtor in the world – and there are many great ones right here (Hold on a minute – I’m trying to find my name somewhere on that list) – can’t tell you which home you will be happiest living in.
When a Realtor asks their client, “Tell me what kind of home you are looking for”, Buyers often answer in a foreign language. The language of bedrooms, bathrooms, square feet, lot size, and (Oh, I love this one!) price per square foot.
Believe me, if homes were valued on a price per foot basis, appraisers would become building surveyors there would be no need for Realtors at all.
Hey – wipe that smile off your face!
Study after study has shown that Buyers buy, enjoy, and live happily in homes because of their proximity to work, the quality of schools and safety of their family, and the ability to enjoy the local amenities.
Few, if any, of these things involve the subtle nuances of the building itself!
In any given area, there are probably several 3 bedroom homes with a two-car garage that share these same features. The reason you want to buy THAT three bedroom, 2000 square foot home on a quarter-acre lot is because you envision having your extended family over for Thanksgiving Dinner and seeing the delight in their faces as you present your new home.
You imagine your bridge club coming over and seeing your lovely modern kitchen with a microwave that does everything except predict the weather.
Think about how you and your buddies can run your Fantasy NASCAR Series while enjoying a beer (or twelve) in your two-car, neat-as-a-pin garage.
That’s why you want to buy this home. You envision yourself living happily here.
You see, you have all the answers, but you tell your poor Realtor about things that don’t really matter all that much.
How many bedrooms do you need? One for you and one for the kids. Period. When I grew up, they stacked kids like cord-wood – all in one room.
Today, kids must have their own room so they can keep their colossal mess separate from the Fruits of Entitlement that their siblings claim. Don’t get me started!
How large a lot do you need? Big enough that your friends can come over, sit around and chat, and you won’t get a Disturbing the Peace citation. Small enough that you don’t need share-croppers to take care of the yard.
Riding mowers are the Hot Rods of today – you own one because you want one, not because you need one. And they are loud, drowning out the Siren call of the other items on your Honey-do list. Ah, peace and the scent of newly-mowed grass!
I can’t tell you how many times I have had a Buyer tell me time and time again that they wanted a four-bedroom home, then found a three-bedroom place that they fell in love with. “What about the fourth bedroom?” “We can add one on!”
I once had clients who down-sized from a single-level rancher to a condo after their kids moved out. They wanted a condo because they didn’t want to have to take care of a big yard. “But we don’t want any TWO-STORY condos! We don’t want to climb stairs every time we go to bed.”
Until they saw the perfect place – a two-story unit – at an Open House. They fell in love with it and lived there happily for over 20 years! I know because I must have asked them a million times if they would make the same decision if they were buying property again and always got the same positive answer.
Talk to your Realtor. Don’t make them perform a Housing Heimlich Maneuver on you, squeezing out your desires one by one while you try to chew on an indigestible concept like “price per square foot”.
Be the smart one and talk about your proposed lifestyle:
How will you get to work and how long will it take to get there?
How many children will be living with you and what are their educational requirements? What about the lives of the other kids in the neighborhood?
What do you enjoy doing by yourself and/or with your family?
What is important to you and your family and do they have any of that around here?
Believe me, if you do this you make your Realtor a lot more able to do a great job for you. You will help them be a lot smarter.
And that makes you smarter still.
Click: “Life in Santa Cruz County”
Click: Find your “Dream Home” here!
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I work with too many agents that have a very low level of professionalism, very frustrating. Many of them have no idea that how they present themselves and treat others is marketing.