First Time Home Buying Suggestions
A great deal of the information contained in "how to" guides or articles about buying a new home geared towards first time home owner is written by people who are to far removed from the process to remember it for themselves, or who have made the information to technical. My goal is to provide information from the perspective of someone who just bought a home. These are a few tips that I would have found useful had someone provided them for me.
TIP 1: Real Estate Agent selection.
A real estate agent is someone who is going to be playing an extremely vital role in your life. However, the important thing to remember is that ultimately, you, as the buyer, are making the major, life altering purchase. Do not let an agent ever make you feel uncomfortable, pressured, or bullied.
TIP 2: Price Range.
This tip segues nicely from the first one: Real Estate agents ultimately only care about how much money they can make. Yes, sometimes there best interest will coincide with your best interest. However, most of the time they are going to encourage you to purchase a home at the maximum end of your approval spectrum. This is often a mistake because just because a bank believes you can make a certain minimum payment does not mean that it will be easy or in the best interest of your family. The recession we are currently in hinges almost entirely on this type of poor reasoning.
TIP 3: Nirvana Complex.
The nirvana complex is what occurs when people compare an option or choice or not to other available options or choices but to some idealized concept or nirvana like concept. When choosing a home it is important to compare a potential candidate to the other options available that meet the same criteria. Comparing a home to an idealized concept within your own mind or to a house outside of your range is a sure recipe for failure.
TIP 4: Patience.
My wife and I looked at 80 home before we made an offer. Did this make us happy? No. Did it make our real estate agent happy? Absolutely not. However, it did lead to our ultimate happiness. A home is literally the largest single purchase most people will make in their lives, and it is important not to rush into an unhappy purchase.
TIP 1: Real Estate Agent selection.
A real estate agent is someone who is going to be playing an extremely vital role in your life. However, the important thing to remember is that ultimately, you, as the buyer, are making the major, life altering purchase. Do not let an agent ever make you feel uncomfortable, pressured, or bullied.
TIP 2: Price Range.
This tip segues nicely from the first one: Real Estate agents ultimately only care about how much money they can make. Yes, sometimes there best interest will coincide with your best interest. However, most of the time they are going to encourage you to purchase a home at the maximum end of your approval spectrum. This is often a mistake because just because a bank believes you can make a certain minimum payment does not mean that it will be easy or in the best interest of your family. The recession we are currently in hinges almost entirely on this type of poor reasoning.
TIP 3: Nirvana Complex.
The nirvana complex is what occurs when people compare an option or choice or not to other available options or choices but to some idealized concept or nirvana like concept. When choosing a home it is important to compare a potential candidate to the other options available that meet the same criteria. Comparing a home to an idealized concept within your own mind or to a house outside of your range is a sure recipe for failure.
TIP 4: Patience.
My wife and I looked at 80 home before we made an offer. Did this make us happy? No. Did it make our real estate agent happy? Absolutely not. However, it did lead to our ultimate happiness. A home is literally the largest single purchase most people will make in their lives, and it is important not to rush into an unhappy purchase.