You’d think that with so many properties in the real estate market, at least one property is bound to meet all your criteria. After all, the National Association of realtors recorded over 5.34 million homes sold in 2019.
So as you’re house hunting, you might be wondering why you haven’t found a property that meets all your needs, criteria, and preferred location. Unfortunately, the truth is that even with millions of properties on the market right now, finding the perfect home may be impossible if you’re not flexible or willing to compromise. Here are three things you should know to help you manage your expectations.
Don’t Look at What Exists, But What Can Be
You might have turned down several houses because none of them have a pool, a greenhouse with greenhouse foundations, and an open floor plan in a location of your choice or within your generous budget. Even if there are millions of properties for sale, only a fraction of these are within your preferred location and budget. Homebuyers in Dallas or anywhere else in Texas, therefore, need to be open-minded about what you see.
Try not to look at what is or isn’t in already in the house, but at the potential of what it can be. Let’s say you’ve found a house with an open floor plan and a pool and meets your location and budget, but it does not have a greenhouse. This isn’t grounds to scratch it off your list. “Look at the backyard and see if there’s room to install a greenhouse once the property is yours. All you need to build one is some greenhouse plastic. Or, if you’re flexible, use your garden as is to grow your own produce so you can enjoy fresh orange juice with pulp in the mornings.
In short, remember: not everyone will buy a house that has everything they want. Repaint, remodel or add your own fixtures until the house becomes what you want it to be.
Don’t Be Distracted By Staging
Property owners looking to sell their home and real estate agents may spend hundreds of dollars staging a house. For those of you who don’t know, house staging is when sellers use furniture and décor to make the house look more appealing. Ideally, it’s supposed to give potential buyers an idea of what the house will look like when furnished. But it’s also supposed to help buyers imagine them living here to help convince them to buy the house.
Unfortunately, not everyone does staging right, and it can do three things to affect your choice. First, if the staging isn’t done right or not to your taste, it might give you a negative impression on the entire house, causing you to remove it from your potential properties.
Second, it could give you the wrong impression. Some types of furniture and décor can make a room look bigger, smaller, or brighter than it actually is. And third, you might be unknowingly falling in love with the furniture and not the actual house. When you end up buying the house, you may soon realize that you were only interested in a certain room because of how it was staged.
Don’t Fret Over Minor Aesthetic Issues
You might not like the homeowner or real estate company’s choice of painting the walls a certain color, or you don’t like the wood the front door is made of, or you want more modern-looking sink fixtures. These are all just minor aesthetic problems that can easily be resolved before you move in. A house doesn’t have to be perfect to your standards when it’s on the market, and if all your complaints about a house are minor cosmetic issues, then don’t write it off just yet.
One thing to consider, however, is the costs of these minor repairs. The hidden costs of buying a home like the taxes, your real estate agent’s commission, closing costs, and other hidden fees can reach thousands of dollars. And now on top of that, you have these minor changes to consider.
So, while viewing the house, jot down the things you want to be changed. This can help you estimate how much you’ll be spending on the total for the house and can help you decide if buying the house and making the changes are worth it or if you’re better off choosing another property that needs fewer changes.
Just because there are millions of properties available, does not necessarily mean that there will be a house that matches exactly what you want. You might have to be more flexible or make compromises about what it is your looking for. And instead of expecting everything you want to be there, it may be better to look at the potential a property has after you’ve made changes to it.
