Finding The Right Home For You

The National Association of Realtors has research stating that over 90% of home buyers start their home search online.  I can certainly attest to that.  Fact is, most of the buyers I work with are sending me a list of properties that they have seen online and want to go view.  While the internet has proven an invaluable tool for buyers and sellers, it is not always the best when it comes to picking homes to view.  It might seem counter-intuitive for me to say so, but I will explain.

Hit The Target

Think of your home search as a Target.  You want to hit the bullseye, right?  You want to find that perfect home for you and your family that meets all your needs and wants, has great schools and resale value, is close to everything, private, safe, etc.  Hitting outside of the bullseye isn’t getting all you want.  Sound right?

Let’s take a look at the target from a different perspective.  Let’s look at the outer rings as the area you are looking in.  Then the rings just in from there as the specific community.  Moving closer to the bullseye is the street the home is on.  The first black ring is the house itself.  Then, you hit the bullseye.  Inside the bullseye, the area, subdivision, street, home, price and everything else is just right.  That’s where you want to be.  You want to be in the perfect home.

So, I ask you this: Can you really get there by looking only on the interwebs?  Chances are, the answer is no.

So, my proposal to you is to keep using the internet as a tool to look at things you like in a home.  Find a selection of properties that have attributes that match what you are looking for.  Then team up with your Realtor to find similar homes in the area, community and location you prefer.  Have an open and honest conversation that is specific as possible with your agent about what you are looking for outside of the house itself.

Too often we put the cart before the horse when talking about the house, when the truth is that the area and community are as, if not more important, than the house.  Picture this, you find the home of your dreams and move in.  Each night you drive home from work and pass some thugs on the street corner doing God knows what.  As you pull up to your dream house, the neighbors have a few dozen friends over to rebuild their cars in the front yard.  Meanwhile, the neighbors on the other side’s son and his “band” start practicing each night around 10:00, just as you are trying to get your kids to sleep.  Is that dream home of yours really a dream or is it quickly becoming a nightmare?

Would you rather live in a nicer community with enforced deed restrictions?  Would you sacrifice some of the perfection of the home for that?  That is the limitation of the internet when it comes to choosing a home.  Unless you are extremely familiar with the community and area, you really don’t have anything to rely on other than your agent to make sure that your time, money and investment are protected.