Tackle the Trade-off Decisions

Gathering Critical Information

When you get serious about buying a home, you’ll tackle a series of trade-off decisions. They are often difficult, and sometimes agonizing. You’ll sort them out as you gather information from three areas of concern.

• Loan types and amounts you will qualify for.
• How much you can afford, what you are willing to spend, and the type of home you would like to buy.
• What types of housing are actually available, where they are located, and at what price?

Bringing the Options into Focus

First-time home buyers often experience some speed bumps in the beginning. Many start with only a vague idea of what they can afford or what type of property they want to buy. They just want to quit renting and get into the housing market. When buyers match what types of loans they qualify for to the existing housing options, they can begin to understand the trade-offs.

In contrast, a family being transferred from out of state may have already worked through all of their loan issues. They may have clear criteria regarding the type of house, neighborhood and community they want. If their ideas match what actually exists in our market, these buyers could be ready for a “focused search.” If not, they too can find themselves faced with some tough decisions.

Working through the Decisions

Tackling those trade-off decisions is facilitated by four things:

• Good information on the realistic alternatives available in the housing market.
• Open minded thinking about the full range of lifestyle, financing, and housing alternatives.
• A willingness to abandon unrealistic goals.
• Good, honest communication among everyone involved.

This includes communication between buyers, real estate agents and lenders, and also communication between spouses and partners as well.

Information = Time Saved

In many cases, good information can move things forward in dramatic ways. It’s not unusual for buyers to spend months looking for a home in a particular neighborhood before coming to us. When we show them that nothing has sold in that area in their price range, they are freed up to consider other options. With facts in hand, buyers can make quick decisions about the neighborhoods or types of housing they are looking for.

Hope Renewed

We’ve also worked with people on the verge of giving up because they couldn’t find anything in their ideal neighborhood. Often, we can help folks find good alternatives in other areas. Better yet, we may know of properties likely to come on the market in their ideal area in the near future.

Moving Forward

Ultimately, it’s easier to consider the alternatives or abandon unrealistic goals if you have good information in front of you. Gathering the needed data is just one of the important roles that good real estate agents and loan officers play in this process. We can also facilitate communication between spouses or partners and help home buyers be more realistic with themselves. Because we have worked through these decisions hundreds of times with our clients, we can help you too. The conflicts between values, goals, and realities can be difficult to navigate, but not impossible. The result of this process, whether it takes an afternoon, a week or a year, is to narrow your focus to certain types of housing in certain neighborhoods or communities.