H

Home

Everyone needs a place that they like to call home

There’s a sweet melody that embraces your heart

And waltzes you back to your home

A long day at work

A long day at play

A place you feel safe at the end of the day

Home

There are places to go and people to see

Adventures to travel we know

A world full of wonder awaits you and me

But nothing quite calls me like home

A bird in its nest

A whale out at sea

There’s a place in this world that’s just right for me

Home

There’s a home that I live in where soup’s on the stove

And my key’s the right fit for the door

But wherever I travel, wherever I roam

My heart keeps the beat of my home

A long day at work

A long day at play

A place you feel safe at the end of the day

Home

H

Copyright 2000, Cathy Fink Used with Permission

www.cathymarcy.com

Bling = Eye candy = Distraction

I was taking a couple on their first home viewing tour. The first home we went through had lots of “bling.” Bling in a house comprises things like fancy materials such as granite or tile, remodeled or “staged” areas or rooms, eye catching decorating or other features that may have plenty of visual impact but have little bearing on a home’s suitability for a homebuyer.

This home had it all: new countertops, a new floor in the kitchen, the special colors and fabrics known as “Pottery Barn® style” throughout, buffed hardwood floors in the living room and dining room, and had been staged to maximize the sense of available space.

The husband was busy conducting a mini home inspection; overly focused on details unimportant at this early stage of the search. His spouse was mentally arranging their furniture in the home. In bowling terms, my client couple was heading for the gutter.

It was time to talk about the “can change/can’t change” principle. 

Can change vs. can’t change principle

Most of what is important about a house is not very sexy. When considering the appropriateness of a property it is essential to begin with aspects that cannot be changed.

One example is location. Who hasn’t heard the real estate maxim, “the three most important factors in real estate are location, location, location”? Where is it in the city? Where is it in the subdivision? Where on the street; on the lot? What is its proximity to work sites, public transportation, major commuting arteries, shopping, parks, and houses of worship? What is the context of the home? What is around it? What is the aesthetic value of its surroundings?

Did they notice the busy 4-lane road in front of the home-a major through-traffic conduit across this suburban city? Did they notice how close together the homes on that street were? Did they realize how small the rooms were-or how little furniture they contained?

 No, they were too busy examining the things they could have changed to see the things they couldn’t—and to recognize that this wasn’t going to be the house for them.

Take home…

The simple fact is that if the things you can’t change are unacceptable, the things you can change become irrelevant.

Property condition vs. your desire for perfection.

(The home will not be perfect. Guaranteed.)

[Note: A word about new builds. Some clients think they are going to guarantee themselves a perfect house by buying a new build which is, after all, brand new and presumably without fault. There are many reasons why a buyer might want to buy a new build home. Few are compelling. (I will be writing about this in a later post. Working title: "Why I don't like new builds".)]

One of the strongest arguments for an existing home (as opposed to a new build-which I will deal with later) is that it still stands. It hasn’t fallen down and has thus demonstrated an ability to survive in spite of all the human and environmental challenges it has faced.

Key To Success: Realize and accept the fact that the home you buy will not reveal all its secrets (good or bad) to you immediately. You will learn new things about your home and its environs every year you live there. If early (pre-purchase) evaluations are done with the proper focus, more of those surprises are likely to be happy ones than not.

Let’s say that after a couple of onsite viewings with your exclusive buyer agent (EBA), you choose to submit an offer on the property in question. Assuming that you are able to achieve a basic meeting of the minds with the seller regarding price and terms, the next step is a deeper evaluation of the property to assure yourself that what you are buying is what you think you are buying. (I will address the processes of value estimation and offering strategies in later posts.)

A thorough general home inspection performed by an experienced and objective professional is the first step. More specialized inspections or tests may suggest themselves or be recommended by the home inspector. A short list of such issues might include (in no particular order).

• radon testing
• lead-based paint risk evaluation
• asbestos risk evaluation
• roof, electrical, plumbing or HVAC certifications
• structural evaluation
• chimney or fireplace inspection, cleaning and certification
• water, moisture or mold evaluations.

Key To Success: A properly focused pre-purchase evaluation of a prospective “target” home needs to begin with the understanding that no homeowner (seller) will ever have all maintenance fully up-to-date.

Ignorance, laziness, lack of funds, lack of time, physical incapacity and incompetent DIY work are six common contributors to property condition defects.

Differences between diligently maintained properties and those with deferred maintenance are often obvious but sometime not so obvious. When attempting to make reasonable assumptions about the condition of a property the client perceives as being “on the bubble,” I recommend what might be called the “extrapolation” rule of thumb. If there is a pattern of small but easily visible defects left unrepaired—or—(perhaps even worse) DIY repairs are done incompetently, we may reasonably assume that larger or more significant repairs may remain undone or be done incompetently by a DIY homeowner.

As long as a client harbors the notion of finding “the perfect home” the purchase threshold is raised too high and very suitable homes are likely to be rejected.

Accurately identifying the most important aspects of a home to that home buyer-ones that connect with them emotionally-is the first step towards happiness with a particular property. Without that step, they find themselves “locked up”, looking at home after home, with none of them quite meeting the criteria and the buyer getting more and more frustrated.

Robert A. did everything right!

It takes courage and maturity for buyers to face the emotional suffering (dramatic, but true) required to select among the myriad choices facing them. But in the end, for the client who does the work necessary to deal with those difficult and emotional choices, it will make all the difference between being truly happy in their new home…or year after year experiencing the logical (and negative) consequences of their shallow decision-making process.

Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure: Married in haste, we may repent at leisure.

More: Your Homebuying List

What do you think about the idea of a “perfect home”? Do you agree with my analysis? What would you add…or dispute? Are there other dimensions that should be addressed and weren’t? Please share your ideas.

The perfect house?

Who knows for sure whether Edgar & Liliane Kaufmann, the wealthy owners of Kaufmann’s Department Store in Pittsburgh, really believed that this amazing house known as “Falling Water” was the “perfect house”?

The home, completed in 1938, was created for them by Frank Lloyd Wright and is, by any standard, an inspiring sight as well as a remarkable feat of design and engineering.

But it’s far from perfect.

(Read more here about the amazing history of the Kaufmanns, Frank Lloyd Wright and the stupendous challenges faced by preservationists in restoring this structure which turned out to be more of a visionary work of art than an engineering masterwork.)

Here is the point: there is no perfect home. Period.

I could get all philosophical here by asserting that nothing built by man—himself an imperfect being—could ever be perfect, but there’s no need. There are better reasons.

Clients seeking a perfect home simply do themselves a significant disservice. By insisting on perfection they often bypass homes that would shelter, protect and enhance their family’s lives comfortably and proudly long into the future.

Certainly some homes are better than others. Thorough and diligent searches and evaluations need to be done in order to identify them.

But the perfect home? You are kidding yourself.

Property characteristics vs. your list of wants and/or needs (Some of which you may get…)

At the beginning of your home search you will need to create a list (preferably written) that identifies the characteristics—in order of importance to you—of your perfect home. (I know, I know—just bear with me while I unpack the idea.)

Below is a short list of major elements that merit consideration as well as examples of some choice points associated with them. (You could undoubtedly think of many more.)

• location
  • city, village, town, countryside
  • commuting distances
  • where on the street, where in the neighborhood
  • proximity to schools, parks, house of worship, shopping
• type (single family detached, condo, fee simple)
• school system
• home size
• lot size
• lot characteristics (ravine, lots of trees, zero lot line)
• home orientation on the lot
• interior configuration
  • number and size of bedrooms
  • number and size of baths
  • kitchen size and style
  • family room
  • floor plan
  • ceiling height
• style (1-story, 2-story, split-level)
• age
• amenities (laundry, basement, garage, fireplace)

Key To Success: Accustom yourself to the idea that you will be modifying this list-perhaps many times-with items added and items removed as well as reprioritizing. It is a healthy sign of progress towards a satisfactory conclusion to your home search.

In fact, one of the signs that clients are making meaningful progress in their search is the anxiety and frustration they experience when they realize that their perfect home comprises the kitchen from H1, the basement from H2, the yard from H3, the floor plan from H4, etc.

By engaging in this process editing and reediting their “list” they are doing the necessary intellectual—and perhaps more important—emotional work required to assure long-term satisfaction with their home choice. They are getting closer and closer the point at which they will recognize the right home when they see it.

More: Your Desire for Perfection

What do you think about the idea of a “perfect home”? Do you agree with my analysis? What would you add…or dispute? Are there other dimensions that should be addressed and weren’t? Please share your ideas.