As Good As SOLD

Your Next Home and How to Find It.

April 13th, 2007

I had been anticipating her call for some days now. After several lengthy discussions with her and her family I had sensed they were close to making a decision, and so it was no surprise to hear her voice on the phone.

The strain evident in her tone was unexpected, however.

“Well, we’re ready,” she sighed. “We’ve thought it through and have finally decided. We’re moving. So tell me, what can we expect now that we’re faced with both buying and selling? It’s been some years now and we are more than a bit…well, bothered.”

Moving is never an easy task no matter how favourable the circumstances, but it wasn’t difficult to sense that her concern went beyond a financial one, or even the daunting prospect of uprooting after a good many years.

As her Realtor, I was glad to have some reassuring answers.

“Selling should be no problem as long as we’ve priced your home properly and have the benefit of the Multiple Listing Service working for us to provide the necessary exposure,” I replied. “The local market remains firm, the economy is strong, and Victoria is where much of the world wants to be.”

“But can anyone afford to buy it? We’re in the country’s least affordable city, after all.”

“Sure. Eighty percent of the market is local anyway, and nationally resale housing activity has rallied dramatically - over 56,000 homes traded hands in this year’s first quarter. That’s a full 26% over last year, and means outsiders are again better able to buy here.”

“Nothing like a hike in mortgage rates to get people off the fence, right?” she scoffed.

I concurred.

“So there is a market for our house - good. But what about the other side of our concern? I don’t suppose the buying process has become any easier over the years - are buyers still running you Realtors hither and yon saying ‘I can’t describe it but I’ll know it when I see it?’ Buyers like us, come to think of it.”

Her laughter was uneasy. So was mine, for her observation did have a familiar ring to it. “That ‘drive around’ approach to buying real estate is still here,” I acknowledged, “but we see less and less of it. It’s too vague, and doesn’t give me much to work with in terms of helping you find your dream home.”

“There’s a better way, then?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes, try this: instead of thinking of your next home in the traditional ‘bricks & mortar’ terms such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage, put these practical considerations aside for a moment and ask yourself not what you want, but why you want it. As a Realtor I can tell you that emotion, not logic, will govern your eventual choice. You’ll buy not what you need, but what you want - and once you find what you want, you’ll somehow find the means of getting it. And the sooner you face that fact, the smoother and quicker your search for your next home will be!”

“Getting in touch with our feminine side - it’s about time you Realtors caught on!” she chided.

“Well sure. Now think of your next home not in terms of its features - cathedral ceiling, double garage, Jacuzzi, etc. - but the benefits these features bring in terms of feelings, emotions and values. A fireplace, for example, is not principally a source of heat - it represents atmosphere and romance. How you’ll feel in your next home is the real question to be asking yourselves.

“I understand,” she replied, “but can you give me a framework to help guide our thinking?”

“Glad to. Approach it in terms of the following:

• comfort
• privacy
• profit
• prestige
• pride
• self-fulfilment
• family considerations
• security
• social acceptance
• convenience

“And once you and your family have worked your way through some of these issues, put a summary of your findings on paper. Then share it with me. Once we’ve done that we’ll be in a good position to tackle the practical aspects of our search such as number of bedrooms and the like.”

“You can’t answer our prayers until you know what we’re praying for, right?” she laughed. “I’m catching on. But what about the question of buying first or selling first? Which should we do?”

“There are considerations both ways, of course,” I answered. “If you buy first you may temporarily find yourselves with two houses and in need of bridge financing. If you sell first you may require interim accommodation - but with lots of equity in your pocket and the freedom to buy firm. Pampering yourselves in a hotel for a few weeks wouldn’t be so bad, would it? And it might prove less expensive than buying ’subject to’ the sale of your present property and the loss of bargaining position that may represent.”

“I am feeling better about it all,” she said. “And I suppose the same thinking applies to where we want to live? The social implications such as prestige and neighbors should be thought through before we tackle the practical things such as time and distance to things?”

“Same logic. Again, it’s a question of motivation. How you want to feel once in the next home and neighbourhood is the real question. The practical issues will sort themselves out once you’ve dealt with the motivational ones.

But let’s leave it at that for today. Next week we’ll do a market evaluation of your house. An assessment of your equity, coupled with the results of your ‘homework’, will give us both a good idea of where and how to go about finding your next home.”

If there is a move in your future, and an evaluation of your home’s worth in today’s market or an expanded version of the above would be helpful, I invite you to call or write today and I’ll be pleased to oblige without obligation.

Entry Filed under: Real Estate Matters