You have difficult decisions to make…
What kind of house should I buy? In which neighborhood? How much can I afford? What type of mortgage should I get? And on and on.
Making the right decisions is tough. Unfortunately, 49% of homebuyers make choices they later regret(1).
And the truth is, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and make mistakes.
The only way to avoid this is to prepare ahead of time. These 3 important questions will be your survivor’s toolkit. They’ll give you the insights and confidence to make the right choices and avoid falling into the 49% who live with regret.
Let’s start with your goals.
What are my long-term goals for this house?
Are you starting a family?
Are you relocating for work? Are you tired of paying rent and ready to build your own equity?
Think of every possible reason and write it down or type it up. The reason it’s important to do this is because writing things down triggers a psychological phenomenon.
It’s that thing when you write out your thoughts, they become more tangible.
Thoughts tend to be fleeting. Writing them down lets you catch and examine them. Writing out your goals works the same way. One of two things will happen when you do this:
1. You’ll reaffirm your goal. It will become solidified as something you truly want. Or 2, you’ll suddenly realize that it’s not really your goal after all. Maybe it used to be your goal. Or maybe it’s someone else’s goal.
Either way, this will help you identify your goals clearly and spot out those pseudo goals – that really aren’t your goals at all.
Doing this exercise is the foundation for making well-grounded and confident decisions.
Complete this step before moving on to the next question.
What do I want my new home to look like?
Ever had this happen to you…
Remember back when you bought your first smartphone? Or your first car? You suddenly spotted every car out there with the same year, model, and color. You had an eagle eye for everyone’s phone that looked like yours. It was like they all jumped out at you.
And you couldn’t help but to notice… it was automatic.
It’s a psychological marvel called the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon in psychology and neuroscience. Same phenomenon happens when you set goals. You become clear on what you want. And eventually…
It will find you. That’s just how the brain is wired.
So what is it that you truly want? A single family home? Condo? How many square feet? Hardwood floors or carpet? high ceilings? Kitchen island? White cabinets? Granite countertops? Stainless steel appliances? Gas stove or electric? Fireplace? How many bedrooms and bathrooms? Price range?
The more specific you are about what you want, the more likely those things are going to show up in your life.
Can’t help it… it’s how you’re wired.
The next questions will help you avoid expensive mistakes.
What are the pros and cons?
Take a piece of paper with you next time you tour a house.
Draw a line in the middle and write down the pros and cons for each house. This might seem overly simplistic, but it’s really the most important thing you can do at this stage.
The reason is hidden beneath the surface like a riptide. Once you get carried away, it’s almost impossible to turn back.
Imagine this.
You’re touring a house. And without you knowing, you’re swept away by the beautiful staging and the magical lighting. You immediately fall in love with this house. How easy is it justifying its problems? You think to yourself, “It’s a little small, but that’s ok. I need to downsize anyway.” You forget about your goal to start a family and you buy this adorable house.
Three years later it’s back on the market. You need to sell quickly because you and your partner have a baby on the way. So you take a loss.
Think this scenario is far fetched?
1 out of 3 homebuyers regret buying a house that’s too small.
These expensive mistakes are usually caused by a single culprit: Emotions. Emotions take control of your decisions without you realizing. Buying on emotional impulse can leave you thousand of dollars in debt.
The best defense you have against it, is to be aware of it. Don’t try to suppress it, but acknowledge it. That way it can’t control you. Because once it takes control, it’s hard to rationalize and think straight.
This is where your pros and cons list comes in handy. Write down all the pros and cons and include your emotions. (Pros: I love the kitchen. Cons: house is too small to raise kids.)
Do this exercise to analyze your emotions and make decisions from a rational perspective.
P.S. The easy way to buy a home is to get pre-approved. That way you’ll find out what loan options are available to you – and get the best rates. Get pre-approved now and find out what your loan options are.
P.S.
When you close a loan with First Fidelity Mortgage, you’ll have a chance to win FREE mortgage payments for a full year. Chances of winning are 1 in only 150!
Get pre-approved now and enter your chance to win FREE Mortgage Payments For A Full Year. Next drawing is coming up on January 2019.
P.P.S. Congratulations to the Edwards family for winning Free Mortgage Payments for a Year!!!