You See an Exciting Listing. Should You Buy?

If you've been looking for your new home for months and finally see a listing you like, should you cast caution to the wind and make an offer or wait to see if something better comes along? It's a hard decision to make. Racing into a home purchase may seem fun at the time, but if you end up with the wrong house, you'll regret the decision later. On the other hand, hesitating can lead to a no-win situation if the result is that your home search drags on indefinitely.

To avoid making a costly mistake, start your search by analyzing what you want and need in a home, then make a list of those features so that you can refer back to it if you lose focus. I have developed a worksheet to help you with this, please let me know if you would like a copy.

Here is a few other suggestions to help you when you are deciding to make an offer on a new home:

• Don't decide for or against an exciting new listing if your only exposure to the property has been a viewing at a Sunday open house.
• Before you decide to buy, ask your real estate professional if there is anything about the property that would make it difficult to resell in the future.
• Try the Ben Franklin method: on a sheet of paper draw a line down the middle. On one side write all the reasons in favor of the decision. On the other side, list all the reasons against the decision. If there are more reasons in favor than against, you might have your answer.

As a Realtor, it's my business to match clients with the right properties. Let me use my expertise to help you find the perfect home.