Looking for a new home can be a very emotional experience. After all this is where you will live. Your home is the place where you feel safe, secure and loved. It is where you raise your children, dream your dreams and achieve happiness. Buying a home can garner a pretty substantial range of emotional expectations, and it is very easy to get emotionally attached to a home that is not yet yours as you dream of what it will be like to live there. This is not an entirely bad thing, but you do need to be careful and set some limits and boundaries to avoid heartache.
Set A Figure And Stick With It
It is very important to sit down and figure out how much you can afford to spend on a home. Determine what the maximum amount is and then stick with it. Don’t go over that amount, no matter what.
It Is Ok To Offer Less Money For A House
Don’t feel intimidated by a higher asking price. It is perfectly acceptable to offer less money than what is being asked, especially if there is more to it than just you wanting to pay less money as a reason. If the home has some problems, either structurally or cosmetically, and you make a lowball offer, let your real estate agent know why you offered what you did so that they can convey that to the sellers. It is possible that the seller is not aware of the problems that you noticed. Also, if you are going to need to put money into the home to make it work for you, and offer a lower price to reflect that, let the real estate agent know your reasons. This can help in the negotiating phase as well.
Sean Rasmussen
Property Options Australia
Property Options Blog © 2006 – 2008
Tags: buying a home, negotiating, offer, Real Estate, real estate agent, rules
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Hi Sean,
Buying a home is one of the most important things any of us will do in our life. I think it’s hard not to get emotional about such a huge decision but you definitely need to work out how much you can afford to pay for your new home.
You need to have that budget firmly in place so you know what you have to spend. Just don’t go over that figure and you’ll be fine.