BUYERS HABITS CHANGING

Was sitting with close friends the other night and we got to talking about needs in a home purchase. Now I have always believed there is a vast difference between a need and a want. Most times buyers confuse those two so called priorities. A need is something you absolutely MUST have. Number of bedrooms. Good sized living area large or small lot depending on your needs. Access to schools and transportation. Hospitals if you are older or in need of health care. That list could go on forever. Really depends on what you absolutely NEED. Now wants are an entirely different animal. I want shopping close by. I want multiple bathrooms. I want a pool. See where I’m going with this? The two lists could really be at opposite ends of the spectrum. But buyers quite easily confuse them and what shouldn’t be all of a sudden does become a priority. Today’s buyers want to move in and do nothing else. No fixing of floors, counter tops or almost anything else that comes with the purchase of a dated (read older) home. Warning: old crony story coming. When we rode what I called the “equity wave” back in the mid 80s to early 90s we bought places that “needed work”. Oh ya. And by that I mean in some cases a lot of work; in others not so much. But they still needed updating, especially the first one we bought. On more than a few occasions we were in a home with ONE bathroom. And yet we survived. One place didn’t even have a shower in the bathroom on the second floor. I had to go down to the basement to have a shower because this place had a shower and sink in the basement. How kooky is that? Fun times in the winter let me say. I turned on the clothes dryer to warm up the room. Thankfully I won’t go into detail, but needless to say it was an adventure. I’ve mentioned this before and will say again. My wife grew up in a modest 1200 square foot bungalow with ONE bathroom. There were 6 kids (5 girls) and 2 adults. It was like the Don Valley Parkway in the morning at 5 PM before school and work around there, but they got by. We have become far too accustomed to placing wants over needs on our priority list these days. Far too often I hear we absolutely MUST have 4 bathrooms and at least 4 bedrooms. Uh....there are just two of you. Yes, but we need the room. Fully finished basement and loads of extra space. Quick question – for what? I always tell clients to go sit at a table and write these two lists out. Needs and Wants. In detail. It could make a huge difference about how much you spend, but, more importantly, why buy something you don’t need just to say you did? Also you don’t really want to clean 5 bathrooms instead of two or three or do you? Try answering that question before your final offer. It might save you considerable dollars and a whole heap of stress. And cleaning supplies.

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