3. Play the Game of Nines
Before house hunting, make a list of nine things you want in the new place. Then make a list of the nine things you don磘 want. I call this 创NINE OF THIS AND NONE OF THAT创. You can use this list as a scorecard to rate each property that you see. The one with the biggest score wins! This helps avoid confusion and keeps things in perspective when you磖e comparing dozens of homes. When house hunting, keep in mind the difference between 创SKIN AND BONES创. The BONES are things that cannot be changed such as the location, view, size of lot, noise in the area, school district, and floor plan. The SKIN represents easily changed surface finishes like carpet, wallpaper, color, and window coverings. Buy the house with good BONES, because the SKIN can always be changed to match your tastes. I always recommend that you imagine each house as if it were vacant. Consider each house on its underlying merits, not the seller磗 decorating skills.4. Don磘 Be Pushed Into Any House
Your agent should show you everything available that meets your requirements. Don磘 make a decision on a house until you feel that you磛e seen enough to pick the best one. Go to the Multiple Listing computer with your agent to make sure that you are getting a COMPLETE list. In the late 1980磗, homes were selling quickly, usually a few days after listing. In that kind of market, agents advised their clients to make an offer ON THE SPOT if they liked the house. That was good advice at the time. Today there isn磘 always this urgency, unless a home is drastically under priced, and you磍l know if it is. Don磘 forget to check into the SCHOOL DISTRICTS of the area you磖e considering. Information is available on every school; such as class sizes, % of students that go on to college, SAT scores, etc. You can get this information from your agent or directly from the school. 5. Stop Calling Ads!
A word of caution - agents create ads solely to make the phone ring! Many of the homes have some drawback that磗 not mentioned in the ad, such as traffic noise, power lines, or litigation in the community. What磗 not mentioned in the ad is usually more important than what is. For this reason, I want you to be very careful when reading ads. Remember that the person writing the ad
is representing the seller and not you! The most important thing you can do is having someone on your side looking out for your best interests. Your own agent will critique the property with an eye towards how well it meets your needs and will point out any drawbacks you should know about. So whether you decide to work with me or not, pick an agent you feel comfortable with and enlist the services of that agent as a buyer磗 broker. Then you become a client with all the rights, benefits, and privileges created by this agency relationship, and you磖e no longer just a shopper. Did you know that many homes are sold WITHOUT A SIGN ever going up or an AD EVER BEING PUT IN THE PAPER? These 创great deals创 go to those people who are committed to working with one agent. When an agent hears of a great buy, who do you think he磗 going to call? His client, who he has a legal obligation to work hard for you, or someone who just called on the phone and said 创keep your eyes open创? So to get the best buy on a property, I always recommend that you hire your own agent and stick with him.
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