What to do when your home search becomes overwhelming

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Home buying can be a complex process….. because it’s a complex decision to make — how do I find the right home for our family with all the right features and at the right price?

In previous posts, I’ve already covered how to set a budget and write up a wish list, but now I’m going to cover what comes after you’ve done the homework…and what happens when you have to roll up your sleeves and actually start looking.

49% of home buyers surveyed recently by Owners.com said that finding the right home is the most difficult part. Not financing. Not saving up for the purchase.

Just the simple act of finding the right home.

Thanks to the internet, homebuyers can now casually sort, click, and filter their way to a dream home. Why, then, is it still so frustrating?

I believe it’s actually the Paradox of Choice, which theorizes that (for buyers) having too many options available makes it harder to decide what we really want. While I’m no psychologist (I am now a licensed real estate agent!), I do have a few tips I recommend when #youjustcant with an overwhelming home search.

What to Do When Frustrated by the Home Search

Take a break

While this isn’t an option for every home buyer, especially ones who have to move out of a home that is under contract or those looking to move into a new home at the end of a lease, if you have this flexibility, take advantage of it.

There’s something to be said for a break, not only for your mental sanity but also for the market. You never know when new homes become available, and waiting a week or two may yield new homes for you to tour.

Streamline communication

Maybe you’re tired of the endless phone calls, the email back-and-forth between you, your agent, and the seller’s agent. Or the emails between you and your lender… and on and on.

When this happens, I like to recommend paring down to just one mode of communication — typically via email, since it’s good to have things in writing and easy to send follow up documents.

While it is often easier to knock out a few things via a quick phone call, it will do wonders for your organization if you just pick one communication method and stick with it across your entire home buying team.

Revisit your criteria

When it’s a seller’s market (like it is right now during the pandemic), often there isn’t much available and waiting won’t help. If this happens, I advise to go back and revisit your criteria:

Are there things that can come off your wishlist that would change the number of homes available?
Would you consider looking outside of your preferred area (if you live in an expensive metro area, for example.)
Is your timeline firm? Could you wait a substantial amount of time to buy a home, (think six months to a year), and see how the market changes?

The TL:DR

Here’s the good news: everyone who wants to buy a home, eventually finds one. Your perfect home is out there – you just may need some help (and a little patience) to find it.

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