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How many homes did you view before finding the one? Seems like I've been looking at quite a bit, but still find issues that make me think twice. Maybe I'm just picky....
1st house - about 7 (I had few to choose from because I was looking for an assumable mortgage, back in 1991. But I found a nice home.)
2nd house - 8 (limited supply based on our being at the bottom of the price point for what we wanted. But we found a perfect home.)
3rd house - about 50. (Now husband is really involved and we have more money, more choices. Ended up spending more than we intended, but bought a gorgeous home.)
4th house - 2 new build communities in an out of state city. (Husband fell in love. Frankly, I preferred to rent, but not so much that I can say no to him. He doesn't really want to move away from AZ anyway.)
1st house - about 4 or 5. The market was tight and most things sold pretty quickly. As soon as I walked into the house that I ended up buying, I saw 20+ feet of uninterrupted wall space and that was a HUGE selling point -- I found out after moving to New Hampshire that most houses here have baseboard heat, which I HATE because it takes up wall space that I desperately need (I have literally dozens of bookcases). The other houses I saw, I just could not picture my "stuff" in their space. I've lived here for 9 years now and it's been good.
2nd house (the one I'm buying now) -- I wasn't planning to buy as I am fine with my current house, but I was browsing at realtor.com for fun and saw a house that had just come on the market (very slow market, although also not very many foreclosures etc. and prices haven't fallen that much -- houses just take longer to sell). That was back in October '11. I knew sales were slow in the winter so I waited. Three months later, in January '12, the house was still on the market so I went to see it. I liked it but knew I couldn't possibly close 'til May since I didn't want to close in the middle of the semester. In late February, the house was still on the market, and I took the plunge. I'm closing in 3 days!
The house I'm buying is perfectly livable but will need some updates (e.g., I will want to replace the kitchen and add a master bath in a few years, remove wallpaper, paint, etc.). I hate moving and have a very stable job, so I knew if I bought it would be for the long term (hopefully 20+ years), so I am OK with remodeling it over time. I think most buyers would prefer not to have to remodel, given the expense & mess, so I can understand them passing on it. But it seems to be a very solid house (from what I've heard from the inspection & several contractors' visits), and it suits my needs well in most ways (large & very private lot that backs up on conservation land but still with city water/sewer, great neighborhood, WAY lower taxes than in my current town, good schools, etc.).
I think that if a house is right for you, you will know pretty quickly after walking in. If you want to see it again, obviously that's a good sign -- with some houses that I looked at, one quick look was enough to know it wouldn't work for me.
Last edited by karen_in_nh_2012; 04-30-2012 at 09:24 AM..
Current house, 4 or 5, offered on another but was beat out by full price offer (Over-priced IMO).
Previous house, 5-6, bought 1st one offered on.
Previous house, can't remember but bought 1st one offered on.
First house, 5-8 but bought 1st one offered on.
I don't think I've ever looked at more than 8-10 houses.
If I had to look at more than 25 or so houses before I found one, I'd seriously question if what I wanted even existed.
This is very important that more buyers need to think about. I keep a running tally on my clients and the current average is my buyers buy within 6.77 houses they see. That's an awesome number, and I don't push my clients. I consult with them and help them figure out what's important to them. It's all about a buyer knowing what they want and an agent knowing how to help them find it.
4 - I was all based upon location - a 2-3 block radius of our current home - so I knew it when I saw it. And, I was very flexible. We ended up with a house we absolutely LOVE!
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