Knowing the right home when you see it

By: Dian Hymer

May 15, 2000

Let's say you've been looking for a home to buy for months. You finally see a listing you like. You don't know whether to cast caution to the wind and make an offer, or wait to see if something better comes along. How do you decide what to do?

Racing into a home purchase may seem fun at the time. But if you end up in the wrong house, you'll regret the decision later. Hesitating can also lead to a no-win situation if the result is that your home search drags on indefinitely.

To avoid making a costly mistake, analyze what you want and need in a home before you start looking. Make a list of features you desire in a home to refer back to if you loose focus.

Every home purchase requires compromises. But, it's difficult to know how you'll need to compromise until you look at some of the local housing. For example, you may want a home with a kitchen that opens to a family room. After looking at listings in your favorite neighborhood, you discover that the homes were built in the 1920's without family rooms. So you'll have to compromise. You could decide to do without a family room. Or, you might look in a newer neighborhood where homes have family rooms. Another option is to buy an older home in your first choice neighborhood and remodel it to create a kitchen/family room.

The more you look for homes, the more you'll be able to fine-tune your list of housing priorities so that it's realistic for the marketplace. Then when you see a home that looks promising, weigh it against your list to see how closely it comes to fulfilling your housing needs.

FIRST-TIME TIP: Don't decide for or against an exciting new listing if your only exposure to the property has been a viewing at a Sunday open house. Open houses can be great exposure for listings. But, it's difficult for buyers to carefully examine a listing when crowds of people are milling around.

One couple almost made an offer on a new listing after seeing it once at an open house. Before making an offer, they asked their agent to take them back to the property for a second look. It was only during the second, private viewing that the property's defects came to light.

Before you decide to buy, ask your agent if there's anything about the property that would make it difficult to resell in the future. Well-located and well-maintained homes with good floor plans are the easiest to sell, especially in a down market. Homes with defects, like a poor floor plan or a location that's too close to busy highway may be difficult to resell without discounting the price.

Resale potential shouldn't be the only reason you buy a home. But, factor it in to your decision particularly if you're buying in a hot market where everything is selling. If the market turns, you could be stuck in a house you can't get out of easily.

Buyers who can't decide on a listing can simplify the decision-making process by using the Ben Franklin method. When Ben Franklin had a difficult decision to make, he took out a sheet of paper and drew a line down the middle. On one side, he wrote all the reasons in favor of the decision. On the other side, he listed all the reasons against the decision.

THE CLOSING: If there were more reasons in favor than against, he'd go ahead.

Dian Hymer is author of "Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide," Chronicle Books.