A very critical component of buying or selling a house is that the house is, and will become, a home. When I meet with first time buyers, I joke with them about how buying a house is an emotional decision. In reality, it's not a joke. Agents sit with buyers time and time again who have their criteria clearly defined. It might be a 2 story Colonial with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths up and they end up buying a sprawling one level home. Why? Because it reminded them of "Grandma's house" or the house they grew up in. Sometimes, the buyer can't even figure out why they like this house. They just know it feels right!
Many times I have seen a "deer in the headlights" gleam when buyers enter a house and I know this is the one. The buyers know the instant they walk in the door. They spend the rest of the showing time creating reasons why they like this house. What does it boil down to? Different things for different people. Sometimes it's a Jacuzzi tub in the master bath which they will rarely use, but signifies success in their minds. Sometimes it's a nursery next to the owners' suite that's ready for their new little one. A yard for gardeners, a flower bed in full bloom, the white picket fence, lilacs in the spring . . . It all means something emotionally to sellers and buyers. The key is getting the buyers into the home who respond to the triggers that the sellers did when they bought their home.
More about emotional buying tomorrow!
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