by Dell Claiborne

QUESTION:
I looked at a house that had everything I want! As far as I’m concerned, I’m ready to bid now! Is this acceptable? How many homes should I look at before I choose one?

ANSWER:
WOW! Now this is a question/problem that every one of my colleagues wishes they had to deal with. I’m going to assume a few things in answering your question. The first is that you have already spent some time getting pre-approved for a home loan with a mortgage professional. The second is that you are working with a great Realtor. Okay, so you say you have found the house that has everything you want? So why are you concerned? There is no set number of houses you should look at before making a decision to buy. Shopping for a house isn’t a lot different than shopping for anything else. You know your sizes and relatively how much you want to spend and when you find something that fits you perfect…you buy it! You don’t find something that fits and then keep looking. It doesn’t matter if it’s two minutes into your shopping trip or two hours. It’s the same when searching for the perfect home. If you find the house of your dreams on your first trip out with your Realtor, then make an offer. Remember that if you like it, then someone else will too. Why take a chance on losing the home of your dreams just to say you looked at X number of houses. That’s never made sense to me. I always advise buyers, when I’m showing houses, to be honest with themselves and with me. If you love it, say you love it, and I’ll help you get it. If you don’t love it, then let’s keep looking. You and your Realtor know what you’re looking for in a home and it doesn’t matter how little or how much time it takes you to find what fits.