Why Property Buyers Don't Always Know What They Want
Why Property Buyers Don’t Always Know What They Want
There’s a saying in estate agency that “buyers are liars”. It doesn’t mean that buyers are untrustworthy and unscrupulous people. It means that they say they want one thing and end up buying something else.
Why do people end up buying something different from what they expect?
At the start of every search, we sit down with our clients and discuss the brief. What type of house they are looking for. Where it needs to be. The ideal budget. The number of bedrooms. The look and feel of it. We get everything out on the table so that we know what we’re looking for.
Then we go out and find it. We show our clients as many houses as we can which are as close to the brief as possible. And I can’t tell you the number of times we have walked out of the house which on paper is “perfect” and it just doesn’t feel right.
Getting you in the feels
That, right there, is the essence of the problem. Buying a house isn’t all about ticking boxes. It isn’t about the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms. It isn’t about the right look of house. It isn’t about being in the right part of the village or even the country. It is about how the house makes you feel.
It is thought that you make your mind up about the property in the first 7 seconds of the viewing. Because deep down it doesn’t matter about the little details, it matters about the bigger picture and how the house makes you feel. This is the place you are going to call home for the foreseeable future, so it has to make you feel good. When you walk over the threshold each day, you want to feel happy and calm. This is your sanctuary, the place you get away from the world, and it needs to make you feel good.
How do we work out what is most important?
We love to meet our clients in their own home. It helps us to build a picture of what is most important to them. Seeing where they live and the bits they like and dislike now helps us to understand what they want moving forwards. It is so helpful in understanding the starting point and what really makes them tick. Ultimately, when we look at houses, we are trying to see whether they have the right feel to them. Can we imagine our clients there. Would they fit in. Would it feel right for them.
So, what can you do to help yourself?
If you’re looking to move and don’t have a buying agent helping you with the process, then try to be objective. It’s worth remembering that you probably won’t get everything on your wish-list. And even if you find the house which does have every box ticked it’s alright for it not to be the house for you.
Make sure that you see too many houses rather than not enough. Try not to rule things out before seeing them if they aren’t quite perfect. As a rule of thumb, I tend to think that if it’s a 6 out of 10 or more on paper then you should see it in person.
By seeing lots of options it will help you to understand what is most important to you more quickly. You can determine which of your criteria are more crucial and therefore home in on the type of property which works best for you and where it needs to be. Everyone is different, so what is most important for one person might not be a consideration for someone else.
And if you are ever getting stuck and feel like you are going around in circles, then remember the saying that “buyers are liars”. Maybe you are trying to find something which works for you on paper but doesn’t actually work for you.
If the whole thought of moving fills you with dread, then we are here to make the process more straightforward and enjoyable. If you think you could do with some expert help then email us
info@oxfordpropertyconsulting.co.uk