People have all sorts of homebuying strategies to score the best deal in the market. True enough, sometimes, buyers do it with success. In other instances, however, they just annoy the sellers (or their agents). The worse thing about this is, they’re often not very aware of this. As a result, they wonder what they did wrong and why their offer got rejected. If you do these following ‘strategies’ though, don’t be surprised if you don’t get that dream home you’ve been eyeing. Recalibrate your tactics next time, as these only turn off home sellers:
Asking too many questions at the open house
Yes, it’s useful to arm yourself with questions during the unit viewing. It helps you learn more about the house and the seller. It enables you to decide on options later on. And also, it helps break the ice between you and the agent. But at the same time, you don’t want to pepper them with too many questions. Especially because the more you ask, the more likely that you’ll be touching on some very personal stuff going on with their life. For instance, a lot of buyers ask sellers why they’re selling the house. It’s a valid question because you would want the inside scoop. But what if the seller is going through some nasty life transition, say, a divorce or death of a loved one? Bringing up an unpleasant scenario might hurt your chances in the bidding war later. So ask questions, but consider the various possibilities of what you’re inquiring about. It’s best to stick to questions pertaining only to the house, say, what recent improvements were done lately or how long the house has been on the market.
Arranging for a couple of visits
A lot of buyers do this for two reasons, usually. One, they would want to be really sure of the purchase they’re making. Of course, this is a big financial move, so they want to check, double-check that everything’s alright. Two, they find more ammunition for price negotiations or additional improvements. If you can bring the cost down some more, do it, right? Frequent visits from buyers are downright irritating for sellers. Especially when they’re in the process of decluttering, sorting through, and packing their stuff. If a few days after the first open house, you’re already asking for a next one, the sellers may be thinking twice on doing business with you. What you should do then is to take all the notes and photos that you can get from your very first viewing. Maximize that. And then if your offer gets accepted, schedule your visit the same time as the home inspection to avoid inconvenience to the previous homeowners. If you’re looking to save up more on costs, you should have done this right at the start of your home buying journey. You should’ve shopped around, talking to different mortgage lenders. Texas-based financial experts explain that just by getting and comparing three to five quotes, you could save a thousand dollars or more.
Accounting future improvements
Sometimes, you do this mindlessly, discussing how you would repaint the walls to remove some stains or rearrange the furniture to improve aesthetics. It’s one of those strategies you do so you can visualize better the potential home you’ll be living in. You also perhaps hope that the sellers would see that you’re serious about buying the home, which is a good thing. What’s not a good thing though is that you’re essentially commenting on their taste on interiors and worse, the memories they built in that home. You never know, those imperfections you see may have sentimental value to the sellers. As much as you’re itching to tell your spouse you’d change the walls or the floors, don’t do it at the open house. Save it for your discussion later.
Quit These Habits
Are you doing these annoying strategies when touring homes? Quit on them. Otherwise, you could be losing your dream home in an instant.
