The home seeker was an engineer who was making a corporate transfer from one state to another.
Though motivated to find a home, he’d given little thought to what he truly wanted. And, given the unfocused nature of his search, he found it tough to recall the properties his real estate agent had shown him.
“After three houses, he told me, `Man, this is overwhelming; we’re going too fast,’ ” recalls Fred Libardoni, the Re/Max broker-associate who was assisting the engineer.
Realizing that his client was suffering from “buyer blur,” Libardoni temporarily halted the house tour, which was expected to cover 12 properties that day. He put his car in park and had a brief talk with the engineer, helping him gain a clearer focus.
During the talk, the transferee (whose family included a wife and two teenagers) answered several key questions that helped the client pinpoint his search. In response to Libardoni’s questions, for instance, the engineer made it clear the family wanted to live on a quiet, wooded street, not a main avenue. He also allowed that a three-car garage was a must.
With that information alone, Libardoni was able to eliminate five houses from the itinerary he’d planned for his client that day. He was also able to tear up a couple of listings of homes the engineer had already seen.
Some clients don’t know what specific home features they’re seeking unless they’re asked. And an unfocused tour involving many houses can leave them totally befuddled, says Libardoni.
“If you look at too many houses in one day, it wipes you out,” says John Rygiol, the owner of a small independent realty firm.
Here are six suggestions for making your home search more efficient and effective:
1. Set your criteria in advance as much as possible.
Some home seekers, like the engineer, have trouble articulating their wants and needs before they start looking at possibilities. Even then, they have to be asked direct questions to discover their preferences.
But given a little time to think things over, many other buyers can develop their own checklists of criteria. An athletic buyer, for instance, might acknowledge that he must have a pool. Meanwhile, another buyer (with small children) might rule out a pool.
2. Use the “drive by” method of eliminating unlikely possibilities.
Your agent may well be able to generate a list of 50 addresses that seem to meet the criteria on your list.
But from experience, Rygiol knows that the typical buyer will probably like the exterior of only about 5 percent of the homes he sees from the road. And he also knows it’s a rare buyer who will ever buy a home she finds distasteful on the outside.
Thus, Rygiol is convinced buyers should drive by possibilities before asking the agent to set up appointments to see the interiors of the best prospects.
With a good map that pinpoints the locations of the homes on your list (or with your agent as your chauffeur) you can see 15 to 20 exteriors in an hour, he says. On the other hand, you can see only about three to five interiors in an hour.
Are you hurried and want to start seeing interiors on the first day of your search? Then go with your agent on a tour of exteriors in the morning and then take a lunch break while your agent sets up appointments to see the interiors of homes on your short list that same afternoon, suggests Rygiol.
3. Take careful notes on your reactions to the homes you visit.
These days, most listing agents leave fliers about a property that’s up for sale. Anyone visiting can take a copy of such a flier. Obviously, you’ll want one if the home interests you.
Then, after you’ve walked through the place, you should use the back of the flier to jot down your reactions, says Peter G. Miller, author of “Buy Your First Home Now,” a HarperCollins book published in 1996.
Taking notes while your reactions are still fresh will help you recall those thoughts later on. It will also help you distinguish one property from another, thereby lessening the chance of “buyer blur.”
4. Consider using a camera or videocamera or asking your agent to do so.
Many listing fliers include an exterior photo of the property.
But that’s not enough to jog the memories of many buyers, especially if they’re seeing a number of properties within a short span of time, says Rygiol, who is affiliated with the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, based in Evergreen, Colo.
Rygiol suggests that you–or your agent–bring a still or video camera with you to record interior images of a property and its surroundings. These are especially helpful for out-of-towners who are involved in a whirlwind tour of homes.
With so many quick-development photo shops now available, your agent may be able to get your still pictures printed during your lunch break. Or, you can take your photos or videotape home with you to help narrow your list of possible choices.
However, before you shoot interior images of someone else’s home, it’s only right that you gain the homeowner’s permission first. “There is a privacy issue here,” says Miller, the author. Your agent can make this request when he sets up your appointments.
5. Try to see beyond the superficial in a home’s interior.
Unfortunately, too many buyers automatically reject a house that happens to be messy, even though it may have the perfect floor plan for them, says Libardoni of Re/Max.
Even more prevalent is the habit of many to judge a home by its furniture, just as some judge books by their covers.
“Psychologically, half the people buy on the basis of the furniture they see,” Libardoni estimates.
6. Limit a day’s search to five or six properties, when feasible.
Realtors know from experience that most clients can’t remember more than a half-dozen houses seen in one day. Even if you only have two days to look, it’s usually better to see no more than a half-dozen homes in a series unless you take time to refocus before your next outing, Libardoni says.
“The more houses the buyers see at one time, the cloudier is their recollection,” he says.
