Taking off those rose-coloured glasses…

 In Newsletter

As buyers’ agents, our clients often include home buyers who are searching for that ideal first or next principal place of residence , to call their own.  Though they may have various budgets and criteria, one similarity that unites such buyers is their emotional attachment to the ultimate purchase.  Though it’s easier as an investor not to let your heart rule your final decision, it’s very much the opposite for home buyers who visualize themselves lounging on the deck or enjoying a BBQ in the perfectly manicured back garden.  To this end, however, when it comes to making the decision to begin negotiations on the place they’ve fallen head over heels in love with, the approach can be somewhat taken with rose-coloured glasses.

Our job as buyers representative is not to “sell” a property to our buyers, but rather address all the positives and negatives of each shortlisted home, ensuring that they are fully aware of the property as a whole, and not just the features that the pretty advertising focuses on.  Following up with negotiating a fair price that is not based on emotion may be difficult for those owners choosing to go it alone, as they can often overlook the reality and become caught up in the spiel of an enthusiastic or scaremongering selling agent who reads them well, and is able to secure a higher price than may be realistic in the current market.

Auctions are another situation altogether, as I’ve lost count of the number of emotional outpourings I’ve seen at auctions.  Buyers grapple to come to terms with the fact that all their hard work (and money) is going down the drain, as the bids soar past their limit, reducing some to tears and others to anger and sheer frustration.  Many clients now seek our services and appraisals prior to auction, to ensure that they are being realistic and not wasting more time in a possible fruitless outcome.  Possibly the most heart-wrenching scene I’ve witnessed at an auction was a wife bursting into tears, and her two young children joining her, as she failed to cope with the outcome, some $120K over her last bid.  Had she engaged the services of a pragmatic and non-emotional buyers agent beforehand the result could have been quite different in saving her much angst.

Most buyers are well-educated these days, with up-to-date technology and property information at their fingertips; it appears to be an easier process for them to locate and purchase with such a wealth of research behind them.  However, it’s not so easy to prepare for and keep that emotion in check when purchasing one’s castle.  Hiring an independent agent to represent them and ensure that rational decisions are ultimately made can be the best money home buyers may spend.

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