As a buyer, you should try to think like the seller
Type the words “home buying stress” into any search engine and you may be surprised by the number of articles dealing with the topic. As exciting as it is to fulfill the dream of purchasing a home, the entire process can be taxing. Questions abound. Should I make an offer on the first home I fall in love with? Should I really pay asking price, even if it seems unreasonable? Is there a secret cache of not-yet-onthe-market homes I don’t know about?
No matter how much emotion a seller invests into creating a home or how many dreams a buyer brings to its purchase, a property sale is nothing more than a business transaction at heart. As with any business deal, it helps to understand the position of the other party. The Bottom Line
“Most sellers want to net the most they can out of a property,” said Toni Viscomi, a Realtor with Intero Real Estate.
As obvious as that statement may appear on its face, it does provide important insight. Given the heated Bay Area market, there is a sense that the sky is the limit. The frequency of bidding wars in the region makes sellers feel as though it is possible to hit the housing lottery and walk away with more than they ever dared dream.
“It is still pretty much a seller’s market,” said Viscomi, underlining one of the reasons sellers are unlikely to feel pressured to accept the first offer they are presented with, particularly if it is not in line with other, more impressive, recent sales.
As a buyer, it is valuable to know that this Bay Area market is unlike any other market in the country. Sellers have any number of options, most of them attractive. Most are not sitting on their hands, anxiously waiting for an offer — any offer. Sellers understand that they are in the driver’s seat. Accepting that fact as a buyer can help you make sure that your offer stands out in a crowd.
Recognizing that a rejected offer is strictly business and not in the least personal is also helpful because it allows you to keep moving forward. Just as you hope to strike a deal that benefits you financially, so does a seller. The Emotional Factor
If looking at a photo of your childhood home ushers in a rush of memories, it is with good reason. A report by Alan R. Hirsch called “Nostalgia: A Neuropsychiatric Understanding,” explains that nostalgia is a yearning for an idealized past. It is possible that life was not, in fact, all that great while you were living in the home, but you have preserved a sanitized impression of it, making it appear rather wonderful in the rearview mirror. Knowing that we humans become nostalgic may help you understand why a seller feels the way she does about her house.
As you walk through a seller’s home, you see fading kitchen cabinets and outdated carpeting, but she sees the everyday memories that were created there. Rather than look at a light fixture and think how outdated it has become, she is more likely to remember who she was with when she bought it and what they discussed as it was hung. In short, one person’s fixerupper is another person’s masterpiece. The seller is unlikely to accept a discounted price because you want to refinish the hardwood floors. In fact, she may see nothing wrong with them in their current condition.
“If a buyer comes in below asking price some sellers are sensitive enough that they won’t even respond,” Viscomi said. After 36 years in the business of selling homes, Viscomi knows that just as a buyer benefits from being reminded that the transaction is purely business, so does the occasional seller.
While the price they fetch for the property is almost always going to be the deciding factor in the sale of a home, there are sellers who long to know that the next person or people who buy their house will take care of it. Viscomi says that she occasionally has a seller who is swayed by a heart-felt letter from a potential buyer. While it does not always do the trick, it is certainly worth a try if you find a house that you love. The Flip Side of the Coin
As a buyer, it is natural to become totally wrapped up in the home buying process. You’re thinking about neighborhoods, schools, financing, and potential equity of your own. At the same time, there is a seller who is swimming in their own concerns. The reality of Bay Area real estate requires a little more “give” on the part of the buyer than most areas. According to Viscomi, that may mean making a no-contingency offer, closing as quickly as possible, and even allowing a seller to stay in the house an extra 30 days at no cost in order to allow them time to get their own move in order.
Sure, those concessions sound ridiculous in other regions of the state and country, but in the Bay Area, they may just be the thoughtful touches that buy you a home.