Take the Emotion Out of Buying or Selling a Home

If you’re buying or selling a home, is it beneficial — or even possible — to remove emotion from the process?

Real estate investors approach the buying and selling of property from the objective perspective of business. When you set out to buy or sell a home, however, removing emotion from the process is not that easy.

We experience life’s milestones in our homes. We fall in love, raise children and make memories there. It’s also arguably the largest and most significant purchase of your life. So how can you possibly approach this transaction dispassionately?

For many of us, it’s difficult, if not impossible. But if you can do it, it can make the process much easier.

Common Real Estate Purchase Missteps Caused by Emotion

On the real estate buyers’ side, emotions trump logic when you fall in love with — and insist on buying — the first house you see.

Ditto for those purchases when buyers insist on paying more than market value because they just can’t live without the home. Going ahead with a purchase when you know that the house has problems and will require expensive repairs (especially of the structural variety) can result in the proverbial money pit, unless of course you buy significantly below market value.

When attempting to finance a new home, buyers can allow excitement and emotion to cloud their judgment on loan terms. Taking a loan with unfavorable terms may not seem like such a bad idea right now, but later, it may cause significant financial hardship.

As bad as these decisions can be in the long run, the seller’s side is where emotion really wreaks havoc.

Common Emotion-Based Selling Blunders

Emotion gets the best of home sellers when they refuse to consider that their home may be worth less than they think.

This can haunt sellers who insist on listing at a price above current market value. When your listing languishes and the DOM (days-on-market) grows, potential buyers suspect a problem. Before long, the property becomes stigmatized, and any offers you get are likely to be lowballs.

Overly emotional sellers tend to take it personally when buyers are critical of the home.

You may adore your sculpted pile carpet or hot pink walls, but most buyers today prefer hard surface flooring and neutral color palettes. If potential buyers request multiple repairs, sellers also may take offense, believing that it’s been fine for them all these years, so what’s the big deal?

These issues and others can make it difficult to sell your home, especially in today’s active Southern California market.

The Real Estate Investor Mentality

When professional real estate investors set out to buy or sell a piece of property, they view the transaction from a financial perspective. This means that they gladly will walk away from an overinflated asking price or unfavorable financing scenario.

Investors are also realistic about what they have to offer as sellers. From an investment perspective, it makes good sense to accept a lower price than you might like, if it means getting the property sold before it becomes stigmatized by too many weeks or months on the market.

But perhaps the most important trait of good investors is that they take the advice of their expert consultants. A licensed Realtor® who is active in the local market knows what the values are and how to obtain the best deal for their client.

The Edie Israel Team of experienced Realtors® understands the Yorba Linda market. As full-time real estate agents, we work hard to help our clients achieve their goals for buying and selling real estate.

Contact us today if you plan on buying or selling a home in the near future.