I almost fell off my chair when my client uttered that phrase. I had to do a double take and ask her to repeat it so that I was certain that I had heard it. It was rephrased but the message was still there: Like a car, one should never pay list price for a house.
This initiated all manner of thoughts while trying to stifle my first response.
Buying a House is Nothing Like Buying a Car.
A house is a much larger purchase and unlike a car, there are not row upon row of homes sitting on a street just waiting for a buyer to give it a test ride.
A home purchase is the single largest investment many people make. In order to make that purchase, the buyers must first find out if they qualify for a mortgage, and if so for what value. For a car, they need only show up with a pay stub and a deposit, and may well drive off the lot within a few hours with a model and color choice of their choosing.
Dependent on desired location and available inventory, there might not be a house there for a potential buyer to see, let alone on which to place an offer.
Now assuming you have gone through the process of getting qualified; are working with a real estate agent and have finally found your home, it's now the process of writing a contract.
When it comes to placing an offer, your agent will need to look for recent comparable sales on homes similar to the one being considered, some adjustments may be considered assuming all are not equal and a reasonable range for fair market value will be determined. It's not a matter of looking at the 'sticker' price of the house and just assuming a 20% reduction is a reasonable offer.
Consideration has to be given as to the type of market, buyer's or seller's as well as length of time on market, reductions made to the house and also in some instances if home owner is underwater and in a short sale.
The real estate professional will offer their expertise as to the home's value and should guide the buyers to a price that will get consideration and not insult the seller to an extent that no consideration or counter is given to the contract. There is no back room sales manager that offers nothing but how much can we get out of that buyer.
If you are looking to buy a home in Central Connecticut and want a full time professional that will get you a fair deal on a home purchase then you should give me a call.
Buying a Home Isn't Much Different Than Buying a Car
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Ed - hearing that comment is frustrating. I don't know if you were able to educate your client on the difference.
Jo Ed Silva ,
OMG..that is a frightening comment from a buyer!! This one doesn't have a clue!! Good luck with them..I hope you can educate them.
Ed she thinks buy a house is like buying a car, she will be in for a big shock when she gets into the loan process ..... LOL
Yes some buyer just don't get it..... are you still working with this client?
I would like to know what this person thinks they know. You may need to show them a few cars before they see what they want.
I have not heard that one Ed Silva but my responce would be "How So?" and then I would respond from there.
Ed- I'm scratching my head to figure out just how this could possibly be. You just don't know what people think of the home buying process.
Hi Ed, I was going to challenge you and then read the post. I bet you could hardly believe your ears when he said that comment.
Sometimes... I see buyers put less research into buying a home... than buying a car.
Some people, when buying a car, do a lot of online research... go to multiple dealerships... test drive a number of cars... and sometimes test drive them again.
With a home, they often make the decision after one 20 minute visit to a house... to make that offer.
There is one way that buying a home is like buying a car, and that is if you don't read the contract. That's about it. You need to be completely aware of what you are signing when buying a home.
Ed - There may be some general similarities of buying a home and buying a car, but it certainly is not the same. No agents are involved in buying a car, and when you go to purchase a car, you don't write them an offer. These are just a few of the many differences. There are also contingencies to consider, HOA's, inspections, appraisals to determine value, and more.
Imagine if there were a consumer reports on houses? You'd have columns that showed "plumbing" and "electric" and "shrubbery" and "roof" then they could put black circles under those columns if the item failed the intense testing those folks do. They could have some sort of machine going up and down on the roof to see if the house could withstand a huge hailstorm. They could rig the toilets up to some sort of mega flusher to see how the toilets could handle Uncle Benny's logjams. They could....
Buying a house is nothing like buying a car.
Good morning Ed. Bravo. I hope this gets featured because you beautifully deconstructed the myths here.
Wow...well I agree with George Souto the mortgage process will be just a little different than the car loan !
Some of my hardest clients have been car salesman as they think it is similar to their business and it couldn't be farther from the truth.
Well Ed I would have jettisoned the buyer and referred her to a used car salesman...Endre
Ed, that is quite the comment, and would have fallen off my chair too. Such a flippant comment, and has no idea what goes into a home purchase. Home you straightened them out.
Good morning Ed Silva . That is quite the comment/statement. However, most folks do equate real estate agents to used-car salesmen.