Playing house and talking about your dream house, is a popular activity for most young girls. We all dream about growing up and expect our dream house to look a lot like our parents house. We don't know that houses are different depending on where you live and how much you can afford to spend on your dream home.
We don't realize our dream house will reflect our personality and lifestyle, and be influenced by television, magazines and friends.
Reality arrives when you're buying a house and you have to make compromises. You might pick a smaller house in a neighborhood with better schools. You might start with a larger house or yard, and a kitchen that needs updating in a few years. It's important to prioritize what you want in your dream house.
That's why I wanted to share this story by Debbie Reynolds, a realtor in Clarksville, TN. Debbie and her husband built their “almost perfect” house once, and got to build it a second time and discovered it still wasn't the dream house they imagined.
Your Dream House Might Not Be a Perfect House
There is No Perfect House was written by “The Real Debbie Reynolds”
There is No Perfect House yet many real estate agents claim they'll find buyers their dream house, a perfect house. Hogwash! In my humble opinion, there is no perfect house!
There are houses with many features that appeal to buyers. There are great houses that fit the lifestyle of buyers. There are houses in the buyer's “right” neighborhood. But there are no perfect houses because even after the buyer moves in, they will wish it had something a little different. Home buyers need to accept compromise as part of the home buying process, and be prepared to pick a great house that isn't perfect.
I speak from personal experience. My husband built our dream house. It wasn't perfect and we had tons of input during the building process, including hands-on control of the materials used and the subcontractors who worked on the house. We did everything we could to create our dream house, knew it backwards and forwards and it was not perfect!
We eventually had to sell our home and relocate, which gave us the chance to build our dream house again. We were determined that this time our new home would be perfect. Not! We did make some of the changes that bugged us in the first house. It came closer to our dream house but it still wasn't perfect. We still had to compromise to build a great house, but not a perfect house.
Why a Great House Won't Be a Perfect House
There is No Perfect House. Why aren't houses perfect? Because they are made with men's hands and Mother Nature's products. These two components have tendencies to mess up from time to time. The other reason your dream house won't be perfect is we're constantly changing. So today's dream house for how you live today, will likely need some other little bells and whistles we forgot when we were building (or buying an existing home) or we might wish we had left something out that we really didn't need. Our families change and sometimes that can happen overnight, so the perfect or not so perfect house isn't the right size anymore.
Realistic Expectations Focus on A Great House
So when real estate agents tell buyers they'll help buyers find the Perfect House, you are setting expectations that can't be met. It may be a great house, one the buyers love, one that meets their “today” needs, one that fits their budget and one they can be proud to live, all these things can be true even when the house isn't perfect. Something will go wrong sometime and usually sooner than later. As real estate agents, our job is to help buyers set realistic expectations. It's important to prioritize the features you want in your dream home, so you're prepared to compromise with many, but not all, of you're desired features. This will help the home buying process go more smoothly, and you'll find your dream house a whole lot quicker.
There is No Perfect House. There are great, wonderful, fantastic houses for buyer willing to compromise. You'll find a great house that will make you happy for many years to come, a dream house you're happy to purchase. Be open-minded to compromise and best of luck finding that … perfect, oops great house that can make your dreams come true!
What features do you want in your dream house?
About the author: Debbie Reynolds is a realtor in Clarksville, Tennesee. She enjoys helping women homeowners love and maintain their dream homes, even when they're not perfect.
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