Don’t let the “noise” interfere with your home search.

By rerockstar • March 31st, 2010

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Quell the noise.

Something that happened yesterday reminded me of the constant barrage of “noise” that has a tendency to interfere with the things we want to do. We all have those moments, where the “noise” in our life drowns out any semblance of focus and we tend to go into a bit of a daze and find ourselves hours later with no idea where the time went. Call it ADD, lack of focus, napping, blocking things out… doesn’t matter what name you use for it, interference happens to all of us at various times for various reasons. Sometimes it’s a good thing (blocking out the construction noise next to your window as you try to work), sometimes it’s a bad thing (losing focus on the task at hand as other more fun activities attract your attention).

It sure is noisy around here.

The caller searching for a home had some criteria that was quite realistic for the area they were looking for. In fact, it was excellent criteria – price range, bedrooms, well thought out geographic location – the kinds of info that makes any search go much smoother (many times buyers aren’t quite sure of what they were searching for… yet). Problem is, the criteria was perfect for the area and the home search returned almost 300 results. I was able to narrow down the criteria a bit and eliminate some of the homes, but in the end I was still looking at about 100 search results.

If you’re just beginning your home search and figuring out what you want – a hundred homes to look through online is not that bad. However, if you’re gearing up to buy a home, this can result in too much “noise” getting in the way. Target your home search to filter out some of that “noise” and you’re more likely to find the home your searching for. Let it distract you, and you could wind up looking for months on end with no real progress.

Quiet the noise and hear the homes speak.

If you find yourself letting the “noise” interfere with your home search, take a step back and try some of these suggestions:

Narrow your geographic area for your home search.
Find minimums, not just maximums. You don’t need to look at homes that are in disrepair that you’ll never buy. Find a minimum price that eliminates the junk and just returns homes you could actually find yourself living in.
Talk to someone. Get your agent, friends, or family on the phone and let them listen to what it is you’re looking for. Perhaps they’ll see something you’ve been missing (or adding) that is affecting your search. Let them ask questions – sometimes the answers will come naturally. Be careful though, don’t let anyone else project their wishes on you. It’s your house and sometimes others have a tendency to forget that.
Consider your “must haves” – eliminate everything else. Do keep an open mind, but if you’re seriously trying to narrow your list down, now’s the time to be a bit more picky.
Don’t look at homes you can’t afford. Everyone loves to dream and reach higher, but this should never be done at the expense of your home’s affordability.
Write pros and cons lists and keep notes about what you like and dislike about specific homes. It will help you and it will help me focus in on what it is that makes a home special to you.