Waiting for something good...

“You never wait too long when you wait for something good.” (Swedish Proverb) from Jack’s Winning Words. This most certainly could be applied to real estate, especially to those who have been searching fore the right new home for quite a while. However, it may also betaken too far. Searching forever for that perfect house – a foreclosed property at a ridiculously low price but on that is also in absolutely move-in condition – can become a never-ending process.

It is especially hard to find a foreclosed house that has no issues at all. Most have been left unoccupied for long enough that they have begun to deteriorate. Some have actually been vandalized or stripped (sometimes by the old owners). Sometimes defects are not found until you’ve gone through the inspection process and that can be really disappointing, since the buyer has committed emotionally to “buying” the house, only to find something that gives them reason to reconsider and walk away. These days there are also appraisal issues that sink many deals, which is also a bummer.

I’ve hit cases lately where buyers actually get tired of looking and start getting a lot more “flexible” on their list of requirements. It may even feel like giving up to them, unless we can find a house that they can get emotional about again. Then we can have a good laugh and repeat the Swedish proverb from above. You just never know how long is too long. I finally found homes for two couples that I have kiddingly referred to as my "three oil changes" couples - meaning that we have been looking for so long that Ive gone through three oil changes on my car. In both cases we had made multiple offers prior homes. Hopefully the current homes are the ones they've been waiting for all along.