Prioritize your house hunt

My buyer clients know that they count on me to remind them that while fair market value, the comparables and the likely appraised value are all important inputs to their decision on how much to offer for any given property, the price they offer must also pass the final gut-check question: "What's it worth to you?"

I've been finding myself asking that same question of homebuyers in a different context lately, though -- the context of what they're willing to do, to what lengths of personal inconvenience are they willing to go -- to do the work of house hunting and successfully buy a home on today's market.

Taking a step back, let me preface this mini-rant with another phrase my clients are used to hearing me say: "I don't sell shoes." Not to minimize the importance of shoes and shoe salespeople whatsoever -- shoes are a source of utility, comfort and, sometimes, even delight(!) in my world. However, my reality is that the item I sell is, for most of my clients, the single largest, most important purchase they will ever make.

Throughout my real estate career, I have used exactly this rationale to explain away the freak-outs, anxiety and drama some clients experience and even create -- they're not nut-jobs, they're just stressed out. And while it is certainly possible to have a drama-free real estate transaction, I also have a great deal of compassion for those who don't know that yet. Long story short: If there's a purchase that warrants being stressed out about, it's this one.

I have also used the import of the transaction of homebuying to justify years of working at all hours of the day and night, extreme family sacrifices (e.g., showing houses on even the most sacred of holidays, if necessary) and other personal lifestyle concessions to my profession, like getting up at 4:30 a.m. everyday, among other things.

I've actually had more than one client say something like, "Geez, T, you work so much. You really need to take a vacation. Just please don't do it during my deal!"

And for the most part, I acquiesce. The obvious complication with this, from my perspective, is that if I do this for everyone, I would never take a vacation! But, you know what? I don't sell shoes, I sell houses, so I make some sacrifices in honor of what I see as the sacred trust my clients have placed in me. ...CONTINUED

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