We are in the house hunt these days and I’m getting a little taste of what my own clients go through during their house search! Sometimes it’s fun and exciting and sometimes well… it’s not.

We purposefully rented a temporary space for part of this year so that we could get a great deal on just the right fixer upper in the winter, when real estate is a little slower and you can usually get property for a better value than in the spring.

Even though I know we’ll find something I am starting to feel some pressure to just put in an offer on anything that will work. We’ve seen some places that could work, but there’s always something that isn’t quite right…

There’s the cute two bedroom in the perfect up and coming spot, tons of living space but only one tiny bathroom and no outdoor space… there’s the cute space with lots of light and the twenty year old laminate kitchen and baths that I ‘love’, but the kitchen layout needs to be reworked, the living space is a little tight, and it’s kind of a ‘B’ location…

Where’s the one?!

I’m rolling my eyes and laughing at myself for being impatient, but these feelings are common, and can easily come up when looking for a house. There are so many strong emotions involved in buying a house because it’s the biggest purchase you are making. It’s not something most people do on a regular basis, so each time you are buying or selling it somehow always feels momentous, and at least to some degree, at some moment, overwhelming.

It can be tempting, if you are overwhelmed and stressed about any part of the process to just buy something… so that you can just move forward and be done with the stress! But it’s important to make sure you find the right one, even if it takes a little longer that you were expecting or would like.

If you have really specific search criteria, the search might take a little longer, or if there isn’t a lot of inventory it could add time to your search.

I’m having to remind myself to just take a deep breath, find some amusement, and trust my intuition. It’s so easy to forget that, and get caught up in analyzing everything, and worrying about things that aren’t real {like that we’re running out of time, which we’re not}…

The helpful thing about seeing places that aren’t the one is that we’re getting real clarity on what really is a must have and what is more of a nice to have. For us, we have to think about what will be the most appealing when we sell the space since we are planning on updating and selling in just a couple of years. But really, shouldn’t everyone be considering the ‘sellability’ of their space on the back end? So it’s interesting to be balancing our own personal preferences with what we think will be the next buyers ideas about each space as far as appeal or drawbacks.

So for now the search continues. Does anyone out there have any interest in seeing what makes my list of ‘possible’ places, and what I consider when I’m looking for our fixer upper? I’m definitely looking forward to sharing when we find THE one!