As early as now, you should be able to accept this truth about home buying: it’s an emotional journey. The decisions you’ll make in the process involve not just your finances, but your feelings, too. The sooner that you acknowledge this fact, the better you can prepare yourself for the ups and downs you’ll encounter down the road and avoid costly mistakes supercharged by emotions. That said, here the emotions you should keep an eye on when going house hunting:
Excitement
You’re embarking on a new chapter in your life. You’re a step closer to getting the home of your dreams, the property you only see on renovation TV shows. It’s natural then to feel all thrilled about this. It’s a positive feeling that makes for a good starting point in this journey. But be on your toes too. Too much excitement may give you rose-colored glasses, keeping you from seeing red flags, in terms of costs and property quality, or making you rush into this decision. What you should do instead is to ground yourself in reality.
Pour your enthusiastic energy in discussing goals and finances with lenders and real estate agents. Know how much you can afford by establishing a budget. List down your non-negotiables in a home, based on your current lifestyle. With this, you’re making good use of your excitement, at the same time, restraining it with some reality check.
Bewilderment
You’d be seeing a lot of homes for the next coming days. You’d be handling a ton of paperwork. You’d be meeting different people from time to time. Even for those buying their homes for the third or fourth time, all these are overwhelming. You’d find yourself exhausted to the core. In fact, in some instances, people who’ve experienced burnout, just settle for anything, the last home they saw or the first lender they spoke to. Don’t make such mistakes. The key is to stay organized. Take notes. Keep track of what agents keep an eye on.
For instance, when checking out condo units, you should be able to put into writing at least these three: your first impressions, your gut feeling about the neighborhood, and your over-all rating in numerical form. This helps prevent being overwhelmed since you’re able to oversee everything. If you’re keen on moving to RFO units located in the best neighborhood in the metro, you may want to consider this condominium in Pasig for sale.
Anxiety
A lot of home buyers tend to hold off settling on a decision because of anxieties. You’d have second thoughts, like ‘what if there’s a better property in the market?’, ‘what if we won’t be able to keep up with monthly payments later?’, or ‘am I getting much value in this home?’. It’s normal to have such thoughts but don’t let these keep you from deciding. While you may think you may be playing safe with this thinking, you could also be missing out on good options. Plus, you’re prolonging the home buying process, which means more costs and energy wasted. Here’s the thing, if you’ve done your homework, from sticking to a budget to taking notes in-home visits to talking to the right professionals, you’re going to be okay. Take the leap.
Emotions in Check
Home buying is an emotional journey. But don’t let your feelings rule over your rational decisions. Keep your emotions in check to get the best home in the market.
