Get real: Advice from real estate experts

Avoid indecision If you plan to buy a home soon, you’re probably wondering how to make the right choice. You may visit 4, 10, or even 20 homes during your search. Each home will have a different price, features, and amenities. Somehow, after seeing the entire selection of homes that meet your objectives, you’ll need to be able to choose one and only one. When you visit the first home on the list of prospective properties, make mental and written notes in two areas. The first is whether or not the home matches your list of features, size, style, price, etc. The second is whether the home “feels” like your kind of home. Is it comfortable? Does the traffic pattern “flow”? When you visit the second home, follow the same routine. Now, here’s where you can simplify the choice. Before continuing to the third house, compare the first two only. Play a mental game with yourself by saying “If I had to make a choice today, and the only two choices were the homes I’ve just seen, which one would I choose?” Don’t continue to the third home until you’ve made that choice. Repeat this process after seeing each home, comparing the one you’ve just seen with your previous choice. This eliminates unnecessary procrastination and confusion. At the end of the day, the right choice should be clear.