Right now I am showing Canton homes to a young first time home buyers. They have it in their mind to find this certain house. They were looking with another Canton Realtor for six months before they called me. They told me that the Canton Realtor wasn't showing them what they wanted to see.
Unfortunately I am in the same boat. They want a house that is $50,000 out of their price range. And what the want is more likely to be in Plymouth, Westland, Garden City, or Livonia than in Canton. They are looking for a subdivision that has mature trees. Trees that you get the whole yard full of shade. Canton has a few subdivisions like that but not many. Much of Canton was farm land. So when the subdivisions were built they started planting trees.
Many trees are not very big. These Metro Detroit home buyers want a big house in a subdivision with lots of trees. So today I had to sit down with them and go over the issues they had. I finally got it through their head that they were not going to find the house they want in their price range. Nobody sat them down and really explained that what they wanted was not possible. ( at least in their price range)
So we re-established their criteria that would fit their goals. They have decided to expand their city search to the cities I suggested. Now they will have more home choices that will fit the big tree criteria. And they agreed that they needed to be more realistic on thier home choices if they wanted to buy a house this year and get the 2009 first time home buyer credit. I knew by bringing up the chance of them not getting the home buyer tax credit would make them realize that they needed to get more focused.
Sometimes you have to sit down with first time homebuyers and give them the truth. It is then up to the first time home buyer to decide whether to accept the reality of metro Detroit's home choices in their price range.
For a indepth explanation of the $8000 first time home buyer tax credit.
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My Month of April quote:
"Sometimes the only way to get to the far shore is to lose sight of the shore you just left"
Russ Ravary
"helping make your move easier"
your local Metro Detroit Realtor helping clients like you sell and buy homes through out the entire Metro Detroit suburbs. I love showing and selling Oakland County and Livingston County Lake front homes too.
Hi Russ ~ You gotta love anybody who includes "big trees" in their criteria. Not enough people nowadays realize the value of trees of any size so I am happy to hear it. Sounds like you're a great guide for buyers in your area.
Liz
That initial consultation is so important - it cost the Canton agent a job. Excellent work in telling these clients what reality was! Congrats. Great post.
Md
I had a couple from Michigan once who wanted trees. I called them my Druids. Privately. Never to their face. I just realized another couple I have worked with a couple of times, he grew up in OH but she is from MI. Their second house was really too small for them but it had trees. I thought of her as a Druid too.
Russ: Bravo! As a lender I find that many times young home buyers get to me and still have such misconceptions about their purchase ability. I so appreciate the realtor leveling with them and reinforcing the information ("bad news") that I may be delivering. Professionals working tandem and delivering the same message just makes it easier for all parties moving forward.
Best of luck serving your clients!
Gene Mundt, Professional Mortgage Banker www.genemundt.com Chicago Bancorp
Russ. You obviously know your areas very well. That's the key. Just showing buyers homes that does not fit their criteria is frustrating for both parties.
Hey Russ: Guess that tax credit may "light a fire" under those foot-draggin' first-timers, saving us all a lot of time. Yeah!
Hi Russ, I have had to do this before myself. I feel it is always best to be honest with clients, even if they are not happy with what you have to say, they appreciate it in the long run.
Russ, that consultation to clear up expections, conceptions and perceptions will save everyone a lot of time and disappointmens in the long run. It pretty much applies to almost all home buyers especially if they are relocating from a different area. Good thing you found out early on what they didn't know!