by Mario Jannatpour

Based on my experience helping Buyers since 2002.

It’s not easy to buy a house nowadays. Obstacles we can run into:

House you like goes under contract before you have a chance to submit an Offer yourself.

Seller is not motivated and completely unrealistic about their sales price with house being over-priced. Seller is inflexible in negotiating.

Inspection issues are so problematic that the Contract falls apart in this phase.

House you like falls into Short Sale status and Seller is not able to sell their house without Bank’s assistance. Normally we can close in 30-45 days but a short sale takes on average 4-6 months at the earliest. And then you are not guaranteed that you can buy the house.

House does not appraise at the sales price.

Some Tips for You:

1. It’s a process. Timeline is fluid. Can do it in one weekend or it can take over two years. Be patient.

2. Your Buying Criteria will change over time. Once we start viewing properties you will find out what you thought you wanted is not what you really wanted.

3. Sherlock Holmes philosophy for finding the right house. “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” In the beginning of our house search I always recommend to my Clients to focus on what you don’t like first in a house. This helps us in the screening process.

4. If you’re buying a house as a Couple make sure to talk together about what you want. I’ve been in situations where Couples cannot decide and sometimes it gets ugly.

5. Buying a house can be stressful and you need to be mentally strong to get through all of the challenges we will face. It’s not a piece of cake. But, it will all work out in the end–I know this for a fact because I see it happen all the time.