Getting Back What You Paid For

Now, I know that this article might rub some the wrong way. It isn't meant to be, just consider it an FYI. It's a common understanding that you get what you paid for, right?

I purchased a strand of pearls from online, nothing fancy but the pictures were very seductive. Alright, yes, I should have been more careful but I didn't know any better. But the deal seemed so good that I thought to myself, it should be an easy and quick buy for a simple project. I was so ecstatic and looking forward to their arrival. So, did I get what I paid for? Well, YES! Disappointment and an inconvenience. The pearl weren't what I paid for, I felt ripped off and the seller wasn't responsive.

I am a big peach fan, especially yellow peaches. Big juicy and fresh! Mmmm.... Well, I went to a well trusted store, big name, who advertised for quality and charged big bucks. You know the kind. It wasn't the big name that I went for, just the peaches. I bought a few with hopes to cash in every juicy bit. I patiently waited for a few days to give them time to ripen. When the time came I smelt it, cleaned it, and cut into it with anticipation only to be disenchanted by pithy and mealy interiors.

You know what I mean and some of you can freshly recall what it felt like to be dissappointed, to be miss lead, to not get what you bought into. When it comes to hiring a real agent to represent our interests why be a scouge, be lead by fair promises, rely too much on the packaging, or cut a few sales person off because we wanted a great deal? The façade can harbor a rotten core and the wrong choices can lead to shady results. In the end we get what we paid for and the outcome of our choices, whatever they may be, are ours.

Where's the Shopping List?

Been to the grocery store lately...without a shopping list? Your goals forgotten and your memories washed clean...a momentary lapse of purpose amidst the flashy diversion of beautifully displayed shelves, the gleaming pyramids of fruits, the neatly stack vegetables, the methodical beeping of scanned grocery items, and the subliminal beckoning of techno colors ads. It’s the casino of forgetfulness. If you’ve had the experience, you know what I'm getting at. When shopping for a house, is there a difference? Builders and real estate agents alike know how alluring and seductive a well staged home can be when it comes to getting their housing inventories to fly off the shelves. And in today’s stringent economic demand buying incentives help anesthetize the wallet and makes the buying experience dreamier.

How is that we, as buyers, when purchasing a house sometimes walk about empty handed without directions, without priorities and leave behind our dream home "grocery list", thus render our final purchases to the pretty packaging, eye candy staging, and the distracting incentives to spend impulsively, beyond our means and render ourselves to suffer buyer's remorse or disappointments? It isn't hard to do when our priority rudder hasn't been installed correctly and our impulses haven't been properly capped when we go "window shopping".

Whatever our excuses, we can straighten our rudder and curb our impulses through research, taking time to consider our needs/wants and prioritizing them. Write a list of needs...not wants...NEEDs, the "must haves" and then ask yourselves "Why" you need them. Write it out. Writing it out will help you think...this is beginning to sound like some psycho therapy for home shoppers but it's true. Writing it out helps to process and filter out what you "truly" need. Also, create a list of wants according to your priorities and also ask why you want them. Be specific. And most importantly, research and study it out way before the "window" shopping begins. There will be less confusion and clearer decisions made quicker and avoid missed opportunities. I know that some of us like the gun shot or fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants method, well...good luck and don't be surprised if your real estate agents are seemingly um "not helping or don't understand" what you need.