In the heyday of 21st century real estate speculation, a house (or condo or co-op) was seen more as an investment than a home; hence the flipping phenomenon that led to inflated prices and, ultimately, increased vacancies. Many folks now feel trepidation about purchasing a property because they’re worried about the soundness of the investment; they’re still thinking the place should double in value within a couple of years, and fear that they won’t recoup what money they’ve laid out.
We think that buyers need to adjust the way they approach home buying now. The folks over at Seeking Alpha talk about buying a home with Eyes Wide Open. Buyers should be aware of the risks, they say, but also of the potential values, be them financial or emotional; there are, after all, many reasons to own a home besides money.
To buy an Eyes Wide Open home, they write, “Potential home buyers should consider, to name just a few things, their income and job stability, the covariance—if any—between the home price and their income, the covariance between their house value and their existing investments, whether or not the home could be rented in the event of an income shock, the expected path of future prices based on their private knowledge and/or knowledge of their realtor, the expected future rental opportunity costs, and more.”
With our model, some of this thinking is done for you. You tell us what you want to pay, and we determine if that desire can become a reality. The idea is to make the purchase price meet the buyer’s expectations, so there’s no haggling, bargaining, and no fear that one has overpaid.
