Brooks:  Buyers Face Four Challenges (“Emotional, Psychological, Cognitive, & Moral”)

Leave it to an intellectual to over think buying a home.

In a nutshell, that’s my reaction to New York Times columnist David Brooks’ piece, “The Home Buying Decision.

Customized Criteria

Which isn’t to say Mr. Brooks’ column — destined to be emailed to Realtors by their clients by the thousands — isn’t thought-provoking (my first email, from my house-hunting youngest sister, arrived overnight).

So, Mr. Brooks refracts the process of buying a home into four, discrete challenges, each characterized by these qualities (my paraphrase):

Emotional:  how do you feel about the home?
Psychological:  how well does the house meet your needs (family size, lifestyle, personality, aesthetic taste)?
Cognitive:  does the house’s condition check out? Is the price right?
Moral:  is the house in the right neighborhood, culturally.

Ummm . . . OK.

Interestingly, Mr. Brooks “Moral” criterion introduces a social overlay to “location”:  is the neighborhood sufficiently diverse?

More concretely, Brooks also tosses out some practice tips — like, view at least 18 properties before making a decision.

Heart + Head + Homework (Due Diligence)

How useful is Mr. Brooks’ approach?

At least for Mr. Brooks, very.

If he were my client — somehow, I suspect either he or someone close to him just bought a house — I’d appreciate how explicit his criteria were, and work with him on that basis.

However, for most of my clients, I characterize the home buying process as both more holistic/organic, and proceeding more sequentially.

Dating Parallels

Specifically, the first showing is all about emotion (heart):  can you imagine yourself living here?  Did you get goosebumps when you opened the front door (or drove up to the home)?

A good first showing is like a good first date:  lots of chemistry and excitement.

Second showings are usually calmer, and introduce more of an intellectual component:  is the floor plan a good fit?  Are there enough Bedrooms on the same level?  Where does everyone hang out?

Finally, the home inspection is all “head” (intellectual):  Is the home well-built and cared for?  Are there any undisclosed defects or looming repairs?  Does the Seller’s Disclosure seem truthful and complete?

Common Ground; Errors of Omission

I agree with Mr. Brooks that location trumps individual home attributes:  the perfect home in a less-than-ideal location . . . isn’t the perfect home (I have a corollary for clients with temporarily overloaded schedules:  “the right house at the wrong time . . . isn’t the right house”).

But, that just begs the question:  what is the perfect location?

According to Mr. Brooks, it’s one that offers the best social fabric, neither too diverse nor overly homogenous (only one NYT columnist per block, perhaps?).

Good luck searching for that on MLS.

Maybe that’s why many Buyers instead prefer to focus on individual home features:  the stunning Colonial with a new Kitchen; the classic Craftsman with gorgeous built-in’s, etc.

After 14+ years selling homes all over the Twin Cities, it’s obvious to me that not only do Buyers choose homes, but homes choose Buyers — that is, they invariably attract owners who recognize and value their best qualities.

Finally, for all the complexity Mr. Brooks sees attending the home buying process, he inexplicably omits what can be the trickiest variable of all:  finding a home that meets not just one person’s criteria, but melds two sets of (not-so-congruent) criteria.

Of course, that’s exactly what can happen when the home buyer is a couple . . .

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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