Informed home buying decisions: Why everyone must Know the Home Before You Buy™

 "Decision making is complex. On our own, our tendency to yield to short-term temptations may be too strong for our rational, long-term planning." -- Peter Singer

The pattern of poor home buying decisions and horror stories of withering financial investments in property purchases never seizes to amaze us.  Whether it be the standpoint of the “unnecessary” expense of a home inspection, to the lack of research and informed decision making conducted prior to purchasing a property, to the economic disparity that leads to poor home maintenance -- more and more people continue to enter into poor home buying decisions. 

As a result, many poor home buying decisions have negatively impacted home sales and values, while increasing the rate of short-sales and foreclosures.

The cost of this may be small or great, quickly encountered or experienced later, but one point is consistent for most people: the purchase of a property is one of, if not the largest investment you will make in your lifetime.  How many times will you spend $100k, $200k, or maybe even a $1,000,000 on any one purchase in your lifetime again? Not to mention, don’t we all want ourselves and our family to be happy, safe, and comfortable with the home we live and invest in?  

Let’s face the facts…

We’ve all heard of or experienced the horror story of a new home purchase, rental property, or new move.  Most people consider a home inspection through the process of purchasing a property, but many do not understand the various aspects of the Home, Homeowner, Neighborhood and Community which contribute to their overall long-term happiness, return on investment, and susceptibility of that purchase or lease agreement. 

Inadvertently as a result, poor home ownership decisions and a lack of informed decision making has fostered a higher demand for rental properties; currently averaging $904 per month nationwide. Prior homeowners, and many others, fear the idea of property ownership based on past mistakes, distorted views from TV shows and opinions, and financial struggles that have led them to few additional options other than rental tenancy. The fact of the matter is that many prior homeowners, young adults, and current tenants were never aware, or are still unaware of the options, assistance, and information services available to them.

Next week we will review the Home Fax™ Report options available to buyers, sellers, renters and investors for home purchases from Nationwide Home Fax™ and home inspections from Home Fax™ Inspections.