How to Take the Emotion Out of Buying a House

By Realty Times Published Mar 11, 2022 05:23 am

When you are trying to buy a house, your emotions can be all over the place. There are highs and lows, and you may feel like it’s a mentally draining experience. You could be feeling excited, stressed, anxious, disappointed or even sad.

It’s normal to feel a range of emotions when buying a house.

It’s a huge decision, and there is a lot to consider. You may have underestimated just how much goes into buying a house. Plus, you’re making a potentially very long-term commitment, and it’s the biggest purchase most people make in their lives.

You have to think about not just the financial component and your readiness, but whether or not you’re prepared for a new lifestyle where you no longer depend on a landlord when something goes wrong if it’s your first house.

Right now, with the highly competitive housing market, many buyers are facing disappointment and bidding wars when they find something to make an offer on. The inventory is low and the demand is high, exacerbating an already emotional process.

While feeling emotions is normal, at the same time, you can’t let this overwhelm you to the point that you don’t make the best decision financially and for your family and life.

The following are things you can do to separate yourself from the emotions of the experience.

Work With a Great Real Estate Agent
While you might not be able to go into buying a home without emotions completely, that’s where a real estate agent can be helpful. A good real estate agent can help you navigate everything and be your voice of reason when you may feel emotionally charged or pulled in one direction or another.

Be Strategic
Before you start the process of searching for a home, prepare yourself to be strategic. You need to map out all of your needs, plus your wants. You should have a list of non-negotiables, and then you can have those things you might compromise on.

Realize that you’re not going to get everything you want. By going into the situation knowing this and knowing what you won’t do without, you’re being more strategic in your overall approach.

You’ll be better able to walk away from homes that don’t meet your must-haves.

Set Boundaries
Along with being strategic about your must-haves, you need to set boundaries for yourself on your budget. These boundaries need to be very clearly conveyed to your real estate agent.

If your real estate agent continues to show you things outside of your budget, leading to heartbreak and disappointment, you need to figure out why and whether you need to make an adjustment or perhaps rethink the person you’re working with.

If you don’t want to be shown anything outside your budget, make that very clear. Some people don’t mind seeing things out of their budget if they’re searching for their dream home, but that might not be the right approach for you.

Approach It Like An Investor
Finally, you’re buying a home that is right for your family and where you can see yourselves living. At the same time, while that is different from being a real estate investor, try to take yourself out of that homebuyer mindset. Put yourself instead in a mindset of being a real estate investor.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t envision your family in the home or what your life might look like, but you can think more about numbers and facts versus the emotional aspects of the house.

If you don’t have to move, but you prefer to, and you can take a step back from the process when needed, that’s beneficial. For example, if you’re not finding a house you love in your budget or your offers aren’t getting accepted, take yourself out of the market for a while and wait to see if it cools down a bit.