Love Sells: Top reasons buyers should never buy because they "fell in love."

This is the title of a book published over a decade ago. Forgive the cynic in me for calling it out as one of the biggest reasons we should never buy a property because we "fell in love".

A quick scan of the cover reveals the promise to outline "3 keys to home selling success" and the "3 things that must happen for your home to sell in the shortest amount of time for the most money."?

All very well and good for the vendor. But consider, if you will, the experience from the buyer's point of view.

I have a client who has had long-term issues buying her first property. That is partly because her buying decisions are based on her feelings:?? ? ? ?? "I fell in love with it". It was?"love at first sight."?Conversely, she won't buy if she?" just doesn't love it enough"?or?"it didn't sweep me off my feet."

Have you fallen in love with a property??

You might recognise the symptoms. You walk into a home, and BAM, it hits you! You feel giddy and light-headed; you have butterflies in your tummy.?

Literally, you have lost your head.

Sadly, the only properties that give my client this feeling are those out of her budget.

So how do we manage this??

Shouldn't one be entitled to love the property they will be paying back for the rest of their life?

Absolutely!

And let's be crystal clear: I'm not saying there's anything wrong with wanting to "love" the property you buy; of course, you should - to a degree.?

But, and it's a big "but", there's a critical difference between "loving it" and "being in love".?

Keep in mind that real estate agents spend serious amounts of money on property psychology.?

The 101 Guide to Real Estate Sales is to turn the house into a super comfy home where potential buyers can imagine themselves living.

This includes staging the home and making it lovable by positioning sumptuous furniture amid lush greenery, piping feel-good music, and the irresistible aroma of freshly baked treats.

Being "in love" and acting on it suggests that your emotions are guiding you rather than vice versa.?

It's essential to break down that feeling to figure out precisely what "you are in love with".?

Is it the potent fragrance of the flowering potted jasmine wafting in from outside the kitchen window, or is it the furniture - the lux sofa or the sumptuous bed dressing? The issue is that the home presents entirely differently once the distraction of the staging and lovely smells are gone.?

Whichever it is, it will all disappear once the staging is coldly and clinically removed.?

It's not always possible for a layperson to recreate the magic the real estate professionals created.?

Did someone say smoke and mirrors?

Hence, it is essential to disregard those things that have been strategically placed to artificially manufacture a feeling and focus instead on the home's infrastructure and its "bones".

You often hear people say a place had "good bones" - what does it actually mean??

It means the home has an infrastructure or "footprint" that suits you and your family.?

It might be run down or unrenovated, but who really cares as long you can add to the rest later? So long as it has the right provisions for a start - for example, enough bedrooms and bathrooms to get by for now.

This approach allows you to invest in an infrastructure from which you can build, design and create your own bespoke home - a home that you will love, maybe not in the short term, but in the mid and long term.?

Some say the commitment to a home mortgage is a lifetime sentence; for others, it represents freedom and can change the course of their life. Thus, it is no surprise that enormous emotional currency exists around purchasing a home (versus an investment property). While our feelings and emotions are essential, it is vital that we don't allow them to take over.

Of course, it's easy to lose our heads - we're only human. Hence the need to seek guidance from someone cool, calm, and clear-headed.?

Enter the buyer's agent.?

Sometimes, all it takes is a professional to understand and support you.

Someone who views the biggest financial transactions of your life with a clear, sharp business lens.?

Someone who appreciates you, the individual, and the type of home that will make you happy in the long term.?

Someone who ensures that your hard-earned money secures a superior capital asset.

Someone who has your best interest at heart.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their property search, feel free to reach out for a chat at Real Estate Therapy.?

We know the Sydney market well and understand it. If you'd like advice about the property market, whether you want to sell, buy or lease, we're here to help.?

Owning your own home is the common goal of the Western world. It's also the most significant financial investment of our lives.?