Sleepless Nights
I think it should be a rule that REALTORS® have to complete one real estate transaction of their own every five years at a minimum. This would help put things in perspective and make us better agents. Having just completed a transaction for me and my family, I can certainly relate to the stress, anxiety, and sometimes, sleepless nights that a buyer experiences. I had purchased a home before, but it was 7 years ago. When we do many transactions each year for different clients, they tend to become routine (in most cases) and we can lose sight of the client experience. As much as we all think we understand our clients, it is worthwhile to become one every now and then to make sure.
In my experience, I had at least two sleepless nights, and more anxiety than I care to admit, wondering what the hell I was thinking buying a bigger house. I’m a pretty logical, reasonable guy, so this was not an impulse buy in the least. I calculated, re-calculated, extrapolated, and otherwise contemplated this purchase for the past 6 months at least. Once I had found the right house, I triple and quadruple checked my math to make sure I wasn’t committing financial suicide. I think I got a pretty good deal on my house – you’d think an experienced agent would know!
But all that doesn’t matter when those nagging, anxious thoughts creep into your brain late at night! No matter how illogical and frivolous these thoughts are when you really think about them, it can scare the crap out of you and shake your confidence so easily when they run away with your brain.
It’s Normal
Everyone feels this way. Talk to your friends and colleagues. Talk to co-workers and your family. Chances are they will have had similar thoughts and feelings when they purchased their homes. And it’s not just the first-time jitters. I talked to another agent friend of mine who has completed five or six transactions in the last 20 years or so, and he still freaks out every time. The key is to work with a team of advisers (mortgage broker, REALTOR®, financial planner, etc.) that you trust. They can help separate the important, key details from the noise of your subconscious mind that is keeping you up at night.
It Will Pass
For me, all the anxiety and stress disappeared the morning after the move. Here we were in our ‘forever’ house: me, my wife and our new baby daughter, and a pile of boxes and disarray. And it was perfect.
What about you?
Were you stressed about your first home purchase? What about your second or third? Did it get any better? When did it pass, and what advice can you offer readers about home-purchase anxiety?
-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional
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