I’m a huge fan of HGTV. My favorite shows are more about rehab than buying/selling, but I watch those too and those are what I’m on my soapbox about today.
I cannot count the number of times I’ve cringed when a potential home buyer starts with their I want list, because the majority of the items are so superficial and inconsequential! Oddly, it seems the younger the buyer and the tighter the budget, the longer and more inane the I want list.
As a home buyer, there are definitely pros to watching such shows–they give a general overview of the process, they often indicate the true reality of homes in a price range, and they occasionally give home buyers a new perspective on what is truly important when purchasing a house–and it’s not white cabinets and shiny appliances!
Seriously. So many times a home in a gorgeous setting, safe neighborhood, and good schools is passed by because the cabinets are too dark or the bathrooms are dated. Cosmetics, people, cosmetics! Somewhere along the line the adage of “location, location, location” has slipped down the list of importance, only to be replaced by ship-lap, hardwood floors, and open-concept living. With all this HGTVing of buyers, it’s an interesting time to be buying or selling a home.
When we purchased our current home, our agent understood location, commute and schools were our priorities. However, when we began our next home search a couple years ago, the agent wanted to show us everything with 2+ acres. It didn’t seem to matter the commute was 70 minutes each way, the house was too remote, the price was severely over budget or the home was nothing like we wanted. She so easily overlooked every item we wanted/needed, except the size of the acreage. Maybe the game has changed so much that even an agent’s role is not what it was–just make a sale and move onto the next client?
Even now, while selling our home, we got feedback from one agent stating, “I don’t like the country decor.” (And for the record, it’s not even country, it is light farmhouse/French farmhouse.)
Well I’ll be! Last I checked it was an agent’s responsibility to help a potential buyer see themselves in the home–to guide them past personal decor and belongings, instead of highlighting them as they’re permanent fixtures to be worked around. People, you’re NOT buying another person’s things, so use a little imagination in seeing it all gone. Yet, you know, it happens all the time on HGTV. I want to reach out and slap someone when I hear, “I don’t like the sofa” or “That bedspread is awful!” So what!? Why does HGTV even air such ignorant comments? In my opinion, all it accomplishes is setting up potential home buyers for failure when they think they need to focus on decor versus location, condition, price, commute, schools and the home’s layout.
At the other extreme are those who’ve never done more than tighten a bathroom faucet, yet they insist on buying a dilapidated fixer upper with the intention of DIYing and flipping it because they’ve seen it done on HGTV and there is a lot of money to be made. Yeah, about that…keep in mind the true flippers–Bargain Mansions, Flip or Flop (take a clue from the name!), Good Bones, and Home Town–have done this a long time and have subcontractors and a whole host of help behind the scenes. It’s never as easy as “we will just tear down this wall, gut the kitchen, and viola! it’ll be worth three times what we paid!”
I know realty agents/brokers all have ongoing education…I truly hope some of that education is on how to overcome the HGTVing of today’s home buyers and to focus on providing the service and direction that is necessary to help home buyers make the best decision for their home purchase. Pointing out important items, like safety of community, rating of schools, lifestyle, commute, and a home that works for them now and into the future, should not being cast aside in lieu of pointing out a shiny new light fixture, trendy countertops or other items that come and go out of style.
I’m also a fan of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing shows and at the price point of those homes, I say you should have and get everything on your I want list.
However, the average home buyer isn’t at that level and needs a good agent to help them understand life is not an HGTV show. Focus must shift to needs and the wants can come later. No house is perfect, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the perfect HOME.
Until next time,
Tina
Nsteadonline 