As buyer’s agents, we work with a lot of household formation. We also find ownership opportunities for new households, and established ones. Household formation is the term for the point in life when a person leaves one household and sets up their own household.
Happy Mother’s Day!
The biggest reason that households change their living space is a change in the number of people in the family. Happy Mother’s Day! Adding people is good for the world and good for our business. In case you missed it, here is a guide to house hunting while parenting. It published here a couple of weeks ago.
After Mother’s Day, let us not forsake Father’s Day (June 18). Happy Father’s Day!
Another driver of household formation is weddings. June is a traditional time to get married. I personally enjoy working with people who are in love. Engaged people are so much fun; the possibilities for the future just shine off them! Same for women who are pregnant. Many people decide to house-hunt at these happy times in their lives.
Let’s talk about stress you feel when you’re creating a household…
Anyone who has been engaged and anyone who knows about pregnancy probably raised an eyebrow when I spoke so positively about love and babies. The happy stuff of life causes stress along with joy and optimistic thoughts about the future. House hunting is no exception.
Stress happens to every home buyer sometime in the process of buying a home. Different people experience it at different times. Some stress out during the hunting, some stress out during the offer, some during the inspection, some at the signing of the P & S, and some at the closing. Some feel stress throughout; some have only a few moments. No one buys a home stress-free.
When I look at the The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, which is the grand-daddy of all stress scales, I don’t see “buying a house.” However, I can add up getting a mortgage (31), change in financial state (38), and change in residence (20). That stress is more than a personal injury (53) or getting fired from a job (47).
Then, lots of our buyers are also getting married (50) or are pregnant (40), or have a new baby at home (39) or just got a promotion (29) around the time they start house hunting. Some have a son or daughter leaving home (29) or retirement (45). Add a couple of these together and the sum is a lot of stress.
The takeaway of understanding stress is that good things can be just as stressful as bad things that happen. The key is that change is hard. Even positive changes take their toll on your energy level and general health.
What buyers’ agents know that helps make house hunting less stressful:
Experience: When you do something for the first time, it is hard. If you do something once, then not again for ten years, it is hard. At 4 Buyers Real Estate, we do the mechanics of buying a house all the time.
- We tell you what is normal and what is peculiar.
- We will tell you what steps are coming next.
- We can tell you that this kind of property is common, or exceptional.
- We will do the math to figure out what a property should sell for. From there, you can make a rational decision based on how much competition we think you have, how special the property is, and how much you want it.
- We stand with you to support your making a good financial decision. This includes getting a home inspection so that you know what expenses may be in your future.
The counselor in me thinks the decision to buy a house while planning a wedding or while pregnant is doing things the hard way. The buyer’s agent in me sees most people manage it with good result. Our company will help you reduce stress and make it all worthwhile.
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