In today’s information overload society, is having too much information hindering buyers more than it is actually helping them make a home purchase decision?

According to National Association of Realtors data, homebuyers who use the internet to aid in their search are seeing more than twice as many homes and taking twice as long to make a decision than those whose search did not include the internet.

Now, the first question I do have to ask is, “who isn’t using the internet these days?” But I think what they mean here is there are people out there who really rely on their agent to find homes and information, and not do any of that work themselves. Therefore are only seeing filtered information. They are only using the internet sparingly in their search.

So the short answer to the headline question I believe is, “yes.”

I do think that in some ways, having too much information out there makes it harder for buyers to sift through it all and trim it down to the essential things they are wanting in a home.  Being hyper-aware of every single detail of every single home on the market can be confusing (and exhausting). Causing a buyer to delay action and possibly missing out on houses that would have been good fits for them.

For example, imagine for lunch you want to go for a burger. The place you go to has a small menu, you can have a hamburger or cheeseburger, with a few toppings like lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup and mustard. And then a couple options for sides like fries or onion rings.  It is easy to pick what you want and you will be satisfied with your decision as long as the food tastes good. Now imagine instead of going to the place with a limited menu, you go to a place that has numerous options across the board. Now your meat can be hamburger, turkey, bison, chicken with toppings such as bacon, pineapple, BBQ sauce, buffalo wing sauce (mild, medium, hot), onion strings, jalapenos, and 15 types of cheeses. Now the decision is much more difficult because you get bogged down in all of the choices. Too many options can take your attention away from the choice you wanted all along, because you are busy trying to see it all. A simplistic example, but I think the point remains that sometimes not having so many choices is a good thing.

I have personally seen this bear out when working with buyers. Those that have been less reliant on doing their own research online, and allowed me to streamline their search by staying within their needs and trying to get as many “wants” as possible, we have looked at fewer houses, and a decision was made faster and the buyer always feels good about their decision.

On the flip side, those buyers I have worked with that conducted their own search in conjunction with mine, a funny thing happens. When we first meet, most have a pretty good feel for what they are looking for and have their base requirements of needs. And we are quickly able to identify several options for sale that meet those needs. However once their own search starts, they don’t just look at the houses that fit the criteria, but they also look at houses that may lack the essential criteria, but have a “want” feature the others do not have. And now they are trying to weigh if that want is greater than a need. As you can see, now the buyer is focused on wrong things and their list of houses gets bigger and bigger unnecessarily. Which obviously makes the decision that much more difficult.

Does this mean that buyers shouldn’t do their own research and just leave it up to their agent? No, that probably isn’t a realistic expectation.

So as the proliferation of information continues to grow, how do Realtors and buyers make the home search more efficient and easier? I think a good start for Realtors is to make sure you have a sit down buyer consultation session as early in the process as you possibly can to develop a solid game plan as to how you are going to go about the search. This is a good time to set expectations about the search. After all, Realtors are the ones who do this every day. Buyers are likely to have not done it in years, if at all. There the risks of having too much exposure to houses that do not meet their criteria can cause more problems that can help can be addressed.

As a buyer, having a good understanding the difference between wants and needs. And that any house that doesn’t meet those core necessities should be eliminated from any search regardless of how attractive the wants in the house may be. This will go a long way in keeping the house list to the minimum of just those that will work for the buyers. But still allows them to feel a part of the search by letting them do their own thing as well.

The fact of the matter is I don’t think the availability of information is going to ever slow down or diminish in any way. So we just have to get better about how we use the information. To use it in a way that is advantageous, and not paralyzes us into indecision. It is something that can definitely be done if Realtors and buyers work together.

The Home Inspection reveals the doorbell doesn’t work… better ask for all new wiring, new furnace, water softener and a Jacuzzi tub.

While this is a joke, unfortunately there is a hint of truth to it in what agents have to deal with when working with buyers for a property and the home inspection is done.

In short, the home inspection is probably one of the most important steps in the transaction timeline for buying (and selling) a home. This is the buyers chance to have the house evaluated and detect any possible problems the house might have.

A few things as to what the home inspection is, and what it is not.

What it is.

It is an opportunity to have a neutral third party check the major components of the house for defects. Such as the roof, siding, foundation, wiring, and HVAC, to name a few. The inspector’s job in a nutshell is to look at the house in its current state, and tell you what would need to be fixed. This includes any and all things no matter how minor it may seem. Their job is to mention anything that isn’t perfect.

And in any house, even new ones, there will be imperfections. Buyers need to remember that.

The inspection is a chance for the buyer to get some of the important things fixed before they purchase it. I say a chance, because contractually, the seller is under no obligation to make any repairs. However, refusing to do so might jeopardize the transaction.

What it is not.

This is not a chance for the buyer to have every single imperfection of the house remedied or used in further negotiations. Unfortunately, this is how numerous buyers go about it.

While it is certainly in the buyer’s right to ask for repairs, or to renegotiate the purchase price to encompass repairs they will have to do, there needs to be a balance in how things are negotiated.

A good rule of thumb for buyers is this. When you are reading through the inspection report, make three columns on a sheet of paper. Label those columns as such:

1. Must have repairs.

-These are repairs that you cannot (or will not) do yourself, and must be done for you to purchase the house. These are the big items, like the roof, HVAC, electrical. These either need to be done, or the cost negotiated into the purchase price.

2. The things you ask to be done, but can do yourself if need be.

-Here are the smaller items that you would like to have done, and might ask the seller to do, but ultimately could let go and do yourself if the seller says no. Definitely not deal breakers. Things like adding caulk to a leaky window, filling in dirt around the foundation for water run-off, fixing a loose deck step fit in this category for most homebuyers.

3. The things that the inspector must mention, but you don’t worry about or can easily do yourself for little cost.

– Here is where the things go that you are not at all worried about because you can easily do them. Things like tightening loose doorknobs, paint touchups, or nail holes in the wall from hanging pictures.  While I agree that a seller should have probably done this prior to listing their house, things get missed.

The point of this exercise is to get you in a good frame of mind for when you go back to the seller to ask for repairs.  Especially if there are big items to be dealt with, such as the roof, HVAC, etc. Being able to forgo some small things to get the bigger thing certainly increases your chance of getting it. Because in the end, you want to make sure you get the important things.

In closing, it is important to remember that both the buyer and the seller need to enter into this inspection period with an open mind and with the intent to keep the deal together. Too many times we find that one party or the other digs their heels into the ground and make everything a bigger deal than it needs to be.

No house is perfect, or will ever be perfect in every way so there is no point in trying to make that happen.