How to Distinguish Between Wants and Needs

Southwest Ohio Real Estate Podcast with Tami Holmes

This simple guide will help you determine the difference between what you want in a home and what you actually need.

Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes

Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report

Technology has made it easier than ever for buyers to find the perfect home. All it takes is a few clicks and some search-result filtering, and they’ll be shown pages upon pages of nearby listings.

With all these options at our fingertips, however, it’s important not to conflate your wants as a homebuyer with your needs. Do you really need a farmhouse-style sink to be happy? Are you truly willing to let an otherwise perfect home slip through your fingers because it didn’t have an essentially inconsequential feature? Of course not.

After all, features and amenities like this could easily be set aside as a future renovation, rather than acting as a deal-breaker right now.

One simple way to separate the home features you truly need from those you simply want is by sorting your list of desired qualities into one of three categories:

1. Must-haves. These features include those that you can’t live without. Any home without them, therefore, shouldn’t enter your consideration. “Must-have” features might include the number of bedrooms, the distance the home is from your place of work, or the size of the property itself.

2. Should-haves. Homes you look at should have most of the features in this category, but they don't necessarily have to have all of them for you to be content.

3. Wishlist. Items in this category can be thought of as the cherry on top of your perfect home sundae: nice, but not essential.

“

Are you truly willing to let an otherwise perfect home slip through your fingers because it didn’t have an essentially inconsequential feature?

”

Following this strategy of separating wants and needs will make your deal more seamless, and will help your agent guide you to the right property. All of us on the Tami Holmes Team would be happy to help you find that (almost) perfect home.

So, as always, if you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.