When it’s time to go house hunting, the No. 1 thing you can do to set yourself up for success is leaving emotion out of the equation.
That’s according to HGTV stars Drew and Jonathan Scott, better known as the Property Brothers. The duo tell CNBC Make It that emotion is the enemy of making a good decision.
Buyers may enter the process with clear ideas of what they like, but quickly set those aside when they become enamored by a sleek-looking home or a massive closet.
“People who don’t have experience in real estate can look at a space and think ‘New kitchen! New floors! It looks new, this is amazing!’ But it’s not until you’re living in it that you see it’s a façade,” Drew says. “It’s lipstick on a pig.”
He recommends bringing another person along with you when you look at a potential new home. Briefing them on what you’re looking for can help them be a useful backstop if you find yourself momentarily swayed by a star feature like a walk-in closet.
All of us, in some capacity, get over excited about a home for one reason or another.
“It’s another person to bounce ideas off of,” he says. “All of us, in some capacity, get over excited about a home for one reason or another. Sometimes you need to take a step back.”
Jonathan, meanwhile, recommends also grabbing a piece of paper and making a list of what you like and don’t like when you’re touring a property. Seeing the pros and cons laid out can help keep you from making an emotional decision.
“Write down the things you really love and the things that could be better,” he says. “If the right column is way bigger and you’re trying to justify it with the nice things on the left, that might be a clear way to indicate [an emotional decision].”
Drew adds that buyers should look out for homes where the seller says they built or renovated it themselves. If you encounter this, he says, you should look up city permits to make sure no unpermitted changes were made.
“That’s a big red flag,” he says. “Especially when it comes to flipped houses. They cut corners all over the place.”
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