House hunting turned me into a version of myself that I didn’t recognize. What I didn’t say is that I didn’t become a complete mess all on my own. I blame in part the book Home Girl: The Single Woman’s Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate in Canada, which suggested that an agent can be a helpful ally in the house hunt, even when you’re buying a new house. Although I was in the later stages of house hunting (I knew the builder I was going with and was only trying to decide which level I wanted), I still thought an agent would be helpful to prepare me for the bank and lawyer dealings, and the fact that the service provided would be at no cost to me didn’t hurt. Chapter 2 of the book, The Perfect Agent, contained the following checklist at the end of the chapter:

What to look for in an Agent

• Someone you feel comfortable with.
• Someone who understands your home-buying needs, including taste, location and price range.
• Someone who knows the area in which you want to buy.
• Someone with strong references from previous clients.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Staying with a bad agent. Do not feel obligated to do so.
• Letting an agent pressure you into buying. If you need a second opinion, talk to your lawyer or mortgage lender.
• Staying with an agent who doesn’t listen to you about your house-hunting needs.
• Using the seller’s agent for convenience and not ending up with a satisfactory house or a satisfactory deal.

Let’s just say that I didn’t look for any of the suggested things and I did not avoid all the common mistakes. So really, I have no one to blame except myself. It’s amazing how poor my judgment during this whole thing was. Would you like some examples? So as not to overwhelm you, I’ll share something every day or two.

Not taking control during the initial phone conversation
I emailed the agent with the specifics of what I was looking for: a terrace home, the part of town I was looking, and the builder that I thought fit my needs. The agent and I got in contact by telephone and she told me that because of some paperwork I had completed at the builder’s office, she would not be able to work for me (and therefore profit) from my purchasing from that particular builder. She asked if I had any questions though, and very graciously gave me some helpful tips on buying a house when dealing with the builder directly. That should have been the end of it. But then she asked if I was interested in seeing what was available on the resale market and I was still indecisive enough to be curious and that is how we ended up discovering some new and yet-unlisted units (the more expensive units that I have been deliberating over).

There’s a lesson in there
For someone as indecisive as I, more options are rarely better. I had narrowed down my choices quite logically, and I should have thanked my agent for her tips and bought my terrace home for significantly less than its current asking price.

Ah, lessons! I have learned so many in the past weeks.

Filed under: Introspective, Operation Home for Jummy by jummy