House hunting is very intimidating when there are so many homes to choose from. I’ve been working with a buyer, let’s call her Mary. Mary is moving to the Denver metro area and was very concerned about “finding the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood.” Mary’s desires are very typical of just about everyone moving into a new home, particularly when they are relocating from a different part of the country.
When we first started working together, long before we actually met, Mary felt the only way she could ever feel comfortable about making a decision was to move here and rent a home for a few months. That way she could investigate all the areas, see all the homes that were available before ever committing to purchase one.
The rent now-buy later strategy is a very popular one. Typically first time transferees find comfort in this plan, because they have never made such a major transition before.
However Mary, being an experienced mover, had relocated more than once. She was a savvy mover, but for some reason was letting the “bad press” about foreclosures in the Denver metro area get to her.
We talked on the phone on several occasions and I could feel Mary was being to feel more comfortable with the move and less comfortable with her plan of torture of making a double move. Her dream was to be able to visit Denver for a few days or more and find the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood and make a door-to-door move when her home sold back east.
I agreed with Mary that this was the perfect situation and we should try to make her dream come true. I assured her I would never push her to make a decision. My part in her plan was to supply her with as much information about the potential areas as possible. She would have time prior to the move to study her top priorities, which were good schools, a youngish neighborhood where children would have plenty of playmates and she really didn’t want to travel more than 7 minutes to a grocery store.
No problem!
Mary scheduled a 4 day trip. She was still apprehensive about getting the job done in 4 days. I knew by her description there were several areas that would fit the bill.
The first day out was the usual reality check. Mary learned quickly what the Denver ‘burbs had to offer.
Day Two the whole plan came together beautifully. We were able to target 2 homes she would be perfectly happy in.
Just for grins on Day 3 we looked at the other competing homes in Mary’s favorite neighborhood. We wanted to be sure we weren’t missing The House.
On Day 3 we were finished looking and ready to write an offer.
As it turned out Day 4 was not necessary for house hunting, but Mary used it to visit the schools and the mall.
Mission accomplished!
The reality is we have 30,256 homes on the market in the Denver metro area (as of June 2007). This is a combined number of both single family detached and attached homes. The metro area is geographically huge, probably more than 40-50 miles in each direction.
When you take that many homes, divided them up by price range, number of bedrooms and other criteria there may only be a total of 20-40 homes that fit a buyer’s needs.
Once you start house hunting, it is important to continue the search at a pace to be able to make a decision before the home you like gets sold. Stretching that decision over weeks or months only means you become a career looker.
Mary learned the best strategy is to push forward, learn quickly and make a decision in a timely fashion. She will be making a door to door move.
And just for the books, Mary is delighted with her decision.
I love it when a plan comes together! 
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Welcome to Denver Dwellings where I blog about Denver real estate trends, where to live, eat, play and how to buy
or sell a house in Colorado. This part of the world is where I call home, it is a place I love and I hope that
joy shows through!
