“Fixes”for Real Estate Bad Behavior – Get a Better Result

In most aspects of our lives, there is something we can do differently to get better results.  Here are some Real Estate Bad Habits to avoid or break if you are guilty of having them.

1. Timing the Market: “Chase after windfalls”, it seems that people who have zero financial credentials and can barely balance their checkbooks seem to believe that they can make moves timed to sell at the top and buy at the very bottom.  The data shows some flawed logic here.  At the top, neighbors achieve high profits (seemingly).  At the bottom, you are afraid to buy what might continue to decline after closing so you are a fence sitter.

Bargain hunters who wait for the bottom tend to wait too long and miss it.  Hello, we are recovering nicely in some areas of Port St. Lucie.  Remember a home is not a pure investment, it is where you live.  Base your decision on: What is right for your lifestyle, and your family personal finances, rather than trying to time the market for big profit.

2. Complaining: Homeowners complain a LOT.  They complain about the market, real estate commissions, buyers, property taxes, air-conditioners breaking down,the banks, this president, the last president, on and on.  You know what they say, What ever you focus on grows.  So do not crowd out the things that you are grateful for, such as your mortgage enabled you to buy a comfortable home for you and your family, or tax advantages that we get from home ownership, or just having a roof over our heads and putting one foot in front of the other thru this recession.

3. Things beyound your control? Don’t Fixate.  You can not make a bank grant a modification.  You can not make interest rates stay where you want them, You can’t make a buyer show up with a suitcase full of cash to pay off your mortgage.  Obsessing leads to fear, panic and stress which leads to irrational decision-making.

4. Looking for tricks and shortcuts to sound financial principles.  A homeowner I know recently told me that he applied more than once for a loan modification (on a oversize mortgage that he really could not afford) and was frustrated by rejections.  He actually did not have a sufficient hardship, and he shouldn’t have gotten that mortgage to begin with, it was a disaster in the making from the get go.

So what should you do?  Take a real assessment of where you are and where you want to be.  Make a plan to make your goals come true and above all stay positive en route.  Remember, where you focus, you go.