A wise woman that I know and trust once said this, “Ain’t no such thing as a perfect spouse and there certainly ain’t no such thing as the perfect house.”  That’s slightly paraphrased, but you get the idea.  Sad to say, folks, it’s completely the truth. (Sorry to all those spouses out there taking offense right now… but you know it’s true.)

First and foremost, make a list of what you’re looking for in a new home.  Divide the list into the following columns: “must haves”, “would love to have”, “would be nice to have” and “I guess I can live without it if I have to”.  Do this before you even begin to look at houses on the internet.  Once you begin to look at houses on the internet in your area and price point, you may need to adjust where things fall in the columns you just made.  Talk these over with your buyer’s agent.

Then, when you’re out actively looking for a new home, you should apply the 80-10-10 rule.  Find a house that has 80% of everything on your must have list.  Consider that the “perfect house” will have 10% of things that you can change to make it what you want and 10% of things that you can live with in it’s current condition (ie, you’re not going to be able to change and it is what it is for the entire time you will live there.)

(The wise woman mentioned earlier also said that we can think about applying this 80-10-10 rule to our spouses.  Think about it, it’s kinda true, right?  Ok ok… I’m not going to take that debate any further… but you know it’s true!)

Everyone searching for a home will have things in different columns of their list.  Some people would “love to have” a home with a three car garage, but once they find that it’s just not feasible in their price point in their ideal location, the garage becomes one of the 10% criteria of things that they’ll just have to live with.  Others may fall in love with a home because of it’s acreage (a “must have”) but are disappointed that it’s missing a garage.  Those folks may realize that this is one of the 10% things that they can change and so choose to build a garage on the property.  The scenarios go on and on.

Just remember, unless you find that perfect piece of land, in the perfect location, for the perfect price and build the home of your dreams (also for the perfect price), you may have to just apply the 80-10-10 rule in your future home search.  Be sure to have a trusted buyer’s agent on your side guiding you every step of the way.

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If you are interested in finding out how I can assist you with your real estate needs, click this Calendly Link to book time for us to chat.

Relocating to the Cary area? Click here for the Cary Relocation Guide.

Thinking of selling your home? Click here for the Seller’s Guide.

Learn More:

• Click here to learn more about the Due Diligence Fee.
• Click here to learn more about the Earnest Money Deposit.
• Click here to learn more about the benefits of having a buyer’s agent.
• Click here to learn more about the benefits of having a seller’s agent.

Happy Home Buying & Selling In North Carolina!