9/01/07 

 Did you hear the good news?… I’m having a baby!     Honestly, I thought I would go on and on with that statement and play it out but truth be told, I’m really not having another baby (I’m way too old to start again… I love my life and my children at the age they are currently at and wouldn’t want it any other way!)  But I am writing about this subject because of some clients of mine and the comments that were made to me. (I did get permission to share!)   Often times, I will ask my clients how they felt about buying a home.   Most of the time, I get comments like, “There was a lot more to the process than I expected.”  or “It went fairly well.”      This time I heard, “The home buying process is a lot like having a baby.  At first, it’s fun.  Then comes labor and finally delivery.”  I cracked up laughing because it is sooooo true.    As the process begins, I usually have a consultation where I really get to know my clients.  We may even start looking at some homes.  Up to about 15 homes, the process is still fun, much like getting pregnant (hopefully, I don’t have to expand on that!) and the beginning exciting stages of dreaming what the baby is going to look like, what names should you use etc, etc…    Now, we are on the 20th, 30th, possibly 40th home to view.  This is like the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy… we are in waiting mode.       Usually, I tend to find that by the time we have viewed over 30 plus homes, the process isn’t as much fun now.  In fact, this is when a buyer usually has a pretty good idea of what they want and are eager to write up an offer.  Lately, (believe it or not) I’ve written up offers only to be a little too late or a dollar short.  In other words, it was a great home and some one beat us to the punch.  I guess this would be like false labor.  We think we have the home only to find out that the timing is not right.     Guess what… I think the baby is coming.  We actually found a home, had the offer accepted, are going through the inspections, appraisals, surveys, and mortgage prequalification process.  This 30 day process is a lot like labor.  And just like labor you never know what is going to come up.    AAAHHH!  Finally, the close of the home and delivery of the baby.  It’s at this moment that the sometimes grueling process was worth the price!         Granted this story may seem negative (especially when you consider the LABOR part of things) but it is all part of the process.  I have a lot of fun doing what I do and love matching up a buyer to their perfect home.   The process is FUN and I’ll promise to make either buying or selling as LABOR-FREE as possible.