The Hard Way

• False Quotes. In the industry it's called 'price range'. In reality, it's 'bait pricing'. You see a home advertised with an "estimated" price. It looks great. You get your hopes up. Later you discover you had no chance of buying at the price advertised. It was a bait price. And so you start again. And then it happens again. It's hard to buy with bait prices.
  
  
• False Advertising. The home looks great in the ad. In reality, it's another story. You soon learn the painful lesson of real estate advertising. Low maintenance garden means a slab of cracked concrete the size of a postage stamp. Close to transport means a busy road so noisy it sounds like the buses are going through the lounge-room. Four bedrooms means two bedrooms plus a sunroom and a closed-in verandah where, at a pinch, you might squeeze in a single camper bed. How often do you see a home which is better than the advertisement described it? It's hard to buy with false advertising.
  
  
• Auctions. The agent says you have "a good chance". And so you spend hundreds of dollars on inspection reports. You eagerly await the big day only to discover that the first bid is thousands more than you could ever pay. When you look shocked, the agent blames "the market". It's hard to buy with auctions.
  
  
• Sorry, it's Sold. Why is it that the homes you really wanted, always seem to have just sold?
  
  
• Respect. What's going on? You're a serious buyer and yet you can't get an agent to take you seriously. You are treated like a looker when all you want is some information to help you make the most important financial decision of your life. It's hard to buy without respect and courtesy.
  
  
• Finding an Agent. Why is it so hard to speak to a real person? Why do so many agents fail to return phone calls? Why do they make and break appointments? It's hard to find a home when you can't even find an agent.
  
  
• Listen to me! It's probably the biggest complaint of buyers. Most agents don't listen! You ask for three bedrooms; they show you two bedrooms. You tell them your price and they show you homes you can't afford. What's going on? It's hard to buy when an agent won't listen to you.

Despite all the hassles, the discourtesy and the mucking around, you can find a home the hard way. It may take weeks, even months, but provided you keep at it, one day you will find the home you love. And the relief! You will as glad to get away from the real estate agents as you are to find a home. Thank goodness you don't have to do it again for many years.

That's the hard way to buy a home. It's not impossible, just unpleasant.