One night after dinner I asked my
son, “Do
you want cake or a marshmallow treat for dessert?” With
just two choices, his response was almost immediate. I can
make a very fast decision
when it comes to choosing what I will wear on any particular
day, because there are a very limited number of things that
are clean and ironed.
When it comes to things like purchasing
a new car, a computer, new flooring for the house, a cell
phone, the perfect paint
color for the bedroom, or what kind of light bulb will make
me look youngest, the choices get harder and I have to do
a little research. I start with all the options, then toss
out
those that don’t suit my needs, then toss out the ones
that don’t suit my budget, then toss out those that
don’t
suit my taste. That usually leaves me with just a couple
of options, from which I can now choose fairly quickly.
Have you
ever heard a kid say, “there’s NOTHING
on TV!” even though they have 150 cable channels from
which to choose? When the whining starts at home, my husband
and I have threatened our boys with a weekend of “Mom
and Dad Childhood TV,” when there were three channels,
two of which came in clearly. Limited choices mean easier choices.
Choosing
a house is a completely different ballgame. There are so
many styles, sizes, ages, areas, prices, and amenities,
it can become overwhelming and, in fact, paralyzing. According
to the Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS® website
in 2005, there were 7,371 residential properties in the coverage
area available for sale in the months of April, May and June
of this year, not to mention the 764 condos available. With
the internet at our fingertips, homebuyers are shopping online
for property. There are multiple photos and detailed descriptions
of the homes that are available. Through the technology of
online databases available to the public, you can enter certain
criteria…three bedrooms, two baths, located in Timbuktu…and
your choices come up instantly. You can look at homes for
sale in magazines, in the newspaper, and in the neighborhood.
Lots
of choices. Maybe too many choices.
So how do you find that
needle in the haystack? This is where the expertise of
your REALTOR® comes into play. Agents
have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database,
and through a search process, we can target properties
precisely. Do you like a certain subdivision or even a certain
street?
How about houses with level yards, vinyl siding or fireplaces?
Do you want a ranch-style house, a two-story or a split
foyer? Do you want a house that is less than 5 years old or
more
than 50 years old? Do you want lakefront property or
is lakeview okay? Did you know that Knoxville alone is divided
into something
like 24 more specific areas?
Tell your REALTOR® what you
want, and the weeding out of properties that don’t
suit your needs, budget or tastes begins immediately. Lose
the baggage
of all those extra choices,
and you will probably be in a better position to find exactly
what you are looking for in less time and with fewer headaches.
Agents also have databases in their brains from all the homes
they tour with their companies and with other clients. If
we know what you want and we have seen it personally or come
across
it while conducting other business, a match may be just a
conversation away.
Choosing a home is hard enough.
Make the process of finding a home easier by calling your
REALTOR® before
you begin.
Claudia Stallings
Coldwell Banker Wallace & Wallace
