A compromise needs a base point

“If you are not prepared to compromise, that’s fine, but don’t complain that real estate is too expensive.”

Property professional and media personality, Andrew Winter finished his newspaper column with this statement recently.

It resonates most obviously with first home buyers when balancing affordability and lifestyle is a huge factor, but the notion of compromise itself is a complex issue and one that many don’t address..

As a purchaser, whatever stage in life, it is highly likely that you may encounter ‘compromise’.

Coming purely from the owner occupier stance here, what should and would you be prepared to compromise on?

Location? Block size? Home size? Prestige? Are you buying as an individual? With a partner? Children? Pets?

There are questions and considerations every way you turn!

But you can’t stick your head in the sand, because you can’t begin to compromise unless there is a fully considered and articulated start-point to compromise from.

Start with a platform. It might go something like this:

Holding this house is a five, 10, 20 + year plan. The home is for me alone, partner, children…pets. I/We need (What’s the bottom line?). I/We want (What’s the ideal? Is there room to do this without moving?) What sort of investment am I/are we prepared to make?

Don’t over-complicate things at this point. The important issue is that you are clear in your own mind, and most importantly, if it involves more than one of you, that you are both on the same page.

When you have a platform, you give critical positioning information to your agent, and that information tells far more than how much you would like to spend.