Before you and your partner start sending each other links to the home of your dreams, have a few conversations about the home buying process.
A couple buying a house should talk about money, of course, but also about their expectations for their first home. Talking now will keep you stay productive, positive, and focused on finding the right house. It will also help you manage buying-a-house stress on your relationship.
OK, we’re about to get a little “Modern Love” here.
Related: Understand the Steps to Buying a Home
#1 Get On the Same Page About Expectations
No matter how connected you two are, you’ll still have unspoken and undefined expectations between you. Especially when it comes to a couple buying a house. Buying can reveal relationship problems, because it’s the biggest financial transaction you’ll make, and there are a lot of emotions and expectations tied up in the idea of home.
Listen to your partner and commit to the idea that each person has a voice in every issue. “That would be my No. 1 principle,” says Donna R. Baptiste, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and professor at Northwestern University’s Family Institute. “Two people must respect each other’s right to have a say.”
How to start? Ask questions like:
- Why do you want to buy a house?
- What’s the most important thing to consider, in your opinion?
- How long do you want to live there?
- Do you want something perfect or a fixer-upper?
- What do you think our budget should be?
We also recommend filling out our first-time buyer’s worksheet, which will help you and your partner get on the same page — literally.
#2 Be Prepared to Back Down
Not every decision will be 50-50. “Equal say is not always the standard,” Baptiste says.
But both of you should be willing to accept no for an answer. This prevents gridlock. And ceding some control makes the decision about which home to buy a shared one.
Consider the situation faced by work-from-home clothing designer Veronica Sheaffer and her husband, teacher Keith Dumbleton. They bought their prewar apartment on Chicago’s far North Side.
While scrolling through listings, Sheaffer fell for the property’s vintage millwork and spacious layout, but the building was 12 miles from the centrally located neighborhood they’d been living in. Sheaffer accepted the hours the new location would add to Dumbleton’s school commute could be a deal breaker.
“I gave him the power of refusal and prepared myself for losing the place,” she says. Knowing that Sheaffer was conscious of the sacrifices he’d be making, Dumbleton agreed to move forward with making an offer. “Her being open to me saying no allowed me to make that decision, and I don’t regret it.”
#3 Do Scenario Planning
New homes have a way of changing life’s routines.
Does one of you take the dog out? If so, that beautiful sixth-floor walk-up may affect the dog caretaker’s mornings (and moods). Does one of you do most of the outdoor chores? How do you really feel about taking care of a massive lawn? That house that sits on top of a hill is gorgeous, and the views! But will you like hauling bags of groceries up the three flights of stairs to the front door?
“I ask a couple to have it sink in,” says Dan Sullivan, a REALTOR® at Compass in Chicago. “What is it going to physically be like living in that property, day in and day out?”
The more you think it over together, the happier you’ll both be after you move in.
#4 Ask An Expert
As a couple buying a house, you may be in full agreement or you may be at an impasse, but either way talk to a real estate agent and, as Baptiste recommends, “submit to the idea of getting good advice.”
A good agent is like a reference librarian and a personal coach in one. They can help you navigate the home buying process minutiae, like finding a good mortgage broker or dissecting the details of a home inspection.
An agent can give you the information you need to make a wise decision. And they can pump you and your partner back up when your energy has ebbed because you’ve looked at 22 houses and not seen one worthy of an offer. Or you put in an offer and it fell through.
Leaning on a professional to offer perspective and help work through disappointment releases some of the stress that home buying takes on a relationship. “As much as possible, as early as possible, I try to get [couples] to see the big picture,” Sullivan says.
#5 Recognize You’re a Team
Involving an agent in the home buying process can have another unexpected outcome, says Sheaffer. It brought her and Dumbleton closer together.
Having the agent participate in discussions — and even occasionally disagreeing with her — “helped us [see] that we know each other, we know our lifestyle. Anything that will allow you to bond more with your partner is always positive.”
The agent got them to talk to each other about what they wanted and didn’t want in a house. It helped them hash out their likes and dislikes constructively.
Instead of letting buying a house lead to relationship problems, turn the experience into a chance to learn and grow together. Talk. Listen. And get good advice from a smart agent. You’ll end up as homeowners — with an even better connection.
What’s not to love?
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