When thinking about buying a home in London, Ontario, two homes compete for your attention: the one that meets your needs and the one you want.
In one of the most outstanding financial books ever written, ‘The Richest Man in Babylon,’ George Clason writes that there are two kinds of study. The things we learned and knew and the training that taught us how to find out what we did not know.
I read this book yearly to refresh and remind myself of some simple financial basics. While very simple and maybe too easy, many Canadians do not make wise financial decisions.
Educated or Wise?
Many well-educated people buy or sell real estate without knowing what they do not know when buying a house or a condo in London, Ontario.
“A degree on a wall means you’re educated, much as shoes on your feet mean you’re walking. It’s a start, but hardly enough.” Ryan Holiday
It is like a person complaining of a sore belly goes to their doctor and tells the physician that Dr. Google says it is blah blah blah! The kind physician ( the one not rolling their eyes or thinking, “Oh no, here we go again) will ask questions, identify the cause or the remedy and treat the problem.
In real estate, the same thing happens. Wise, intelligent people listen to what their neighbour or co-worker says, read “How to save thousands when buying real estate,” or watch all those reality shows and then become experts in buying a house or a condo.
As Joe Rogan wrote: “We live in a world today where it’s never been easier to be full of shit!”
Home sellers and their real estate representatives love you because you are the one who overpays for a home (yet brags that you got a good deal or became a complainypant) or finds out that the home has structural issues or a neighbourhood stigma.
In real estate, we do not have a Dr. Google, but we have everyone who has ever bought or sold a home as an expert on how to buy or sell a home.
You may think money dictates your decisions; in some cases, you may be right. But about 85% of the time, decisions are emotional reactions to wants, not needs!