How to buy your perfectly imperfect house

ATLANTA - With home prices continuing to climb and "mortgage misery" rampant, FOX 5 real estate expert John Adams may have found a way for you to get what you want, but you’ve got to be willing to compromise on less important features. 

Home prices are still rising and mortgage interest rates are still a lot higher than they were just a year ago. 

Adams has come to the conclusion that buyers, especially first-time buyers, need to get on the real estate equity train now because he believes it’s only going to get worse.  And if waiting and hoping to find the perfect house at the perfect price causes you to not buy a house at all, you will have made a serious financial mistake.

According to the Federal Reserve, the net worth of the average homeowner in the US is greater than the net worth of the average renter - 40 times greater. That tells Adams one thing: become a homeowner as quickly as you can, even if the house is not perfect.

So why should you compromise to become a homeowner? Adams points out that a lot more people want to buy than are willing to sell. 

Millennials are lining up to buy their first home, but there’s not enough inventory to satisfy the demand. 

Since the Great Recession, home builders have become increasingly gun-shy about building new homes unless they are homes being built for buyers who are already approved for the purchase.  Many builders have simply left the business altogether.  And the regulatory burden on builders continues to increase.  

Regulations imposed by all levels of government account for $93,870, or 23.8% of the current average sales price ($397,300) of a new single-family home, according to a study by NAHB. 

But it turns out that today’s home buyers are really picky.  Their idea is: "If I am having to pay this high price and pay for a high rate mortgage, I can demand that the product be perfect in every way."

Unfortunately, that is not the real world. Adams' advice to prospective home buyers is to be willing to compromise on some of the LESS IMPORTANT features of the house in exchange for getting into the neighborhood or school district that they really want.

Focus on location, location, location, and you will be rewarded in the long run.  You are much better off buying a house now that needs a coat of paint and a new water heater than you are by waiting for the perfect house at a price that you are willing to pay. The perfect house does not exist.

Atlanta native John Adams has been a real estate broker and investor in residential real estate for the past four decades.