Loved this article and could relate very well! That's exactly the feeling I had when I unexpectedly found "the one" - a must have house in a nearby neighborhood while biking through with my kids many years ago. It was heartbreaking for us to have to sell it - 19 yrs. later with so many fond memories!

After a five day whirlwind house hunting trip for a relocation, we didn't find the one, but revisited a house that was in our desired neighborhood, had everything on our checklist, and was gorgeous. We wrote an offer and bought the house. Our family spent three long years in a house that never felt like "home". Sometimes, the way a house makes you feel from the first minute you step through the door, is much more important than any checklist, neighborhood, or curb appeal. We learned a valuable lesson in being patient for the right one to come along and having an open mind to change. "The one" for us ended up having "one" less bedroom than we needed and we still couldn't wait to write the offer.

After a year plus we found the one... My family unit consist of myself and my two sisters. (Living with your sisters/bestfriends in your 30s is amazing!) So buying a house for 3 women to live is a big task. And when we first set out we had a list of must haves (i.e. parking, 3 bedrooms, bath and a half), and the list of really-really wants. And there was this one house, a bit bigger than what I wanted to heat, but we could only get to walk around the outside. The house went off the market, saddly-we thougth someone else had bought it, but a year later it was posted here on Trulia! The email was in my inbox on Tuesday, by Wednesday we had the "official tour", by Thursday 7 am we put in our bid. We get the keys in a few weeks. Tara's article is right on. We could see dinner partys, holidays, etc... Not only was it what we wanted, it ended up being better than we thought, with a price we can afford. I knew what I wanted, we knew what each other wanted, and we waited over a year. But it was worth every second. Now, I go to bed at night dreaming about what color I am going to paint the dinning room. We invite everyone to our 4th of July party (we know it's still 9ish months away) I have even started to loan our our handy man to the neighbors, sorry Dad!

Pity our poor real estate agents! Both times we bought homes, my husband and I visited 90 properties for sale. It was worth it! Both houses always felt like home. We knew our current place was "the one" pretty much right away. Our agent finally decided to show us one with a pool--which we did NOT want with babies, but he knew it had everything else we'd love. The pool was filled in for a great kids' playground, Now, 20 years later, I can't fathom giving up our favorite little spot on Earth!

You just helped me with this article. Your notes here help me to realize that I have found 'the one'. :)

I believe that finding "the home" is similar to knowing when "the perfect mate" or "the family dog" comes along. It helps to be a bit open, to be ready, to be aware of the realities and, probably most importantly, to not discard those inner feelings.

This article is so timely and all the comments are just what I needed to hear. We are just in the 3rd week of home shopping and already Im emotionally exhausted. It seems I have been trying to convince myself that each house could work. Feeling pressure to buy before rates go up, trying to get that great school district and trying to see nice looking houses before word gets out.
Now, Im holding out for the house that tells me that no other house will do. Thank you all for sharing...

Your article was great! We think we found "the one" last April, but unfortunately we aren't quite ready to sell our present home and make the big move. We had looked at hundreds of home on line that our great realtor sends us every week, and this home kept coming to the top of our list. When we finally visited, our realtor smartly saved "the one" for the last of five homes we selected to look at. I immediately started mentally placing our furniture and art around it, and it felt just perfect. We just keep hoping that "the one" will still be available when we finally sell our house.

We have searched for over 2 years for the perfect home LOL, lost out on short sales due to bank issues on the homeowners part, , Well We found our dream home a standard sale offered full asking and I felt I could live out my days happily in it. Only house out of hundreds that I fell for as is and Turn key, Funny how our dreams were dashed when others with cash came along to buy it out from under us. I cried for a week straight! Passed over because we had to go the normal route instead of a Big wad of dollars in hand, we didnt even get a chance to counter! So yesterday we saw a new listing and it had the bells and whistles we wanted, but needs cosmetic fixes that would make it our style and comfy, we laced an offer just from the pictures! LOL Our agent is taking us to see the actual home this weekend! Crazy? Not sure, but we feel shell shocked after losing that dream of a house.

I've been looking since 2008. "The One" for me is a several million dollar home in the foothills above my neighborhood that I would never be able to purchase or maintain. I found it researching on Zillow 2 years ago. It's even furnished. I love everything about it, I wouldn't change a thing - even the color scheme I would reject under normal circumstances. So I have to be satisfied with the occasional drive-by. I keep looking for a second love, but so far have not been able to find one.

Thanks for posting,all this messages. It really helps me. I am in the process of buying my first home. I was so excited at first but my husband found this house that when I entered the first time it didnt give me that good feeling. We put an offer for some reason the offer dropped. He still insist for us to go with that house but something inside me doesnt convince me of doing so.

Back in 1988, during that housing boom, my husband and I were looking at every new construction tract that was within our price range (which was in a distant community attracting first-time home buyers/commuters). He pooped out after a few months of weekend house hunting, but I loved (and still love) looking at houses. We had put down deposits and then cancelled a few, as we found others we sort of liked better. Finally, by coincidence, while leaving our then-current purchasing sales office, I had to sit at an intersection at a side street to wait for traffic to clear. Across the street was another development that we had somehow missed, so I went there just to look, instead of where I was originally headed. When I walked through the models, I found "The One". I took the floorplan package home with me but didn't say anything to my husband. The next morning I casually left it next to his breakfast plate (which I had done with other tract brochures after he gave up looking with me), and waited. When he commented that a particular one of the five offered looked like a possibility, I nearly jumped for joy, because it was my choice. That weekend we both went to see the models together, and he really liked it. One was nearly completed (but had another buyer and a waitlist) so we walked through it and went back to the sales office to plead our case. The sales gal called the buyer to verify if he was actually transferring there with his job, but he gave permission to release it; because we were in the office and could buy immediately, we went to the head of the waitlist and were allowed to buy it. 23 years later we're still in that house and it's definitely HOME to us. Now that I've been a Realtor for over 10 years and see various houses regularly, I'm still appreciative of the home we chose!

My contract on a short sale in Jacksonville dragged on forever, and at the last minute looked as though it might not close at all. I went back to the listings on Trulia and looked again, to see if there was anything else I could "live with." There was nothing in the location I liked, that was in the great shape "the one" was in, at the price I wanted to pay. Today I closed on "the one" and I'm very happy and excited to move in.

I agree with so much in this article, and the truth is that we knew we had the right one. After looking for 18 months and actually bidding on several houses we thought were OK, I woke one morning to find our neighbors home across the street with a fresh "For Sale" sign. For the 10 previous years it had been our dream home and every other home we had seen while looking just hadn't measured up. I didn't wait and walked over to the home, inquired about it to my neighbor and took a 10 minute "refresher" tour. I told him we would take it, called my wife and the moment she heard it was for sale said the same. She arrived 10 minutes later, and together we toured the house again. Next we called the agent, put our "official" bid in and a month later we moved in.
It's been a over a year now since we moved in, and we still know our home was made for us, it just took a while for us to purchase it.

I'm a real estate agent (in my second career), but I'll never forget the same feeling, when I found my home and knew it was "the one." My agent at that time had sent me to an open house since she couldn't be with me that day. I had a friend with me who saw the look on my face. He simply told me that I was done with my search, and I just had to find out "what the damage was going to be." In a few hours, my offer was accepted and the home was mine. I still love it, and I look for that same "aha" reaction with my buyer clients. It's my favorite part of being in this business.

In my professional experience being a Top Producer, it's amazing: The buyer knows instantly if the house is for them. It's like the house "speaks" to them.

totally agree with the article. it goes hand in hand with a "Buying your Dream home" article. http://wp.me/p1MLJl-G

I will never forget, and plan to build all over again if given the chance, my perfect home in Tulsa, OK. I traveled from Greenville, SC, alone to house-shop and whittle the list down. When my husband came out, I told the agent, "I know my husband. Let's take him by the builder's model first; then, he'll compare every house he sees to that one." It happened exactly that way, and he loved the house as much as I did. Well, we built the house bigger than we needed to, but we had a beautiful pool, a supremely upgraded kitchen, and upgraded quality throughout the house and property. Everything was exactly as we wanted it. I still remember the way that house made me FEEL, and appreciate having had the opportunity to live in it.

Thanks for the article about knowing when I find the right one. I know the right one for me is out there. I'll find it.
Brenda

I don't want to be on face book, put some pictures on the computer and some prices from a good neighborhood

Thanks...as usual..another great article..andthe responses are great.

I have a request......please do an article on this topic.......asking price vs actual closing price. Shortsale,reo,foreclosure,bank owned....i would like some feedback from some of your reader as to actually what their house actually sold for.....thanks in advance......

As a Realtor, I can relate to all the comments! I say to my buyers that you will know in 5 minutes that this is the one! If the buyer has done his homework, they know what is out there. They already are prequalified, and they know what they can afford, and at this point they know they can afford the home as long as they stay in their price range. It is frustrating to husbands and wifes as they cannot agree sometimes. When it is the one, they know and compromise instantly! It always make us feel great when are buyers are happy. It is the same in property management placing great people in homes they just fall in love with to rent!

I plan to start looking for my first home next spring and hope to experience the feelings so many of you had when I find "the one". Focused on lenders, interest rates, buyers agents etc at present, I needed to be reminded why I'm putting myself through this craziness. Thank you for sharing!

Great Article and so true! After house hunting over a year, scouring the internet daily for new listings, frustrated at not finding the one, I raised my price limit just a little (but within our means) and I found 'the one'. Immediately I fell in love with the home, so much that I was afraid to actually step inside as I knew I would love it even more and was afraid with our FHA loan we would never actually get it and the bar would be raised for all other homes. The second I walked in, I saw a winding banister and could picture it decked out for Christmas with ribbons and gardland etc. The few flaws I saw were immediately 'overlooked' and seemed rather unimportant in the big picture. I knew right away from the second I saw the home that I loved it. It was a short sale property, our offer was one of dozens and far from the absolute highest, we had an FHA loan with minimal down payment, despite all those things the owners knew/felt we loved the home more than any other potential buyer and sold to us. The short sale closed within a month (miracle) and this year, I will be decorating the winding banister for Christmas like a dream come true. Much like a spouse, when you find the right one, you just know, and everything falls into place.

Wonderful article!! I know from my personal experience about walking into a house and immediately KNOWING it is THE one. Before I had seen the entire house and with tears in my eyes, I said to my husband, "Honey, this is it"! It's a feeling that's hard to describe. And now as a Realtor for several years, I've used that personal experience many times to convey to my buyers, "You will absolutely know when it is the right one - you will feel it in your heart - don't just settle". I love to watch my buyers' reactions as they experience this feeling - I saw it happen just night before last, and yes, we wrote a full-price offer standing at the kitchen island. This beautiful house will become their home 30 days from now because they recognized the feeling of "This is THE one".

I guess I'm the odd one out here. When I'm searching for a home, I'm looking for the one that no one else wants -- the kitchen & bathroom that disgusts EVERYONE, and repairs/renovations that are just too much for most people to tackle. I don't rationalize the flaws, I look for them, point them out and use them to my advantage in negotiating. But, I do walk through mentally rearranging -- I see the renovated home, not the current state of the property I'm standing in.

Then it happens. I fall in love with SOMETHING. It may be something small, but some architectural detail that sets my plan in motion and tells me this is "The One." In my home now, it was the interior brick barbeque in the kitchen. We gutted the entire house, removed the roof, and renovated everything else, but after cleaning the brick and installing a new Viking grill, the barbeque is still my favorite showpiece.

I think the best way to know that it's "The One" is the feeling of possessiveness. It might happen immediately for an impulsive buyer, or a bit longer for a more cautious buyer, but once you've found the right house, you don't want to lose it. I laughed about the description of the buyer looking at another prospect through the daggers in her eyes, because I remember very vividly how I wanted people to stop looking at "my house" while I waited for our offer to be accepted. LOL!

When my children were born and were growing up we owned two mobile homes and five acres with a stream running through it. I gave up the property that I loved in the divorce and rented an old mobile home for ten years, never actually dreaming that I'd ever have a home.

Shortly after the divorce I met a very dear friend who lived in a lovely neighborhood. From the time I started going to visit that area ONE darling little house always seemed to 'call' to me.

I had nearly given up on finding a home that was everything I wanted. I saw a house near my friend's house with a 'Reduced' sign on it and got curious. I didn't have the house number so I searched for by the road name.

The 'darling little house' was up for sale again, for the third time within about six months. It was like she was waiting for ME to notice here. I loved the wooded yard with the stream running across and along side it. The house seemed to 'welcome' me and to ask me what took me so long.

She's a tiny, little house but PERfect for me and the two dogs. I don't remember EVER feeling such a sense of peace and tranquility as I do EACH time I come home to her. I even named her!

After a year, my daughter and her family finally came to visit me. I had told my daughter that my NEW place was like a miniature version of where she had grown up except that it had a real house AND a bridge across the stream. When she visited she said 'You're right Mom... it IS like a miniature version of home'.

And another 'odd' thing about the little house? I had dreamed of designing and building a dollhouse with my grandchildren. I found a partially finished dollhouse and worked on finishing the inside the way I wanted it. I went online and found wallpaper that I liked and the wallpaper that I picked for the bedroom in my dollhouse is almost exactly the same as the wallpaper in the front bedroom of my REAL house! :)

Good luck to all who search!

Yesterday - I took my buyers to a cottage and IT WAS "the one"! I knew it when we were leaving, and when the phone calls started early this a.m. WHILE they were getting their bank approval TODAY, the listing agent called me back - it was being PULLED OFF THE MARKET TODAY - seller lost her out of town job and was moving back home!!! OH the JOY of being the bearer of bad news - the wife is probably still in tears tonight . . .

What can you do when the price of the "the one" home is a little more than your budget? Say the budget is $240K and the price of the house is $275K.
My husband is convinced that the house is not going to sell for less that $275K and doesn't want to stretch our limits. So I feel hopeless about this house but keep thinking about it. I keep picturing us living in there!

Tara, Get out of my head. I love your blogs. Keep up the good work.

One more way to know it's the house: You wish you could lock the place up so no one else can see YOUR house! And, if someone else is walking through the house, while you are there, want them to leave! :)

I always believe you know it is the right house the same way when you realize the person you are going to marry is the one. 95% of the time I get a gut feeling when I believe it is the right home for them and when I am not feeling it I tell them. It is my reputation and I need them to be happy and satisfied in the home they buy.

It's a lot like picking your wedding dress.

I HAVE BEEN LOOKING ONLINE FOR OVER A YEAR AT PROPERTIES IN NC. WE WANT TO RELOCATE AND DOWNSIZE. I HAVE FOUND A FEW HOMES I REALLY LIKE BUT HAVE TO WAIT FOR MY HUSBANDS HEALTH TO IMPROVE. WE WILL CONTINUE TO RENT FOR ANOTHER 6 MONTHS WHILE MY HUSBAND GETS STRONGER. IN THE SPRING WE WILL VISIT NC TO LOOK AT HOMES AND I KNOW WE WILL FIND " THE ONE" THANKS TO TRULIA AND YOUR LISTINGS AND COMPARISONS.

I asked my parents to go on a drive with me to explore a country road I had never been on. It was perfectly located in an area I was interested in living. The road was 28 miles long, and another 38 miles back towards my home town. As we drove, Mom and I were watching for For Sale signs and Dad was watching the road. As we drove past the log home, I took a double look! Oh My Goodness! It was a two story log home with a pond and a creek and and It had my name written all over it! I exclaimed "Dad! Look at that!" he asked me if it has a for sale sign on it and I said no, I didn't see one. He replied, "Then it isn't for sale.” My father had spoken. But mom and I talked about it and I knew in my heart that we had just passed my future home!
Dad stopped at a diner and we talked to the local tender about properties for sale in the area. I asked him about the log home a few miles back and he didn't think it was available.
I asked my realtor to check if it was on the market and his answer was no. I lost interest in looking for a new home and decided to focus on other issues in my life. One morning about 6 months later, my realtor called just to keep in touch and tell me about the latest listings. He told me he only knew of two new listings in the canyon. #1 was a log home, but the other is a......"Wait!" I exclaimed cutting him off, did you say a log home? Yes, he replied, but I really think your gonna like the big..... "a log home?" I interrupted again, yes he replied but... "That's it! It's mine. If your talking about the log home in the canyon with a pond and a creek alongside the roadway, it mine. It's it! We don't have to look any more!!!! I was so excited I couldn't hardly breathe!
I asked him everything about it and asked him to tell me again, because I HAD ONLY BUT DROVE PAST IT ONCE!
It took me three years to figure out how to buy that place. Conventional loans wouldn't work because it wasn't finished. I couldn't pay cash because I owed too much on my house, and I didn't have any relatives living beyond their means.
Finally, my Mother and Father refinanced their home, loaned me the money to purchase and finish the home and within a year we got the final. I was able to finance it and repay them! Unfortunately, they didn't put it right back into their home and a house that was nearly paid off now has an outstanding mortgage on it.
It was choices they made to help me get into what was clearly my dream home, and I will forever be grateful to them for all that they did for me!
I knew it was to be mine; I just had to wait for it and leave it into HIS hands. It was a miracle that all those others who tried to buy it during the three years it took me to get a plan together couldn't make it happen. Oh they tried. One of them came so close the owner gave him the floor plans, and when the deal didn't work, the plans never made it back to the house for me to finish the construction.
I took my boyfriend through the house after I saw it. I was so excited! I felt like my whole life was finally coming together! Then as we were driving away he asked me what I was planning to do with the place. I told him, "I'm gonna finish it!" He sat there and told me he wasn't planning on working on it and that he didn't think I was qualified to get the work done without him.
I sat there and realized I hadn't asked him or expected him to work on the place; it was something I wanted to do. I was crushed. How could he not see the potential?
His son was a loan officer so I asked his son to do the refinance on my folk’s house, we closed escrow and I broke up with his father. I learned how to do the electrical and plumbing. I installed tile and linoleum, fans and lights, sheet rock and mud. I learned how to clean and caulk and seal the logs.
Someone I once cared about told me what I couldn't do. Apparently he didn't know me very well, because this country girl is STILL in love with this log home and all it has to offer!
Dare to Dream! Without a dream you have no goal. Believe in yourself!

Great article! The aha moment that is easiest to recognize is when someone else wants the house. If they're serious, they pull out all the stops.

I have actually had buyers refer to the house as "my house" in conversation before they even put the offer in! They definitely thought it was the "one"!

We have found the one! In April of this year. It is a short sale and we are still in it, still waiting to get the contract approved by the bank. We cannot give up on this house. This house has everything that we have wanted. Yes the kitchen is small but the yard and privacy is perfect. We visit it every Sunday. In fact we are the only ones that check on it. We are in love. If it is the one, you know it and you won't give up. Say prayers that we will soon have our "true love home"

We were just looking at a place to rent with a yard for our dog... we drove around the neighborhood and fell in love with a house a couple of streets over- fell in love instantly. After a year of looking in the state we just moved from and never feeling that way. We didn't even look at any other houses in this new town.. we just contacted an agent and put in our offer. Love our place!

I found one online that I just fell in love instantly! Perfect location, property size, bedrooms, EVERYTHING! Even in our price range, in which the house is actually price reduced 80,000 than it was a year ago! No other houses I have looked at since interest me at the least bit, but unfortunately my husband decided he is not ready to buy. I am hoping that when we do take the next BIG step, it will be for sale still and in our budget! With the price on it now though, it would not suprise me if it has already been sold since I viewed it online 2 months ago.

I LOVED this article, Tara! We're closing on "THE ONE" today at 3:30pm Central Time. Woo hoo! We began searching back in January when the military relocated us, and I probably visited, physically or online, every single home in the area that met our criteria. We have four kids and three horses. Every single item on your list had me smiling from ear to ear because that is exactly how I felt about everything. I'm pretty picky, easily grossed out, and having lived in new constructions for our last three homes, your number 3 on the list was tops for me. I would add not being disgusted by the carpets:) Due to being patient, and thanks to Trulia, we found the home the day it came on the market. I had chosen to receive alerts when any property with my preselected criteria hit the market. As soon as it came in my inbox I knew I had to see it. I was emailing my realtor asap. As soon as I walked in, I felt at peace, and after seeing the bathrooms and kitchen, I knew it was THE ONE. We had seen many houses with needed repairs or not enough room, for the same money, or much higher asking prices, to the point we were considering building. There was another couple coming to see the home for the second time on the same day, and being very reasonably priced, we came with an offer at almost asking price, and got the home. The sellers did an excellent job of showing a very clean, exceptionally maintained home, and their realtor did an excellent job of pricing it very well. Thus, even in this market, they sold it immediately to us, who had seen everything in the area and could appropriately compare. CAN'T WAIT TO MOVE IN! Loved the article!!

There are 3 ways I tell buyers they'll know if it's "the one". The first is what I call "Benchmarking". If they look at other properties and find themselves comparing the property they're seeing to the one they like - the benchmark home - they need to go back and make an offer on the benchmark property. It's become the standard by which all other properties are measured. The second is as old as selling anything - if I called tomorrow and told you this property was sold, how would it make you feel? The third way involves a story.
My father owned a Minature Schnauser(?) when I was growing up. If we gave the dog a soup bone we might not see it for days. The dog couldn't let go of the bone. Sure, we could take it away, and he'd go back to normal. But, if we gave the bone back to him, he dissappeared - it was all he could think about. My father called this - in old "farmer" lingo - "worrying the bone".
So, if you can't stop thinking about the house, or you do stop and 2 hours later find yourself redcorating, painting, ect, you've found your new home.

My last 5 buyers, "BUY" Signal or "the One" was:

"$20K or $30K BELOW MARKET VALUE" had nothing to do with touchy feely or where furniture would go.

It was all about the "DEAL"

Times change, so do clients BUY signals.

I love this topic! This is the most rewarding experience to see when your clients realize what you've educated them about. I've always emphasized that you'll know it's the right house the second you walk in the door. I've had clients "force" the house on them despite my advice that it's not the right house. At the end, they realize and experience what I've been telling them all along once they find the right house, "you'll know....your gut will tell you....Do not force it!"

It's so awesome to see clients face light up when they find "IT." They're so ethusiastic to write the offer and close yesterday! It's a wonderful feeling!

I laughed when i read this article because it is exactly how I feel about a condo that I found. Train tracks (light rail) right outside the window and everything. I have been told not to get it even by my realtor because of this, but I just can't get my mind off it and can't seem to be interested in anything else! Help!

Buying a home is such an emotional decision, it makes sense that you should trust your 1st impression and go with your gut feeling when you walk into a home (all too often people disregard that little voice in the back of their head and later regret it). There should be an instant connection between you and that new home...a feeling of comfort and security. I still think it's important to have an initial list of pro's and con's to help you and your realtor narrow down the search for your new house but in the end you might be surprised at how much more important that "I'm home" feeling is vs having an island in the kitchen.

Great article, Tara. As a REALTOR, there is no greater feeling than when your client's face lights up and they know they've found "the one"!! Our clients become part of our family, we spend time with them, we break bread with them, we laugh with them and sometimes cry with them. You only want what's best for your family!

If you are not emotional about a property, don't buy it.

I know exactly what this feeling is. We lost our home here in Florida to hurricaine Charlie, that was devastating. Our insurance put us up for three months in a motel and we started shoppin both with a realtor and without. We searched over 4 counties, and one day after a rather tiring day our realtor said she had just taken a listing the day before and since it was on our way back to our motel would we like to see it. We agreed and she gave us the address to meet her there, when I pulled into the driveway, I said to my husband this is the one. I had not even been inside and the windows were blacked out so we could not see inside. Upon entering I fell in love with the house. While we were there two more perspective buyers came to tour the place. I quickly gave a full price offer, and locked in the house as ours. We still live here today and have purchased a rental two doors down from us. The neighborhood is wonderful and quite. We love it here.

I always feel terrible when I have a client and have been working with them for a while and they fall in love with a house, then don't act and end up loosing it. Unfortunately I see both sides of this though. I have also had buyers who fall in love with the home only to realize before closing they loved all of the wrong things, and then they are stuck.

I knew our house was "The One" the moment I saw it. My husband and I knew that we were going to be moving, and we wanted to stay in the neighborhood, so while driving the kids to school one day, I noticed a corner home on a cul-de-sac that I hadn't really noticed before (even though I had driven by hundreds of times!) I said to the kids "that house would be PERFECT for us!" - The location was just right. A week later, a sign went up in the yard from a local Realtor (I was not selling real estate at the time.) Unfortunately we were not yet in a position to put in an offer and lost the house. I would drive by every day and look - the house just "felt" like home. I kept telling my husband, "we are going to live there." It turned out that my husband knew the investor that purchased the home! Long story short, the house needed more work than the investor wanted to take on, so they sold it to us for a small profit, we took it down to studs and made it our own (it needed a LOT of work!) and we are still happily living here today :) Sometimes you just know when you find "The One!"

Great post! When you walk through the door of the right home, you will know!

We had looked at a lot of properties; some were nice but too expensive; some could work but didn't have enough land. I started looking on the internet & found one property that had great curb appeal, a lot of extras; enough land & the price seemed very reasonable. We made an offer which was accepted no bargining, there were a few problems with the home inspection. The sellers fixed what we asked with no argument. Overall I think we got what we wanted although out a bit further than we wanted. Things just worked out.

This article is great, because it really is like falling in love when you find the house you want to buy! We actually fell in love with a darling short sale, only to be heartbroken 7 months later when it was sold out from under us. The house we actually bought, though, had a great newly remodeled kitchen and bathrooms, even though it was a fixer with the other rooms. I wasn't exactly in love with it at first, but grew to love it even more than the puppy love doll house (potterybarn intoxication:-) we fell for in the beginning. The house we bought had what we really needed and wanted, whereas the other was just adorable but had a dark, windowless kitchen, too many stairs and an unuseable back yard, etc.. We remodeled our new home and it is more beautiful than I could have imagined. So maybe it is like real love--there are puppy love houses and then there is the One! :-)

You have to love it when our buyers start showing the buy signs! Thanks for the post and congrats on all of the replies!

I always tell my clients the house should make them tingle!

Loved the article...I tell buyers "when you walk in and see your sofa in a particular spot and start thinking of which wall is getting your favorite piece of art, this is the one!

I loose interest in reading other blogs...LOL Great advice!

Funny story. I had been working with a buyer and we had seen many different home. The one he liked was a foreclosure that had been deserted for 4 years. The pool was green. The lawn was a mass of weeds. The inside of the home was filthy and yet, he was finished looking at homes. This was "the one". I was shocked. Just goes to show you that "One man's garbage is another man's gold."

Very good post! I always tell my buyers to be patient, they will know when it's "the one".

I found "the one" on Trulia. Saw it, immediately made an offer, which was countered, made another offer and was accepted. The next day a man came in with cash and bought it out from under me because the other realtor dragged her feet on faxing the paperwork for me to sign. Maybe she knew the guy was trying to come up with the money, who knows? I still can't bring myself to take the pictures off my cell phone. I had even gone out the next morning and bought furniture for the house. We are looking for property in the N.C. mountains now, and will build our own log cabin on a waterfall, but I won't forget the house in Hanging Dog.

Now that it is getting closer to the Holidays...when the buyer places where the x-mas tree will go is a good sign "It could be the one"
AJ Macias/Broker
Sharp Realty
FW Tx 76179