My daughter and I went car shopping the other day.  The car we went to see was the right price, had all wheel drive and looked good in the photos. In person, it was a disappointment. There were scratches in the paint on the driver side door, the tires were a brand I had never heard of and the tread wear was uneven.  The parking lights and fog lights had condensation in them and the rims were scratched up.  On the test drive it hesitated to shift in low gear as if Eeyore himself was under the hood manning the transmission.  As I walked around the car pointing out all the faults my father in law suggested that the car I was looking for was more like $25,000 not $10,000.  Is it too much to ask for an impeccably maintained car with low miles, clean inside and out for around $10,000? Driving home I realized I was the used car version of an unrealistic homebuyer and I had a good laugh at myself.   The car I'm looking for exists, but I’ll need a DeLorean to travel back in time to get it.  In my defense, I have always been particular about cars.  My first car was a 1984 Saab 900 turbo and I spent hours washing and waxing it.  I think I fell in love with my husband on our first date when I laid eyes on his perfectly detailed Jeep Grand Cherokee.  

As a homebuyer, what do you do if, like me, there is a mismatch between your expectations and your budget?  Home buyers tend to look wistfully at homes beyond their reach and assume they are the only ones making compromises because of their budget.  The truth is, it doesn't matter if your budget is $250,000 or $2,500,000, there will always be compromise. Once you come to terms with that, there are two options;  reset your expectations or increase your budget.  If increasing your budget isn't in the cards, a reset is necessary.  This doesn't mean you will end up with a fixer sandwiched between the highway and high tension wires. It might be as simple as expanding your search area or looking at condos and multi’s in addition to single family homes.  Keep in mind your dream home isn't always achieved in a single purchase.  I moved up 3 times to get to a house that checked most of the boxes and I still made compromises.

Expectation setting isn't the end, it is the beginning. Reframe your thinking and you open your mind to new possibilities. Once I did that, I realized the car I wanted for my daughter was the one I already owned.  Safe and meticulously maintained by yours truly, I know the history, have peace of mind with her driving it and don’t need a time machine to get it. It is amazing how quickly goals can be achieved with clear expectations. With that settled, I increased my budget and found a reliable second vehicle to replace the car my daughter would now be driving. If you need help matching your expectations to your budget, I’ll be glad to help; just don’t ask me about cars.