Sarah Rice: 4 rules to help you survive the House Hunt

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Buying a house is probably the single biggest investment you'll make. It's not a decision to be rushed, whatever pushy estate agents may have to say. Here's how to lay down the law in your hunt for that perfect home sweet home.

by Sarah Rice*

"Oh darling," said the estate agent with a wink that hardly adjusted his Botoxed eyebrows, "You will have to try harder than that!"

This was his response to my answer to the obligatory "What would you like to spend?" question that is asked at every show day.

I was a bit confused at first. Was this a new sales technique? Shame potential clients into taking on bonds they can't afford, or scare them into cheaper territories? Strange.

But after almost 6 months of house hunting, I have come to expect almost anything of estate agents and have learnt a few things about myself and the house buying process.

One is that my self-esteem may not be up to the challenge. It's the biggest single investment I will ever make, and yet I am treated like a child who doesn't know exactly what is good for it. At the end of a whirlwind Sunday of showhouse-hopping, I lose my sense of what I like and find myself considering things that have no place in my life.

So I now have four rules for managing myself, the estate agents and the houses I see.

• The 'its not about me' rule – I employ this when, in spite of emails, missed calls and smses, I am unable to get an estate agent to respond. Being ignored can send me into a state of "THIS IS THE ONE. This house is the one I need to see and if I don't I will lose my one chance of domestic happiness!" Which, if the 80 other houses I have seen are anything to go by, is a lie. So now I just try once and walk away. (Yes Beryl from Remax…you taught me this.)
• The "don't let them show you around" rule – I take a look, all on my own, the first time. I get my own sense of the house before I let the agent paint their picture of the renovation that is needed, the summer dinners in the garden or the fireplace in winter. I need to start with me.
• The "if the street creeps me out, leave" rule – you haven't even walked into the house but find the street kinda scary? Just leave. You don't owe anyone anything and this is your search for your home. If a space doesn't feel good to me then it's not good for me. Simple.
• The "take a break" rule – this one I am employing right now. I have lost my perspective with this house nonsense. I have become almost pathological in my search for a home and have forgotten why I want one in the first place. It's time for me to calm down and remember what I am doing.

I am finding a home for myself and my gorgeous kids, where we can be happy, hang with friends, eat, do homework and sleep safely. And you know what? I have that right now. I have a home.

So I am going to live in it, enjoy it, and delete the Property24 app from my phone. Well, maybe after just one more little search.

* Sarah is a technology communications specialist. She is a partner at Batstone, a Cape Town-based agency that creates messaging and go-to-market strategies for emerging companies in the tech and financial services sector. In other news she has two kids, an honours degree in Educational Drama, an unhealthy obsession with audible books and was finished with her studies before 'The Internet'.

** This article first appeared on the Change Exchange, an online platform by BrightRock, provider of the first-ever life insurance that changes as your life changes.