Subjective and Objective in House Hunting

Subjectivity and Objectivity occur all the time when buyers are house hunting. I regularly used these two  literary terms  in graduate school, in my literature studies. I had to apply these terms to my literary research of novels, and essays. I had to determine which characters or heroes represented subjectivity and which, objectivity, and I had to prove my findings.

How to be subjective and object in when house hunting:

Every time we view a structure, or a lot that we like, we get emotional, and desirous of having that property. We view things subjectively, from the “me now” perspective. We think we have to have that. Much of what we buy is an emotional and therefore, a subjective experience. I remember when I was a school teacher, I often graded the kids subjectively, not just objectively. I did this because each student to me, to my viewpoint, is not a number, a rating, a grade, but instead, a human being with a unique way of learning  and viewing the world. There really are no A students, B students, C student , D students and F students. Those are just grades placed on the students based on their performance in an area of study, and a grading criteria that we as teachers apply, and need to apply to evaluate the student’s progress.  Aside from the grade, however, I had to see the overall context in which the student finds him or herself. What is that student bringing into the world of experience and learning. There has to be some opinion, emotion, intuition, that is to say, the subjective. We do not buy a home without the subjective view of the home. We know what we need, but we also know what we long for and desire. What the task requires, is integrating needs with desires. Kind of like determining what someone once said, our “real estate DNA,” which means, our desires, needs and abilities to meet those desires and needs.

Now, after applying the subjective view, unconsciously, of course, we start to think about the needs we have, and if that house will satisfy the needs. We start to think more analytically, logically in depth. We are now viewing the house and its context, position in the neighborhood, features, price tag, financing options, budget, objectively.

The subjective says, “I like this 2000 square foot house. It has what I want. It would make a cozy home for my family, and provide plenty of storage space with the two, big, walk-inclosets. It will be great to have the home with the big fenced in yard in the back so we can entertain with privacy. “

The objective says, “I will have to check with my lender about my mortgage options for this home. I like the home, but is it really affordable based on my budget. Do I want to be locked into a big mortgage payment each month. Isn’t the home too far from work. What about the traffic. I know I need a fence, but I know I can put up a fence myself, and thereby save some money.”

So the objective is more analytical, and requires a benchmark, factual calculation, whereas the subjective is intuitive, and views the world from experience. Both are necessary, as we are not walking calculations, or pieces of thoughtless emotions.  Our experiences in life are really a combination of the subjective and objective.

Kenneth Fach, REALTOR, ePRO
Weichert, REALTORS-Anchor
1607 Village Square Boulevard, Suite B 103
Tallahassee, Florida 32309
Direct/Text/Cell 850-339-5753  http://KennethFach.com

Each office is independently owned and operated.