Find The Ideal "Unicorn" Home

How do I know if a house is a "unicorn" or at least a good candidate for my new home?

Buyers commonly come to me and ask me to help them find the perfect home. There's no such thing as the perfect home. Even if you build a house from the ground up and spend a million dollars chances are you will find something you want to change.

So when I work with clients, I tell them what we're really looking for is an 80/20 home. That's 80 percent of the house you love, twenty percent you can live with or change over time.

Things that you can change over time would be like paint color, cabinets. Things that you can't change over time would be like a small backyard or a busy highway. After every showing, I asked my clients to rate the house, 60, 70, 75.

If they tell me an 80 house that's great. That might be the one. If my clients tell me something like a 90 house or a 95 house, I know that that house is a unicorn. We probably need to stop right now and go write an offer so we don't lose our unicorn.