Friendship and family can misdirect buyers

Family matters. To a point. (Flickr photo via the Library of Congress)

The headline might have read “Don’t trust anyone but yourself.”  But that’s a bit extreme.

The problem with using friends and family as sounding boards — as any understandably insecure first-time buyer might do — is that their opinions can have a way of undermining the prospective homeowner’s instincts, intuition, needs and desires.

As for buyers who ask friends in real estate to represent them, they risk bowing to their expertise and biases with regard to a range of subjective criteria.  Among the criteria might be neighborhood, building type, layout, finishes, amenities and floor level.

Although it is useful to pay close attention to a broker, it also is essential for buyers to