The Third House

Some buyers want their first house to be their third house. Or they want their first house to be their parents' house. Naturally they don't remember their parents first house, a cracker box along the shipping canal, with the stoned-up well, and the flypaper strips in the kitchen. It's the parents third or fourth residence, the one buyers spent their teen-years in, that they remember.

It's hard to get where you want in one step. People don't usually secure their dream job fresh out of college. Their first little league contest isn't their most masterful performance. They don't marry their first date.

This isn't about "settling". There's always a range of choices, some of which will be better than others. The challenge is to marry personal needs with value. A buyer's first purchase needn't be a blood bond, but a start.