If you have ever searched for a home there will be a mix of opinions on each house. Unless you custom build each section to your standards each house varies. They have their yin and yang.

A mistake you might make or what I have seen buyers do is search for the "perfect" home. They want it to be 100% of what they need. A first time home buyer looking sub 300K doesn't have the luxury of finding something to check off everything. I am not saying settle or buy anything but you have to take everything into account with your price point. The right location, perfect kitchen, ideal layout, enough bedrooms, finished basement, big yard, updated bathrooms are some things that may be on your list. Some you can check off, others you need to settle with. Unless you're building a completely custom home with an unlimited budget, you're probably going to compromise somewhere.

That's where I like the 80/10/10 rule. It's a simple way to look at a home without getting caught up in every small detail. The idea is that you should love or like roughly 80% of the house, have 10% you would change, and have 10% you're willing to live with. If a property falls somewhere around those numbers then it's worth pursuing.

Disclaimer - if you are buying a fixer upper you might adjust this. The important point is to not settle on a house but there will be a sliver you'll need live with. Also look at your finances, mortgage payment and estimated repairs with the most importance.

The 80%....What You Love....What You Like

This 80% is many things you like and love about it. The majority of the house should work for you from day one.

Maybe you love the neighborhood, school district, floor plan, backyard, number of bedrooms, kitchen, or drive commute time. You should be able to walk through the property and feel that most of your important boxes are being checked.

More importantly, I tell buyers to focus that 80% on the things that are difficult or impossible to change. If you are fixing it up you can remodel to make it your own. You can replace countertops. You can't move the house to another neighborhood. You can repaint a bedroom. You can't easily change the layout or expand rooms.

Location, general layout, lot, square footage, and the neighborhood should carry more weight than paint colors or fixtures.

The 10%....What You Would Change

Almost every house is going to have something you don't like.

Maybe the kitchen is dated. The carpet needs replaced. You don't like the paint colors. One bathroom needs remodeled. The basement isn't finished. The landscaping needs work.

The question shouldn't necessarily be, "Do I like this finish?"

Instead, ask, "Can I change this, and what would it cost?"

The perk of updating and changing a house is you'll have equity along with making it your own.

Some of these changes can also happen over time. You don't have to turn the house into your dream home during the first six months of ownership. On average owners stay in their house 5-7 years, you have time.

The Other 10%....What You're Willing to Accept

This is probably the hardest part for buyers.

There will likely be things about a house that aren't perfect and aren't worth changing.

Maybe the garage is slightly smaller than you wanted. One bedroom isn't quite as large. You wanted a three car garage and it has two. The backyard faces a direction you don't prefer. The laundry room isn't exactly where you wanted it.

Can you live with it?

That's the question.

There is a difference between settling on something minor and compromising on something that's genuinely important to you. If you absolutely need four bedrooms, buying three probably isn't a compromise you'd do. But walking away from an otherwise great house because the guest bedroom is a little smaller or it's 5 min farther from work may be different.

Don't Let the 10% Ruin the 80%

I've seen buyers walk into homes that check almost every major box and immediately focus on the handful of things they don't like. Or they are wanting things that aren't within their price point. The key is the right balance, you take the good with the bad.

If it's not your forever home then you need flexibility.

Be careful to think and be turned off with....

"I don't like that paint."

"I'd replace these countertops."

"I wish this room was bigger."

Those things matter, but they shouldn't automatically cross that home off the list.

On the flip side, don't use the 80/10/10 rule to talk yourself into the wrong house. If the bones are bad, needs to much, out of you budget then it's not the one.

Your 80/10/10 Will Be Different

A first-time buyer purchasing a $250,000 starter home is going to have a different list than someone buying their third home at $700,000.

Your must haves may change once you actually start touring houses.

I've had buyers begin their search with a list in mind only to pivot after seeing several homes. That's part of the value of physically touring properties instead of building your entire search around photos and filters online.

Before you start looking, identify your must-haves, would-likes, and deal breakers. Then filter out homes and edit your needs if needed.

The goal isn't necessarily to find a house that's 100% perfect as you'd have to custom build to do so. It's to find a property where the things that matter most are right, the things you don't like can be changed (within reason), and the remaining imperfections are things you're OK living with.

80% you love. 10% you can change. 10% you can accept.

That mindset can make the home search much easier when you're choosing between several homes instead of waiting forever for a perfect one that may not exist.

If you are a first time home buyer, moving up to a larger house, need to sell yours or investing in the Kansas City area I would be happy to connect. I help all sorts of families and individuals here in the area :)