Date Published 01 January 2020
We are all guilty of striving for the perfect life, be it house, career, partner, baby but why do we put so much pressure on ourselves?
Are we all so shallow as to think that perfection will guarantee a happy and fulfilled life? Perhaps not but then why do we spend so much of our lives seeking it and judging others against it?
In every walk of life, we experience a desire to achieve bigger and better in the hope that whatever that attainment will bring will make us happier.
Whilst I absolutely live in a glass house in this context, working in the property industry I see it from another perspective entirely. Yes, our homes will undoubtedly be our biggest lifetime expense so we have every right to view properties cynically wanting perfection on every level. Sometimes, however, a more relaxed attitude to house buying can result in a more positive outcome.
Buyers' reasons for discounting properties can sometimes range from the sublime to the ridiculous and whilst everyone is perfectly entitled to their ‘wish list', a ‘perfect home' bought off the shelf is unachievable. Your tastes are not necessarily going to reflect the home owners but that should not preclude you from seeing beyond their lurid choice of paint colour.
Having bought a house myself that I had initially left in horror telling my sister ‘never' I actually now pat myself on the back sitting in my own version of perfection. Walls can be moved, paint can be reapplied and kitchens and bathrooms ripped out and replaced with gleaming modern ones. I made mistakes (why did I pick that sink?!) and didn't have connections to the best local tradesmen (struggled particularly with electricians) but a little bit of vision and an eye for my own level of perfection served me well.
My humble advice is that whilst a sewage plant next door can't be ignored, apply your own perfection to every house you view, not the House magazine's standard that is unachievable and probably no fun at all to live in. :-)
Natalie
