Fear of Buying?

I remember reading Erica Jong's book "Fear of Flying" many moons ago which had to do with people's fear of sexual intimacy. Many people are just afraid of commitments and the intimacy they entail. When it comes to big commitments, home buying nears the top of the list. No matter how much certain people say they want to buy a home, when it gets right down to it they back off and create reasons not to buy. I'll give you an example, a little while ago I was working w/a couple who seemed to really want to buy a home soon. In the process of showing them homes they suddenly decided that every town that had homes in it that they could afford were suddenly not good enough. I would probe them for reasons that made these towns unsuitable and they would just say that they didn't like them. I asked them if they would like to see other towns that were a little more expensive but were still affordable enough and they said 'No, we want to stay in the previous price range'. This couple had been looking for homes off and on for the past 3 years and still couldn't commit to buying. They used excuses as to why certain homes and areas were unsuitable. They refused to look in other areas that may have been more suitable using finances as an excuse. They could afford more home than they were looking for but kept putting artificial obstacles in their path. I really believe that potential home buyers could use the benefit of an impartial real estate consultant to help them through their fears, real and/or imagined. I know I have been able to provide low cost real estate consulting services for those buyers who realized they needed some outside assistance. It's like buying an insurance policy you hope you'll never need. It gives you peace of mind and helps you sleep at night. Sooner or later we all have to commit to one thing or another :)