How well couples get along during the buying process is not a barometer of their love, compatibility, or decency as human beings. Buying a home is stressful, and couples do tend to argue over what home to buy, how much to offer, how to negotiate, and what to do about the home inspection. In fact, I have seen so many couples exchange looks and grow impatient with each other that it is suspicious to me when it doesn’t happen.
Sometimes the wife wants home A; the husband wants home B, and they both try to convince each other to go along with their preference. This usually doesn’t work, and that is why I call it Phase 1. Phase 1 is a discovery phase; you discover that your spouse does not share your excellent taste and is far more stubborn and bone-headed than you could have ever imagined! 
Now for Phase 2: In Phase 2, both husband and wife despair of ever finding a home that they both like. During this phase, we often take a break from looking at homes. Sometimes this a mourning phase: “the dream is dead; now I have to live in a lame house with this incorrigible woman/man who wouldn’t know a good home if his or her life depended on it!” This phase can be quite dramatic. 
The good news is that something magical happens between Phase 2 and Phase 3. In Phase 3, when a couple is ready to start looking at homes again, both husband and wife are much more considerate of each other’s vision. They decide they want a new home together and if that means compromise (that ugly, annoying word) than so be it.
The above example is merely hypothetical and meant to be humorous (and loosely based on my own experience of buying a home!!). Every couple has a different process, but it is important for couples to realize that some tension and debate is completely normal. Emotions run high.
Invariably, it all does work out in the end. Real estate closings tend to be happy occasions. After all the stress, every couple I have ever worked with was ultimately very happy with their new home. Somehow, in the end, it seems like it was meant to be, and it is.
