Buyer's Remorse: What Home Buyers Would Do Differently

As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. When you’re a homebuyer it’s natural to be worried that once you close on that home you will have regrets about your decisions. Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases of your life, and since you will become more savvy along the way, you may have things you would do differently the next time around.

You are not alone. In fact, half of people surveyed said if they could repeat the homebuying process, they’d do at least one thing differently.

The best you can do is to research and learn from their missteps. Knowledge is power! Here are a few of those things that buyers surveyed said they would change if they had it to over again.

• Try harder to save more money. The bigger the down payment, the smaller your mortgage. More saving and less frivolous spending was a top wish.
  
  
• Take the time to really learn about several mortgages available.
  
  
• Shop around for the best loan. Different lenders may offer different, more cost-effective rates and conditions.
  
  
• Spending too much for the house, or picking at the top of their budget. A 2015 MacArthur Foundation survey found many new homeowners have to make unexpected sacrifices – like taking on an extra job or forgoing retirement savings. About 14% say they racked up credit card debt.
  
  
• Ignoring reasons why it wasn’t the right house to buy, like the realities of a long commute or picking the wrong neighborhood.
  
  
• Focusing on “big” features rather than basic needs. For example, you insist that you must have a gourmet chef’s kitchen, yet you don’t actually like to cook. Seven percent of homebuyers said the amenities and features they valued most when buying their home later changed.
  
  
• Choosing to buy right before a job change. While owning your own home has advantages, it can also make it difficult to move around for new job opportunities.

According to the survey, 61% of Generation Xers wished for a homebuying do-over and 57% of millennial homebuyers had regrets. The most comfortable? You guessed it - Baby Boomers. More than half of Baby Boomers said they didn’t have any second thoughts about buying their home.

This could be because most Baby Boomers had bought a home before and had learned to avoid all those little missteps that can cause regrets. Perhaps they were also more financially savvy when it came to financing, or they didn’t need financing because they were downsizing. Regardless, age and experience seemed to make for buyers who were pretty content with their decision.

No matter your age or experience level, if you work with a qualified real estate agent and consider those little things that some buyers wish they did differently, you too can emerge as a content new homeowner with few or – even no - regrets.