Deciding to purchase your first home is a huge step, as it’s often a long term financial commitment. Studies have found, as much as 70 percent of homeowners have at least 1 regret regarding their property.
Understanding common homebuyer regrets can help guide you during the homebuying process towards a home you can be truly happy with for years to come.
It’s easy to become so focused on a home itself that you neglect to account for its surroundings. The neighborhood your home is located in can have a large effect on your daily life, so consider accounting for aspects of the neighborhood you and your household can enjoy.
If you have young kids, you may want to be located near parks and good school districts. Is the location of the home near grocery stores, your job, medical facilities? Acknowledging your lifestyle can help you pick a home in a neighborhood you’ll love.
Sometimes, a seller may portray their home as being highly sought after to encourage higher and more frequent offers. Similarly, you may find your household has time constraints and want to make a quick home purchase.
With all the pressure, it may be easy to settle for a home to meet a deadline or feeling like a property of interest will be unreachable if you don’t act fast. However, taking your time can help you and your real estate agent examine all details to figure out if this is a good long-term investment.
Sometimes, properties can be difficult to sell due to factors such as their location and surroundings. For instance, a remote home or one that is located too close to loud areas may not matter to you, but they may deter potential homebuyers.
This lesson also holds true for what you do with your home once it’s purchased. Making flashy renovations or design choices may not appeal to the average homebuyer and can make your home more difficult to sell.
Using the aforementioned tips, you and your real estate agent can do the research and take the time to figure out if the home you’re interested in is the most fitting choice.
Lana Harris is a Chicago native who is a second-generation real estate professional. She was introduced to real estate at a very young age while attending open houses with her mother who is a broker. She honed her skills assisting in property searches (back in the thick, Multiple Listing Service book days,) and using map reading skills to help plan property tour sequencing. Lana’s love of working with people and delivering strong customer service led her to the retail sector, where she developed her management skills at MC Sports, Ann Taylor, and Adidas. She and her husband moved to Utah in 2008 to enjoy the natural beauty of the mountains, and she began her real estate career here in 2015. Most recently, she was a VP of sales for a large team; she thrives on challenges and is determined to overcome obstacles to achieve results for her clients. Lana and her husband enjoy their three large dogs, skiing, camping and paddleboarding.
