How to avoid that feeling of buyer’s remorse

A home inspection had identified a number of problems, said Scheeler, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty in Alexandria, Va. “And the ground,” she said, “needed a French drain because water would pool up close to the home.” Unfortunately, the buyers moved forward with an offer. “If you feel there’s a potential problem, investigate it further,” she said. “A professional in the field can tell you how difficult the issue might be and what costs may be involved.” Advertisement The experience of buyer’s remorse is particularly common among buyers who purchased homes at the height of the frenzy created by low mortgage interest rates and limited inventories between mid-2020 and mid-2022. Home buyers, engaged in bidding wars, often waived contingencies such as a home inspection and an appraisal to make an offer more enticing to sellers. Most buyers (82 percent) had regrets about their purchase, according to a recent national survey by Clever Real Estate, a matching service that connects real estate agents and home buyers. In addition, some buyers reported that they bought a home that didn’t meet their needs. “We tell our clients the same thing we tell our kids to protect them: Make good decisions,” said Hans Wydler, an associate broker with Compass in D.C. “The only bad decision is to buy a house you’re not excited about, because it’s costly to sell it quickly when you’re unhappy.” One couple who worked with Emily Lurie, a real estate agent with Long & Foster Real Estate in Park Potomac, Md., insisted on a home inspection even when most buyers waived them. A few weeks later, Lurie said, “we found out that the property had a foundation issue, and the successful buyers have spent a lot of time and money to try to fix it.” Sometimes a case of buyer’s remorse turns out to be short-lived. Avoid overpaying (Video: Tara Jacoby for The Washington Post) In 2021, Lurie worked with buyers who were determined to live in a specific neighborhood with hardly any homes for sale. “They found what they thought was the perfect house, renovated the way they wanted and with a two-car garage,” Lurie said. “I told them everyone would want this house, so they would likely need to remove all contingencies and make a strong offer. Initially, Lurie’s buyers wanted to offer $1.4 million because they were determined to have it, but Lurie explained that the offer would be very high for the community. “They offered $1.2 million, which I told them was still high for that community, but it was their decision,” Lurie said. Their new neighbors told them that they had paid too much for the house and that they would never be able to sell their own houses for that much money.” In addition, the two-car garage was too small for their cars, and they hadn’t noticed that it had two doors, which made it impossible for them to squeeze even one car inside. “I told them that they could fix the garage pretty easily and that eventually the house would be worth more,” Lurie said. “They made a good decision, just not a perfect decision.” Since then, all the houses in the neighborhood have increased in value, and now the couple have let go of their buyer’s remorse. “I had a business professor who said that home should bring joy and happiness, not just an investment return,” Wydler said. It’s not a good buy if you can’t go on vacation or enjoy a nice dinner out sometimes.” On the other hand, if you are certain that your cash flow will improve, because of a promotion, perhaps, or a reduction in household debt, it may be worthwhile to stretch a little for a place you plan to own for at least a decade, Wydler said. “They never moved in, and they never sold it, either,” he said. “They finally took it off the market when they couldn’t sell.” In another situation, Wydler worked with clients who divorced a year after purchasing a home. (“A great house can’t save a bad marriage,” Wydler said.) While such situations can be unpredictable, Wydler said, buyers can talk through how they might deal with anticipated changes. “A third-floor walk-up condo might be great for a young couple, but if they’re planning to have a baby, they need to think about how it would work with a stroller and groceries,” he said. Older buyers may want to think ahead about potential mobility issues and buy a home with an elevator or a first-floor bedroom, Wydler said. Even buyers who have a home inspection can be caught off-guard by a fallen tree or a leak, Wydler said. Buyers, he said, have to anticipate expenses that lenders don’t consider when deciding whether to approve a mortgage. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/09/21/real-estate-avoiding-buyer-remorse/