When buying a home in a competitive market, people often engage in bidding wars. And if you have a competitive spirit, your emotions can make you regret the outcome, even if you win. The house buying process is just the beginning of the journey. To be sure you should keep the property, you need to calculate if you can sustain it in the long run. This may sound scary when we put it like this, but fulfilling the American dream of homeownership is a complicated path that includes a long-term financial plan. Even though it’s perfectly normal to feel nervous or anxious when buying a home, if you plan the whole process, you are more likely to avoid the homebuyer’s remorse after the purchase.
Set a realistic budget
The most common reason behind remorse after home buying revolves around money. Whether you’re buying property for the first or seventh time, the trickiest part of the process is estimating the budget. Fixing an amount you are willing to pay for the house and estimating the down payment is easy. However, additional expenses always creep up – the closing costs, taxes, earnest money, lender fees, home inspection, homeowners insurance, real estate agent fees, HOA fees, etc. Naturally, you should not forget to set up a budget for necessary maintenance and upgrades after the move too.
Being confident you can afford your new home is imperative. To do it, you have to calculate your debt-to-income ratio. This includes all your monthly expenses divided by gross income.
Choose a good neighborhood
No matter the reason for your relocation, one of the most important things to consider is the choice of neighborhood. Naturally, a home in a good location will cost more, but that doesn’t mean the area is good by everyone’s standards. You may wonder what makes a good neighborhood? Generally, it needs to be safe, with good schools (if you have children), outdoor recreational areas, quality housing, and other amenities. Finding the perfect place to live will take a lot of online research. In addition, visiting a couple of areas after you narrow down your choices will help you avoid the homebuyer’s remorse.
Since Homeowners’ Associations (HOA) are present in some neighborhoods, you will have to wage whether that benefits you. There are several advantages of living in a well-organized community. You will have access to quality amenities, be surrounded by perfectly groomed home exteriors, have someone to take care of outdoor maintenance, and mediate in neighbor disputes. However, there are some downsides to living under the strict rules of HOAs. Some of them are restrictions to renting the place or owning a home-based business. Also, the membership fees can be costly, depending on the neighborhood. If you fail to pay, the HOA can foreclose on your home.
Once you are sure you’ve picked the right neighborhood to call home, you can start preparing for the move. However, it’s essential to start the moving process and organize everything as soon as possible. Sort out the necessary paperwork and hire recommendable moving services several weeks before the relocation. This way, you will have a simple transfer to your new address.
Exclude emotions during the home hunt
The power of a first impression is the most commonly used tool in real estate. When putting a home on the market, people use a lot of tricks targeting specific demographics. They know what is trending and how to draw your attention. Thus, you need to be careful and not rush into decisions when eyeing a property. Well-staged homes can make you fall in love with them, but remember that’s only the tip of the iceberg. No matter how well presented, every home has issues, from dozens of small and medium repairs to major structural problems.
Wait for good timing
If you’re in no rush to buy a home, you should wait for the right timing. Buying a house in a competitive real estate market will cost a fortune. But if you wait, you might save a lot of cash and avoid the homebuyer’s remorse. The housing market has constantly been fluctuating. Hot markets have high demands. Thus, waiting for the market to cool off could lower up to 10-15% of the price within a year.
Also, sometimes you can save thousands of dollars just by monitoring the interest rates on your loan. In the past year, mortgage rates have significantly dropped. This is a great sign for future homeowners. Still, to make the best call when it comes to mortgages, consider the offers and estimates from different lenders and find what works for you the best.
Don’t skip a home inspection
Imagine buying the perfect house only to discover problems emerging shortly after moving in. Some of them, like pest infestation, can be easily solved. However, repairing the foundation or roof could cost an astronomical amount of money. Needless to say that finding out everything there is to know about your future home will help you realize you made the right choice. Many homebuyers include a home inspection as a contingency in the contract with the seller to avoid scams during the house buying process.
This means, if the inspection discovers significant defects on the property, you are allowed to back out from the offer without any penalty fees. A home inspector will inform you about the safety issues, major or minor home defects, and appliances that need upgrades and replacements.
Take advice from an expert
Most people want to save money during the home buying process which is entirely understandable. However, this complicated process is something to be taken very seriously. It can be exhausting navigating the housing market and exploring all financial possibilities on your own. No one can help you better with it than the experts in the field. They know the market well, and this can significantly shorten the process and make it less stressful. Reputable experts know precisely where to find the home you’re looking for. Also, they have all the neighborhood info and can guide you through the steps, from introducing funding options to negotiations and scheduling home viewings.
Conclusion
Seattle offers great housing options. Still, to avoid the homebuyer’s remorse afterward, there are many things to pay attention to during house hunting. Cutting the expenses by skipping some of the vital elements of the purchase won’t bring anything good. On the contrary, the amount of money you save can multiply a hundred times if the home you’ve picked turns out to be a bad investment.