According to a recent study carried out by PropertyCheck, nearly a quarter of home owners regret buying their current home. The research showed that 22% of homeowners wished they had spent longer doing research before settling on their current house, with the average person having spent only 26.8 minutes viewing a property before submitting their offer.
Buying a house is – unless you are Donald Trump – the most serious financial decision you will make in your life. It can either make or break you. If you get stuck with a dud that neither you nor anybody else wants, the consequences for your finances can be real and long-lasting.
The research showed that 10% of people feel uncomfortable asking for more than two viewings, and that the major factors that leave buyers feeling rueful after the papers are signed are crime, local transport links, nearby parks and green spaces and schools.
There are some things you are never going to be able to find out before you actually spend time living in your new home, but there are some things you can do – and most of these are actually things you can do, rather than relying on an estate agent to tell you everything and then being annoyed when he doesn’t.
1. Assume your realtor knows nothing
Seriously nothing. Imagine that where their brain should be there is a small bell that rings when they walk. That way you will find things out for yourself, using your own initiative, and anything they do tell you will be a nice bonus. Remember that it’s your money at the end of the day, not theirs, and they are working for the seller, not you, so the onus is on you to do your research.
2. Go to viewings prepared
Viewings are often only around 15 minutes long, and that’s not a long time to take in everything about the house as well as ask intelligent questions. Take a list of things to ask with you, and a list of things to check out that are important to you, such as good closet space, light and bright, traffic noise. It can be easy to be so overwhelmed with good feelings for a house that you forget to be practical. Take an impartial friend with you who will keep their head and not be swayed by emotion.
3. Do your research
Find out as much about the local area as possible. Find out where the schools are, the distance to train stations, ask neighbours about the area and how happy they are living there, find out if the house has been sold a number of times in a few years (which may indicate a problem), visit the neighbourhood at different times of day to get a feel for traffic noise, noise from neighbours in the evening, feelings of safety after dark, and try out your commute or school run before putting in an offer to make sure it is manageable.
4. Call in favours
If you have a friend or family member who is a surveyor, solicitor, builder or works in the property market in any capacity, take them with you on your second viewing. Their trained eye may prove invaluable when it comes to picking up small problems that are being swept under the rug by the seller. It can also help you get a rough estimate on how much any building work you are planning to have done will cost. These things should be picked up by the survey anyway, but this will give you a head start before you put your offer in.
5. The house isn’t everything
If you are particularly attracted to a property because of its amazing views or rural peaceful setting, take heed! You should only buy a house for this reason if you can control these factors in the future. For example, don’t buy a house for its view alone unless you own everything between your house and the view. Don’t buy a sweet little cottage surrounded by green fields unless you own those fields. Otherwise five years down the line you might find a new apartment building being built in your view and a new housing estate in your green fields. Do your research and find out the zoning of land around your potential new home; if there are existing plans for development you won’t be enjoying those factors for long. Alternatively you might find that land is protected, or that you can purchase or rent them off the owner, either way you will be able to make informed decisions and avoid nasty surprises.
Do you regret buying your house? What do you wish you had checked out before purchasing it?
Our estate agent knew absolutely nothing. Not even the bare minimum. ‘Does it have a combi boiler?’ ‘Umm, dunno.’ ‘Are the windows double glazed?’ ‘Ummm, dunno.’ ‘Is the roof insulated?’ ‘Ummm, dunno.’
A personal highlight involved asking him which direction the garden faced (i.e. north or south), to which he looked at us quizzically, pointed and said ‘That way’. Brilliant.
I’d also try and think about all the eventualities when buying a house. For example, we bought the house because it was great for my boyfriend’s commute. We never factored into our thinking the possibility that he might leave his job. His new commute is going to be a nightmare.
Well, we have recently relocated again and the final report I was doing to rent property was 4 hours.
But there is no regrets in buying a house- every so often we sit down and calculate owning vs. renting -> the later is cheaper, hustle free…
There is only feeling that you need to have something tangible and yours..but this is a feeling rather then informed economic choice.
The only other unusual discovery – how little real estate agencies are actually care about home owners.
The most important thing is to close the deal, if the previous home owner will loose some money due to their inaction or eagerness to get commission, so be it. If you come to think of it, been paid in percentage of the home value – there is very little incentive to negotiate $ 10, 000 – 30,000 difference from 300, 000. For an agent it is just several hundred dollars. It might be just an isolated case, of course.
Over here in Canada, statistics show that people tend to move every 5 years. If you are buying each time, you are losing money on agent fees and land-transfer taxes with each purchase and sale – ouch!
Given these financial implications, it really is important to consider all the factors before buying. And if you buy a property to satisfy your short-term needs only, make sure you choose a home whose value will increase (either because of an up-and-coming location or because you plan to renovate) before you sell.
Large purchases are prime for buyers remorse. I felt that when I bought my first car. It just hurts to see all that money go out the door!
Buying a house is a tremendous commitment, and one that people should do while taking on a ton of research and serious planning. Here in the U.S, during the housing boom 5+ years ago, this was typical: people just figured out how much they could borrow, looked at maybe 10 to 15 homes, then made an offer on one. The one they made an offer on is one they might have only looked at twice, maybe 3 times.
Now, there are plenty of people who are underwater on their houses. Their home market values have declined by more than their investment in the homes. I’m glad that’s not me, frankly.
It’s important to work with the right agent, and interview them. Also, keep in mind that they are there to make money for themselves, so filter everything they say. Just being realistic. Also, ask as many questions as you want, and ask for as much market data as you want to.
I think it’s so important to go back for multiple viewings, and you definitely shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask for as many as you like.
When I looked round my place the second time I still loved it, but there was so much I hadn’t remembered. There’s so much to take in when you go round the first time that as soon as you try to picture anything afterwards, like the dimensions of the lounge, or how big the bathroom window was, you draw a complete blank.
Also, I’d recommend going round the rooms on your own. Usually an estate agent will feel the need to explain the frankly blatently obvious details of every room as you arrive at it, but get them to stay in the kitchen while you wander around so you don’t feel rushed or hassled and you can think about what’s important for you in each room.
I’m not at the home buyer stage yet, but definitely some great ideas here. Especially having a friend tag along who’s been through the process. 15 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time to take a house in, the more eyes the better.
I totally agree with point 5. If views are a priority you must cast the net wide and check all the local area.