10 Things Buyers Regret After Buying a Home (2024)

You know that sinking feeling. The uncertainty and anxiety after making a big purchase. You’re unsure if you made the right decision. That buyer’s remorse is all too common, especially after making expensive or important decisions. You start to second guess yourself.

But what happens if you feel buyer’s remorse after buying a house? You can’t so easily return a house to the store if you don’t think you made the right decision. So what do you do? Luckily, there are several actions you can take to help you cope with buyer’s remorse and better understand why you’re feeling worry and anxiety.

Is it normal to have buyer’s remorse after buying a house?

Yes, feeling buyer’s remorse after buying a house is perfectly normal. Many homebuyers doubt their decision, even if initially they were ecstatic at finding the home.

Buyer’s remorse creeps in, especially after large financial decisions. A home certainly falls into this category.

A house is likely one of the biggest purchases you’ll make in your lifetime. It’s understandable you might have more anxiety. Purchasing a house is a life-changing decision and one you cannot so easily undo. You may feel pangs of regret, questioning whether you rushed into a decision, or if something better might come along.

Doubt and uncertainty can also creep in if friends and family offer their input and opinions on your home. They might question the price you paid for the home or even the style and design. While the comments may be well-intended, third-party opinions can easily put a damper on the excitement of a new home.

How do you deal with buyer’s remorse after buying a house?

Buyer’s remorse can feel overwhelming. You went through a lot of research, work, negotiating, and finances to purchase something you now doubt was a good idea. To deal with buyer’s remorse, a great place to start is by going back over the facts and reasons of why you purchased the home in the first place.

Before you started looking for a home, you probably created a list of your wants, needs, and desired features in a house. Go back to that list and compare if your home matches most of what is on that list.

If nothing on the list matches, you may have cause for concern. However, the majority of the time you’ll see you picked the home because it fits what you were looking for.

Be sure to unsubscribe from any email alerts or real estate listing sites. Don’t continue to look at other homes on the market. Comparing your home’s amenities or the sales price will undoubtedly provoke you and you’ll fall more deeply into buyer’s remorse.

Perhaps most importantly, know that buyer’s remorse is normal. Unless you build your home from the ground up, you likely won’t have the perfect home. Also remember, even if you do truly regret your purchase, you’re not stuck with the home forever.

10 Reasons Why Buyers Experience Homebuyer’s Remorse

1. Unexpected Maintenance

You might feel a bit of panic the day your basem*nt floods, the refrigerator stops working, or when the toilet breaks. The days of calling your landlord to fix your problems are long gone. When the responsibility all falls on you, the experience can be stressful and overwhelming.

To help you navigate unexpected maintenance issues and costs, create a plan in advance for what to do when something breaks. If you’re relatively handy, you can watch how-to videos to fix problems yourself. Or create a go-to call list of different repair people and contractors you can contact when something breaks.

Make sure your plan includes an emergency maintenance budget. If you can, set aside some savings to use for unexpected maintenance costs.

2. You Don’t Like the Neighborhood

Maybe you didn’t realize your neighbor’s dog likes to bark all night, or your other neighbor never misses a chance to mow their lawn at six in the morning. For noise and privacy issues, strategically placed landscaping and fences can help.

Another option is to wait two years to sell your home in order to avoid capital gains taxes. However, if your neighborhood becomes truly unbearable, you can choose to move to another area and rent out your home as an investment property.

3. Your Mortgage Payment is Too Expensive

If you underestimated your finances or the mortgage is simply higher than you expected, buyer’s remorse might creep in. The stress of struggling to pay your mortgage each month can make anyone question their decision.

One of the first steps is to take a look at your budget. Consider going over all your finances with an accountant to help lay out where your money is going and if you can budget more effectively.

Sometimes the money just isn’t there. Here, you could rent out a room in your home for extra income. Or rent out the entire place as an Airbnb on the weekends and popular vacation times.

4. The House Feels Too Big

You may not have bought a mansion, but your house still feels too big. If you’re used to a small apartment, a home’s size can seem overkill. You don’t know what to do with the space. Plus, you may not have anticipated the time and energy needed to clean the extra square footage.

Try taking on one room at a time. If even that seems overwhelming, start with just one section or wall in one room. There’s no rush to decorate and furnish the entire house at once. By taking your time, you can connect to what you’d like to do in each room. Maybe one room is full of plants or another turns into your fitness room.

5. You’re Facing a Sudden Loss of Savings

Between a down payment, inspection fees, closing costs, and mortgage payments, your bank account took a hit. Seeing tens of thousands of dollars missing from your account could stir up some panic. You no longer have a large buffer or the same liquidity

Remember, even though your liquid savings is less, you didn’t lose that money. Rather, you invested it into an asset. Hopefully, your home will increase in equity, resulting in you pocketing more money in the future.

6. You Could Have Had a Lower Mortgage Rate

While it may have been the right time to buy your home, your timing with mortgage rates may seem less than ideal. If mortgage rates dropped soon after you purchased your house, you might feel some regret.

However, you can eventually refinance your home to negotiate a lower mortgage rate and lower mortgage payment.

7. Long Commute

When initially searching for homes, you may have ventured further out from busy metros and into the suburbs looking for more space or for more affordable homes.

After a while though, you might start missing your quick commute or subway stop if your commute stretches in an hour drive each way. And if you add adverse weather into the mix, you may find yourself calling in more sick days just to avoid a terrible commute.

To help in this situation consider joining a carpool. Or, negotiate with your workplace to allow you to work from home a few days a week.

8. Undesirable Layout

After moving in, unpacking, and arranging your furniture, you realize you hate the layout of your home. Nothing fits exactly as you imagined. You’re not alone.

If you discover your home’s layout doesn’t fit your needs, fortunately you can make renovations. Remodeling costs can add up quickly. Consider starting small or with a room that’s easier to remodel. Granted, the extra expenses may be worth it to feel happy in your home.

9. You Overpaid

At the moment you didn’t want to lose the home to another buyer, but it came at a cost. Literally. If you overpaid, or paid more than you were planning to, you might feel some regret.

Even if you overpaid, you still have the possibility to recoup your investment. The market can easily turn, and if you live in a desirable location, you’ll likely be able to sell your home for more than you purchased.

10. Settling for a House That’s Not Quite Right

Finding the exact, perfect home of your dreams is a long shot for any buyer. Most likely, you’ll need to give up something on your buyer’s wish list. However, settling for a home that’s not quite right is one of the biggest reasons for buyer’s remorse.

Nearly two-thirds of young home buyers have regrets about purchasing their home and compromised on at least one feature or characteristic.

While your home may not meet your exact needs, you can renovate to add in your desired features. Again, keep in mind renovations can be costly. However, even small remodel jobs or a new coat of paint can do wonders to change house appeal.

The best way to avoid buyer’s remorse is to work with an experienced real estate agent. A great agent will advocate for your needs, wants, and desired features in a home. They will work with you and listing agents to find a home that matches what you want as closely as possible.

UpNest can connect you with skilled, local Realtors who know your market well and can help you find the right house within your budget. Your agent will help you through the entire home buying process, including any buyer’s remorse.