4 Main Culprits Causing Buyer's Remorse

Buyer's remorse is something that kicks in once you start telling the world that you've found your 'dream home'!

Murphy's Law, right?!

Now, we're not saying that you shouldn't be sharing this exciting news with your immediate circles, but you should be aware that it's quite a common phenomenon.

You never think that buyer's remorse will happen to you.

Until it does!

Signed that offer to purchase contract already? Did you make the right decision? Did you act too quickly? Isn't there perhaps another house out there that offers 'more bang for your buck'?

Yikes! It's all so overwhelming!

Just relax! Most of those questions actually are relatively simple ones to answer!

Is there genuinely a problem buying this house or do you have a standard case of buyer's remorse?

Before jumping to certain conclusions, let's check the initial decision process to make sure it's not a case of simply developing cold feet:

#1 - Discussions with family and friends.

Your parents (or in-laws) might mean well, but it's not uncommon for close family and friends to question your choice!

"And how much are you going to pay for that?"

With all due respect, what made them seasoned real estate professionals? (unless they actually are!)

Do they live in the area? Do they know the local market? How active are they buying and selling properties? Could it be that they're out of touch with current prices and property trends?

One thing's for sure: one cannot take general (national) trends reported in the popular media and project them onto one local area!

And let's be honest here: will the parents ever believe a house to be 'good enough' for their babies?

#2 - Continuing to look at houses.

You've done your research. And you've looked at many houses.

Plus, you've thought long and hard before putting in that offer!

So, why would you continue to look at more houses?!

Big mistake! Unless of course you already know your offer will fall through (there could be a number of reasons for that - more of that below).

Buyer's remorse is such a common phenomenon that they've coined a term for it!

#3 - Real estate agent who offers no guidance.

Whatever some real estate agents might believe, the real added-value of an agent comes AFTER the offer has been signed.

Ask any agent how many times a deal has fallen through after all parties signed on the dotted line!

There are sooo many things that can go wrong! Doubts, questions, issues and many more 'problems' will arise.

Any seasoned real estate agent knows this to be true - and will recognize how to guide their clients through the process!

Leaving those unsolved issues to linger will unnecessarily put more doubt in people's minds!

And might eventually turn into buyer's remorse. Or worse, the deal on your 'dream home' could fall through! And all because the agent didn't properly guide the parties involved?!

Isn't it their job to help you?

#4 - Your own doubts.

We know that nothing in life is certain. Sometimes, we think about those uncertainties even more when making important decisions.

The negative "what ifs" of the world manage to sneak into the thinking process, instead of focusing on the positives!

As mentioned above, if you've done your research, gone through the whole home viewing exercise and honestly believe that home to be 'the one', stick to your guns and don't let your own doubts take over!

Bonus: Your concerns might actually be valid

Having said that, nothing is written in stone!

There genuinely can be times when the purchase of a home ought to be stopped.

One can immediately think of these situations:

• For whatever reason, you failed to get enough financing to cover the bond amount stipulated in the Offer To Purchase contract.
• The bank doesn't find value in the property to justify lending the bond amount you requested.
• If you opted for a home inspection and it uncovered more issues than you're willing to take on.
• ...

These few points above (and many other serious problems) are likely all issues one should resolve before purchasing the property.

And yes, it might be that these cannot be solved, in which case there's no worry about buyer's remorse!

Closing thoughts

If there's anything you ought to take away from this brief article on buyer's remorse, it is that you should recognize that it is a common phenomenon!

You're not alone!

There's a reason why they've coined a term for this!

Being aware of it now already will hopefully assist you in getting prepared ahead of time, so you're able to work through it if need be!