Buyer’s remorse is a nasty condition and one that nearly 80% of buyers experience. If you’ve been there, you know it poisons almost everything about the house you thought you loved. The good news is buyer’s remorse can be avoided (and is with 99% of our buyer clients) with the right preparation and consideration. What causes buyer’s remorse and how do you mitigate the possibility of experiencing it?
Buyer’s Remorse is the Result of Lack of Adequate Consideration
Buyer’s remorse is typically the result of lack of adequate preparation by the buyer resulting in unrealized expectations. One of the best ways to avert buyer’s remorse is an exercise in self discovery that involves asking several questions. We call it counseling and we use it with 100% of our buyer clients.
We Help Our Buyers Understand What’s Important, Even if They Don’t Know to Consider It
Helping buyers discover the most important characteristics about their new home is a vital element in our buyer representation program and something that sets us apart from other Realtors. We know the things that usually cause buyer’s remorse and ask a lot of questions to truly understand your goals, objectives and limitations. We explore things like:
- What do you most want to change about your current housing situation?
- What are your “must-have” features in the home?
- What are the “absolutely, positively don’t want, won’t look at” aspects of a home?
- Do you anticipate your household growing?
- What is the possibility of a job transfer in the next 5 years?
- To what extent does school quality and proximity to your employer affect your purchase decision?
- Are you sensitive to noise?
- What are the most important rooms of a home?
- What characteristics are you looking for in a neighborhood?
These questions – and many others – help a buyer identify what’s important about their next home. We find most of our buyer clients don’t think about many of the questions. When they do, they realize certain things are important, while others are less important.
Get Clear on Your (and Your Significant Other’s) Must Have’s and Deal Breakers
Sometimes a spouse or significant other is not on the same page. The exploration process helps both parties get clear on their must have’s and deal breakers as early in the home buying process as possible. Knowing where you both stand will help you make your home search as efficient as possible.
Homework: Find Out What’s Most Important to Your Significant Other
An exercise that can help you and your spouse or significant other determine what’s most important is to write down your 5 most important features or characteristics about the house and neighborhood on an index card. Then compare.
- What have you learned?
- Did it help find common ground?
- Can you make concessions to the other person wishes that you will not resent?
We’ve Helped Thousands of Buyers Avoid Buyer’s Remorse
Counseling is an essential step in our buyer representation program and we’re pretty good at it. We’ve helped thousands of buyers over three decades avoid buyers remorse by helping them get clear on their priorities. Spending some time thinking about what could happen in the future and planning for what you can is also an important part in the overall success of the home buying process.
Looking for a Realtor Who Will Help You Avoid Buyer’s Remorse?
Buying a home is about much more than whether or not the kitchen has granite counters. If you are looking for an agent who is a taxi cab driver and a locksmith, we are not the right buyer’s agents. If you want a professional buyer’s agent who has a deep and thorough knowledge of the marketplace and decades of experience to guide you to an informed decision that you won’t regret, then hire us. Check out our Austin Home Buyers section to learn more about our team. Then, call us at (512) 827-8323, email us at info@11OaksRealty.com or fill out our Buyer Survey to get started.
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