PREVENT HOME BUYER’S REMORSE

How to Prevent Home Buyer's Remorse

Having sold many homes in Columbus GA, Phenix City AL and Harris County GA for the last several years, a lot of people ask me how to prevent home buyer’s remorse which I will go into detail below.

This blog will focus on a bullet list of do’s & don’ts so that you won’t wake up in your new home with buyer’s remorse. First and foremost, you will need to find a local full time realtor that knows the market niche that you want. That’s why you should contact the “Full Service Realtor”.

What you must do:

•       Do-get pre-approved with a local home mortgage lender in Columbus GA. My favorite local lender is Beau Parker-Primary Residential Mortgage. Then you can shop with confidence and buy within a pre-approved target price.
•          Do-select an experienced full time realtor. For example, new construction is an area that 80% of the realtors have little to no knowledge. There are many potential pitfalls that an experienced realtor can prevent.
•          Do-have a detailed specifications exhibit to the “New Home Construction-Purchase & Sale Agreement”. On custom design/build projects, a detailed exhibit must be attached to clarify all expected features in your project, i.e.,(hardwood-type, tile, carpet, special electrical, plumbing, tank-less water heaters, Air Conditioning upgrades, spray-foam,30 year shingles,
•       Do-select/interview a local builder. Your realtor knows the best reputable home builders in Columbus GA, Phenix City AL, Harris County and Ft Mitchell areas.
•           Do-always get a used home/property inspected by a 3^rd party inspector like-L& L Home Inspections, my go-to local inspector.
•        Do-visit the property or neighborhood at different times of day or week to learn about neighbors or traffic, noise, etc
•          Do-select a building lot for your new home. Insure that the soil will pass a “perk test” if it is going to be a septic system. These systems typically for an average sized home should be 7-10K.However,I heard of a buyers who purchased a beautiful wooded lt of several acres and it had “bad dirt”. The final cost of their septic tank was 3X over a conventional system. They had to install an engineered system,
•          Do-select a floor plan. For example does any family member have back, leg issues or is aging, then you probably want a single story property.
•         Do check out  real estate blog.
•        Do-consider any upgrades and most importantly the cost impact to your mortgage or out of pocket costs
•          Do-sign a “New Home Purchase & Sale Agreement”
•          Do-establish a close/move-in date, generally, 4-8 months after the initial signed agreement
•          Do-select a 3^rd party home inspection
•          Do-allow for closing delays due to weather, loan processing or construction delays.

What you should not do or don’ts:

•          Do not-purchase homes sight unseen. I recently had a military family moving back to U.S. from Germany to the Columbus GA area near Ft. Benning, GA. These folks did find me on Paul Tommey YouTube on one of my many videos. They had me make an offer on a property and they had a local military friend vet out property for his approval. We asked for an extended “due-diligence” period (21 days), so that buyers could get back to U.S. to see and verify property met their needs.
•          Do not-buy or build a home that stretches your budget too far. Live within your means,
•          Do not-plan that, as a couple, your joint income will always be where it is today.
•    Do not-add too many buyer upgrades during construction, as the house may not appraise. The bank will only loan up to the appraised value. If there is short-fall on appraisal then someone….probably YOU, will normally have to pay the difference,

My commitment to my clients is to check the construction site generally 1-2 times per week to insure that all expected specifications are included in the “New Construction Purchase and Sale Agreement”. This simple but critical methodology pays dividends by insuring errors do not occur, or if they do, correct them before it’s too late. That’s why you too, should choose “The Full Service Realtor”!

I can take you to see dozens of new Phenix City AL homes that are completed design/build projects with several area local builders in Ft. Mitchell AL, Harris County GA and Columbus GA areas. Call Paul Tommey to help you buy, sell, design/build, or hire me to be your property manager for a single property or your entire portfolio.