Are you feeling a little stress creeping into your life as you close in on buying your dream home, or take stock now that you’ve made your purchase?
Don’t worry: it’s a common emotion and completely understandable.
A lot is at stake when you make one of the most significant purchases of your life. And no matter how well prepared you were in your search for a new home, it’s perfectly natural to be a little anxious when the journey is over.
As an experienced agent, I work with all my clients and prospective buyers to ensure they’re well-informed and confident about each decision they must make at each stage of the journey.
From a professional perspective, I want every buyer to be happy with their new home because I’d love to do business with you again in the future. But sometimes, post-purchase anxiety rears its ugly head for no logical reason. So here are some ways to stay calm.
- Remind yourself why you bought – Take yourself back to the moment you got excited or even fell in love with your new home. Ask yourself, what do I love most? How is it improving my lifestyle? Think about all the features that met your criteria for a perfect home. You’ll find a little retrospection will help reassure you.
- List your concerns – Emotions can run away with anyone, especially after a life-changing decision. So, sit down and make a list of all the issues with your new home that are nagging at you. Perhaps it’s the pressure of increased mortgage payments, or a reluctance to make a few improvements. Put it all down on paper and then figure out how to make them go away.
- Is money the issue? – Talk with your bank, lender or mortgage broker if you have concerns about the ongoing affordability of your mortgage payments. In reality, no institution will have loaned you money without being convinced that you can afford to repay them. Further, they will have assessed the value of your property and considered it a worthwhile purchase. They’ll reassure you.
- Experience every room – Take your time to go through each room in the home and imagine its optimal use and layout. Make a note of how the natural light fills each room, and how you might make the most of the views from the windows. Ask yourself whether a fresh coat of paint would bring a room alive. Sometimes, the easiest fixes are the best ones.
- Find a favorite spot – Whether a buyer is anxious or not, it’s an excellent idea for everyone to find their favorite place in your new home and make that their go-to-point when you want to relax. It will help ground you, and the property starts to become very much part of your life.
- Throw a party – Start filling your new home with memories. A house party is a great way to start. Your family and friends will surely compliment you on your new home, and that will be so reassuring. If you want to complete a renovation before throwing a party, then have a few close friends over for a summer BBQ.
In my experience as your local agent, buyer’s remorse is a temporary emotion and, ultimately, you’ll fall in love with your new home for all the reasons that got you excited originally.