As commonly cited, buying a home is probably the biggest single purchase most people will ever make. For 90% of us, this is without regret.
But what about the other 10%?
The main reasons people regret buying as are follows:
I rushed into it 28%
I don’t like my neighbours 20%
It’s not big enough 16%
It needs more working doing to it than I realised 12%
I can’t really afford my mortgage 6%
I’d make a loss if I sold it 6%
I wasn’t ready for the responsibility of buying 2%
The data revealed that the older you get, the more likely you are to be happy with your buying decision. 5% of over 55's have regrets with their house purchase, far less than the 23% aged between 25 and 34.
However, it may not necessarily amount to a happy ending just because you have no initial regrets as the survey discovered that even people who don’t regret buying their home may not actually like it. 43% of those asked in the poll said that they liked everything about their houses. This leaves 57% who are less than impressed about where they live.
Of those who dislike their houses the main gripes are:
It’s too small 28%
It needs too much work doing 21%
It’s too cold 17%
I don’t like the area 14%
There’s not enough outside space 12%
Ian Williams, from Ocean Finance said: “The key lesson from our survey is to spend more time choosing a house before you buy. Getting to know the area and the neighbours before committing is really important, as is making an honest assessment about the amount of work that the property needs, how big it is and whether it will suit you not just now, but as your family grows.”
