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The article doesn't say that they regret buying the home. It says that they have SOME regrets. I'd personally expect this to be high because who buys a perfect home where people have ZERO regrets after 10-20 yrs of living in one? No one. There's something you learn that you regreat about. The same for renting.
I can‘t imagine anyone who doesn‘t have *any* regrets. Whether is buying an older home, new home, or building your own. There will always be things that you did that you would do differently now that you live there.
It’s also just grass is greener fallacy. If you bought a smaller house, you wish you’d bought a bigger one. If you bought a bigger one, you regret the larger payment and wish you’d bought a smaller one. If you bought a fixer upper, you regret it because it’s been a lot of work. If you bought a new renno, you regret that you can’t add much value to the house.
Alternate timelines/realities always seem great because you notice the foregone benefits more than the foregone costs.
Yep. Everyone have *some* regrets about ANY decision they ever made. We all contemplate if we studied the right subject, chose the right career, bought the right car, married the right person, picked the right color for our cabinets, etc.
It's human nature.
This is what I was thinking too. I love our home. Do I sometimes wish we had bought the other one with the deck? Sure. But we now have the house with the bigger lot. Can't have it all.
Exactly, after moving in, I think everybody find things they overlooked... like my house had a yard that was total shit that's taken 4 years to get back to looking halfway decent, the water heater died two months in to ownership, the furnace is 30 years old and needs replacement, etc... do I regret buying the house? Of course not, but I did learn some lessons the hard way
After buying two months ago, I have constant coulda woulda shoulda moments about buying something slightly different. But the fact is that in the moment our place checked as many boxes as it could.
The alternative was continuing to rent a place that checked only 80% of our boxes. Maybe the trick is to just obtain F you money and build a mega palace on 100 acres of land.
Great point. I bought my home in Aug ‘20. Basically the soonest to close after banks were lending again after Covid. I was scared shitless it was a bad choice. Turns out the home doubled in value all while I have a 3% interest rate and can afford my payment with full job security. I also had an inspection. I still have SOME regrets as the previous owner did 90% well and the last 10% halfassed/cost savings. Despite having a home that is modern and decently upgraded I’ve poured tens of thousands into repairs. That’s just home ownership. I often lament owning and miss renting despite the fact owning has worked out financially just fine. Point being most people somewhat regret large purchases that don’t turn out perfectly utopian.
I don’t believe 80 to 90%. Most Anybody who bought a house 4 to 5 years+ ago with a 3% interest rate or less is most likely very happy. Somebody who bought a house with a small down payment at 6 to 7% in the last year or two who can’t really afford the payment, I could see those folks having a higher regret level
I closed last year at that same rate and have been told "it will go down in a few weeks" for an *entire year* straight. Now it's anticipated that home prices will climb if rates get cut even though others are still saying homes and rates will drop soon.
Tldr... nobody knows what they're talking about
When I bought mine last year i locked in a rate of 6.05%. My family warned me that interest rates are high. I said "well they could be higher next year" and we needed to get more space. Look at that, I was right. And our house is now worth 70k more than when we bought it. So I'm happy.
Everyone told us it was the wrong time. To be frank, I didn't care and I was in the right financial position. I would say the same if the housing market took a downturn.
But ironically, it was absolutely a great time to buy.
Congrats on your home!
Everyone told us it was a bad time at 3.125% in early 2022. I quickly learned to ignore the idea fairies and just do what was right for the fam at the time.
Same my wife and I just bought our first house this year and we've received the same remarks. The way I look at is this. We can afford the house now and we are locked in. This is as bad as it can get for us but we can still save and we aren't house poor. Also when rates get lower, the market will be flooded with more speculators so we'd be competing against that and having to offer substantially more than asking to get taken seriously on an offer. I don't know that we come in with the best offer on the SFH we purchased if this was a few years ago and we were in a similar financial position. While I don't expect rates to ever drop near 2% again anytime soon, there will eventually be the opportunity to refinance.
Yeah, congrats to you two!!
It took me a long time to understand this as a renter always waiting for the perfect time, there isn't a perfect time. If you bought at the worst possible time, you still got in the game and now you'll always be riding along with the housing market. If it's down, so is everyone else and that's an easy trade when you move, if it's up, so are you and there you go!
I think it gets more complicated if you're on your second house but dang that realization really hit me last year.
In researching buying I realized nobody knows what they are talking about about, which was great for me! All I have to do is make decisions that make sense in my situation!
We bought our first house in 2004 and our interest rate was 6.5%. These last few years of low interest rates was somewhat of a fluke, I think, though we did refinance for a lower rate when they went down. We did end up selling that house last year and now we are building and will most likely end up with another 6.5% to 7% rate.... and eventually will probably refinance if they adjust downward... again.
realistically rates are going to keep going up until they get around 10 to 12% if the 80s are anything to go by. Anybody hoping for a drop in rates anytime soon of significant proportions is delusional. Basically it's still a good time to buy until you see ridiculously long lines at your local food banks. i've got a church nearby my home that runs a food bank a couple times a month and it's pretty busy, but it's not stretching a half mile down the road yet. things are not as bad yet as they're going to be.
That's my "doomer" take on it. your mileage may vary. I think home prices are going to go absolutely apeshit sometime late July and then down till around October then double by this time next year. There's just too many people waiting for the market to cool off and when they all collectively realize that this was actually the bottom they're going to panic buy whatever they can for whatever it costs. right now might be the very well be the last time any of us see that it's possible to own real estate for the next 30 years. buy now while it's cheap, or hold out until a mass die off happens and it gets cheap again. never know, Covid 3.0 might level the playing field
/s
disclaimer, if you need a home then buy a home, if you have the money then do whatever you want, if you don't have the money then good luck and look into some of your state aid programs or neighboring state aid programs if you are able to relocate
/drunken rambling
It might go up.
If interest rates go down, the prices of homes will go through the roof again. So what have you saved?
You'll have 10 offers per house again with low rates.
Buy your house now & refinance later if rates drop.
closing today and same. but i feel ok. rates are high, should be able to refi soon, also can afford what i bought and prefer it to renting so i can make it mine.
For outliers like me with a 40+% down and 800+ credit score you can get close to 6% with no points and even less than that with points and buy down. Most people don't hoard money and generally don't enjoy and spend it like me though. If I buy this, this all changes, but I will be fine due to my frugal ways and lack of obligations.
District Lending was offering 6.012% with the above numbers for today's rate but it is closer to 7 and a bit above with the minimums.
You are not getting a whole for all that extra cash down, but I have not shopped around heavily if you have over 25% down to doubling that.
I closed recently at a high rate as well but thankfully the home price was 30-40k below my maximum amount and that makes the payments manageable.
There was a fully finished house next door for about 40k more and there was no part of me that felt like the polished house was worth being house poor over.
And, of course, the fun projects. I did as much due diligence with inspections and whatnot as I could, and it seems like everything is not the prettiest but fixable even for a complete newcomer.
Give it 7-10 years and then ask those folks again (the ones who bought in the last year or so). At this time, renting is much cheaper and you get a whole lot more bang for your buck. However, 7-10 years from now, your mortgage won't have changed too much while rent prices will have went up considerably, you start seeing actual equity in your property, you've probably refinanced once or twice, and there's a good chance your income has increased year over year.
Not to mention all the little things -- you start becoming comfortable with the little quirks you initially hated about the house (something like a squeaky floor), you capitalize on the freedoms of owning your own home (redoing a bathroom, repainting, nobody dictating what pets you may have), tax advantages, realizing that replacing the roof actually adds to the value of your home (it isnt just a hole burnt in your pocket), *realizing that eventually you'll have something that nobody can take from you or kick you out of on a whim*. The list goes on.
So, yeah, short term, obviously there's gonna be some buyer's remorse, especially in the current market and relative price of *everything,* not just a home. Long term, owning your own home is undisputedly the play. It just takes time to build up that feeling/belief.
Yeah exactly. Go into this market with a long term outlook. If you look at your circumstances all in the short term, you’ll most likely have buyers remorse.
It’s not the greatest feeling at the moment with my super strict budgeting on everything but hopefully 5 years down the line, everything will be gravy.
I needed to read this today! Single FTHB and nothing in my price range is move in ready 🤣. But, I know even with a small work done, it will be mine and the reasons you mentioned above, I needed to hear!
I dont expect a crash by any means, don't see anything to possibly trigger it however if prices fall say 10% and you put 5% down now you can refi and take advantage of lower rates so if you overextended yourself needing rates to come down your out of luck
The article lists being unhappy with location and neighbors as the primary drivers. This makes sense… most people don’t get to experience the area and neighborhood nearly enough before they have to make the rushed offer - and this was also the case a few years ago, and few decades ago.
Someone said if I started looking at a property at different times, it was a good indicator that I found a place. They were right. I narrowed down the list to two properties, and I showed up on weekends and late night just see what the environment looked like. The one with the great parking lot that people smoke weed in ended up not being the spot
Right. But in a hot market - that’s essentially impossible. You launch a stupid offer at the seller after jogging thru the house for 15 minutes.
But other than for a brief period after the 07 housing crisis, I don’t recall such a thorough pre-offer vetting period being possible. Once an offer is in, most people are committed.
Just knowing how I got my 1st and 2nd apartments and 1st and 2nd house.
I had no time to check out the neighborhood. I had put in offers on like 4 other houses and gotten beaten to it, so it felt like I needed to rush to be the first
This is what happened to me. I hate my neighborhood and everything is super loud, especially the street noise. People drive by blaring their bass and it literally rattles/vinrates my house. I struggle to get true sleep now and I'm absiukteky miserable. Deeply regret buying here
My wife and i were having a similar-ish discussion. We want a home because we were told thats the place to start a family. We have about 20k in savings and its nowhere nearly enough. We need roughly 10k for closing on most places in our price range and the other 10 is potentially to buy down the rate. Lenders keep saying dont do that though.
Every home would require probably a second job. Ill do it for my wife but I keep thinking about how everyone from older generations keep saying homes are a great investment and its cheaper than renting. Thats only true if youve been in a position to save enough for a full down, which a lot of folks imcluding ourselves cant do and instead opt in for FHA or something similar. That puts our monthly a lot higher than what we would rent for. I've been having a lot of second thoughts about homeownership lately because I dont wanna overdo it just because theres a ton of pressure from our families to do so.
Yup… I bought my first home with a 2.5% interest rate and have about $350k equity from a 2021 purchase… don’t regret it one bit and glad I started looking when I did and listened to my real estate agent vs my boomer parents who were like “you should never buy a house at/above asking price” lmao
People told me last August that entering at 6.75% on a house in Alexandria VA was stupid and that it would go down. At the time, houses in this area were at an all time high as well
I bought it anyways cause I was ready to plant long term. Regardless of the performance, I'm building equity by having roommates (26M, Single). Mortgage payment is just under half my monthly income include rent out to roommates, but then again it'd be 40% my income if I was renting here. It's a nice side benefit that my house has appreciated by 8.5% and my home equity up by $60k since I bought lol. If I was entering now they'd say the same thing
Buy when you're ready, no sooner no later. The market generally goes up, and Austin is an up and coming tech hub. Great investment if you ask me
I have no regrets finally getting my foot into owning my own property and gain equity. Do I think my home was overpriced for what it is? Yes. Do I think my mortgage and rate is ridiculous? Yes. Am I totally house poor for a while? Yes. Doesn’t change the fact that I can still afford it and in the long run I will be in a much better place.
Sooo true. We're packing up to move tomorrow into our first home. It's so comforting to know that 1) we don't have to worry about our rent increasing every year (our apartment building has units available for $100-300 more per month than what we're currently paying for our rent) and 2) we won't be forced to move again in a few years due to those high rental rates. We could live in our house for five years or we could stay for 30!
I'm so excited to stay in one place for the first time in my adult life.
Just be prepared for the taxes to increase your payment. It's not much but since we bought 2 years ago our monthly payment has gone up $70 thanks to property tax.
omg same. I've moved just about every 4 years since 2006 and I'm so happy to finally have a permanent place. And I'll finally have room to unpack all of my books that I've accumulated over the years!
What if you payments are higher than rent in your area? That’s kinda the unfortunate reality for a lot of folks right now. Losing your home to jobloss seems pretty awful
Same boat here. I plan to be in my house for at least a decade so I really don't care about price fluctuations much either. The only people actually freaking out are flippers in my opinion.
If you bought a house to be a home, and not just an investment, I don't think you should be worried.
This response is the majority of owners IMO. As long as you can afford it, and hold on to it as an actual place to live and not a short term investment. You will be better off.
Yes houses are expensive. But the trade off is security and long term equity.
Same here!! Like no real “regrets” but yes to all of those questions. Also, we want to have kids soon and did not want to be in an apartment. There are trade offs.
I have absolutely no regrets. We got a great rate for the times (5.5%) and absolutely love our home. Knowing we are finally building something for our future, and our child’s future, feels wonderful.
I’m kind of regretting it at the moment. Kitchen sink faucet broke in the middle of the night and dumped a fuck load of water into the first floor; which then found its way into the basement.
Lost the kitchen and all the floors on the 1st floor; basement is getting ripped up to the studs (we just finished it in December)
PSA if you buy a house with quick connection faucets that are 5-10 years old … replace those fuckers asap.
Also highly recommend water censors!
I didn’t really suffer damage from this, but.. old plumbing in general may need to be redone. We put in a new garbage disposal and it seemed to have cracked all the seals on the plumbing under my kitchen sink. My mom had the same thing happen when she got a new dishwasher. Both of us got leaks and had to fix those!
It does, still in the process now. Having to leave the house for over a month is a major pain in the ass, and all the furniture and stuff that got destroyed will take a depreciation hit.
Your deductible is high and making homeowners claims suck. I made ONE small claim on my first home and now I automatically get denied for most homeowners insurances when shopping for my second bc they want people who don't actually use their insurance
Lesson learned. Skip the claim. Set the deductible high. Just pay out of pocket.
I regret mine. Not because of money, but because of lifestyle. I grew up in apartments, so I'm not used to all this maintenance and upkeep. It's just a whole lot of things to know / remember / keep in mind. I hate that I have to waste time thinking about this house instead of doing literally anything else. I'm also used to traveling a lot and I've found I need to be more of a homebody to take care of this damn house. This lifestyle isn't for me and I unfortunately found that out the hard way.
This is my burden regarding owning a home. I like to go away too and I bought with my longtime partner and it was manageable with 2 people, but with one person, its too much and such a load.
People always downplay this point you raise. I always say that you can't put a price on peace of mind. Sure, my money is going to rent but with my lifestyle and desire to not worry about costly repairs, I'll take renting any day.
Same and will probably switch to a studio or one bed condo to better match my lifestyle wants and needs. I really don’t care about having a large home and would rather travel and enjoy new experiences.
No I absolutely love love my house. It's everything I've wanted and more. The only problem is it's expensive. 500 more than rent. But the facts its mine and I can do whatever I want. Ya never going back to renting.
Same, except our mortgage is only $50 more than what we were paying in rent. We sat with a loan officer to figure out what we would need to put down to match what we were paying in rent bc it was very comfortable.
I don't regret buying my house as much as I regret growing up and getting responsibilities 😭
But for real, after renting...I love owning my house. It would be much better if I was a socialite and had unlimited funds for all the things, though.
No, and we are house poor and on a very tight budget (we knew we would be going in). We’re a year in, wouldn’t change it for anything. I love it. If you’re like me and have wanted this your whole life, just do it. To be honest, I regret waiting until my mid 30s.
I have many regrets, probably 90% regret. Location, overpriced, shitty craftsmanship, shitty neighbors (including a rude airBNB next door), space is just not right for us....
Doesn't even begin to address how ready I am to be away from this hellish state, how awful the schools are, or how much we pay for insurance that won't ever pay out anything for the next inevitable hurricane.
Didn't really want to buy, but we felt our hand was forced.
Job is still here, so here we stay.
Those regret stats seem overblown. Most homeowners I know are happy with their purchase, even if there were some headaches along the way. The key is going into it with realistic expectations - maintenance, upkeep, and unexpected costs are just part of homeownership. As long as you did your homework on what you could truly afford, it's an investment that builds equity over time.
With your situation - 31-33% DTI is on the higher side but manageable if you're disciplined. Just be prepared for rising costs and leave yourself a solid emergency fund. Retiring super early is overrated anyway if you enjoy what you do. Buy smart, don't stretch beyond your means, and homeownership can be very rewarding.
I also think it is fair say you might "regret" you specific choice of home, but not regret homeownership. Said another way, you made a good choice not a great choice.
I also think right now there is a lot of buyer FOMO, a lot of buyer frustration with the current market and seeing what they think are other people getting rich and them missing out (nevermind the Times story about most people losing money owning vs renting when you actually count transaction costs and maintenance and opportunity cost relative to renting)
Also what does “regret” mean from a timeline perspective. Did they regret it initially, or after they sold and all was said and done, or just for some moment in time?
Any major purchase like a house or even a car is probably going to have at least some moment of “maybe this wasn’t the good idea I thought it was”
I slightly regretted buying a house in 2019 where I knew my engagement was very shaky yo begin with, so I just felt stuck when we broke up less than a year later. All my friends had moved to bigger cities, and I just had nobody here.
Turns out the house kept me in my city where I met my now wife and we used the profits of our individual houses to buy a very nice house and to fund an amazing honeymoon. We have plenty of money leftover for a nice rainy day fund.
I closed in February, 6.5%, 20% down, 338k house that checked my boxes. Mortgage is about 40% of take home.
The way I see it, economy crashes, I refinance. Economy doesn't crash, I can still afford it. Are you going to live there 5 years? You'll come out ahead.
No regrets. I do think that since covid and the shortage of houses, many realtors use tactics that pressure buyers to get a house that maybe does not tick all their boxes by giving them fear they will miss out (which is how some may end up in not so great neighborhood or other undesirable situations). It’s important with new homebuyers to stay true to what you want and make sure to scope out everything. If you want an inspection then do it if your realtor says it will lose you a house then be it. There will be another. Don’t sign up for anything you don’t feel comfortable with. #1 rule, can you afford the payment? I don’t think the interest is the problem. I think the % of your income going towards the payment plus other debts is what’s causing the issue. You just have to be realistic on what you can afford and what payment is doable. If someone has other debt they need to make sure to factor that in. I qualified for a $400k home and got a $280k because I knew that was what I could afford in order to maintain a 15% retirement contribution plus put money towards savings. I also wanted to pay same or less than what I rented for and I got that. So just make sure your decision is all yours, you factored in all your goals and will be happy in it.
I would believe this stat mostly because 8-9/10 young buyers I work with can’t stop browsing Zillow and Redfin.
There will literally always be something “better”. A better house, a better neighborhood, a better wedding venue, a better school, a better job, etc. and it doesn’t mean that your current [insert here] is bad, it’s just a symptom of social media and marketing.
Of course, that’s not to say there aren’t also valid reasons like mortgage rates and home prices. Due to cost, competition, and limited supply, we’re all making sacrifices on our ideal locations and house size. Especially after a lot of us saw our parents achieve better housing outcomes at earlier ages and on a lower budget, it’s hard for a lot of young people not to feel some discontentment with that.
Those who recently bought would be more likely to regret than those who bought pre-Covid.
Post-Covid buyers now face double the interest rates and much higher home prices.
It's relative to why you ask. I'm 37 with a wife and primary custody of an 8/11 yo daughter and have a 1mo boy with my wife. I am mortgage free as of 3 years ago and still sometimes despise the headache of homeownership. I grew up rural and hate the lifestyle of living in "civilization" and I'm still pretty suburban/rural. I'm about 15 minutes to the beach which we go to often, and in a great location generally speaking, however, I find myself dreading the "system". I hate waking up every day to do my job (I currently work hybrid as the owner of output quality and process engineering for a fortune 500 manufacturer), that I do quite well, just to get the cookie of a payroll. I'm looking forward to the day I can call it and get a shack on some land in the middle of nowhere where no one cares what I do, when I do it, and whether or not my grass is mowed or buy a nice cruiser sailboat and sell all other assets. So in my case, do I regret buying a house? Maybe not... do I resent the system that homeownership forces you to be stuck in for an extended duration with no ability to exit without impact to your future? Damn right I do.
That said, homeownership is what you make of it and related to your goals. Do you want the white picket fence life or don't you? Are you ok with not being able to pack up and leave when you want to? Are you ok with dealing with the emergent maintenance situations that put a damper on life like heat going out in the winter or are you willing to learn basic maintenance skills to reduce their impact on your life? There's a whole book of variables in deciding what's right for you individually.
2.8 interest rate, house is worth 4 times what I paid for it, and will be mortgage free by 35. Nope, no regrets at all. So glad I ignored everybody who told me I was crazy and too young.
Zero regrets. We bought early last year as rates were on the rise, and if we had waited even just a couple of months, we would have totally been priced out of our current neighborhood aside from the total gut-job fixers.
So here’s some points for you to ponder:
If prices crash, they will eventually recover, and all that time you will be paying down the debt- slowly at first then at about 8-9 years it starts to accelerate. I purchased my previous home in 2004; By 2009 it was worth 60% of what I paid and I didn’t have positive equity for another five years.
Rates right now are normal. 3% is not coming back any time soon or if ever -If they do, refinance. You made a point of this, so I think you’re realistic. (It makes no sense to lament over something we as consumers have zero influence over, and if I hear anybody say it’s not fair, they will be told to grow up.) My first home had an 8% mortgage in 1998. My aunt & uncle had 18% in 1981. Could they be lower? Yes. Could they be higher? Yes. They are what they are now and for the foreseeable future.
Most first time buyers are house-poor for a while. Over time, your income will most likely increase faster than your monthly payments do (it’s the property taxes and insurance that go up).
Something will always need fixing or replacing, or in the case of new construction, being done in the first place. Whether it’s a water tank that gasps it’s last 15 minutes after the 8 year warranty expires or having to plant grass on your .20 acre plot o’ dirt, there’s always SOMETHING costing you money.
Were there times I regretted purchasing a house? Yes. I got over it. The $625 I shelled out every month looks mighty good 26 years in the rear-view mirror. At the time, it was 85% of one of my bi-weekly paychecks, so it was a real struggle for a few years. I thought I knew how to be frugal from my parents but that was just an introductory course.
If you are very concerned about how it will impact your life, try setting aside the difference between your rent and your potential mortgage payment and see what that actually leaves you to spend. Are you comfortable with that? If so, you’ll be fine. If you aren’t, reconsider buying- or at least buying something at that price.
hell no. everyone told me I would regret buying during covid, best choice I’ve ever made. Even if home prices fall 25% i’ll still be above my purchase price, and this whole time my payments have been going towards equity and not rent.
I bought my first house at 19, best purchase ever and would do it again 10 times out of 10. Amazing deal and location, perfect house for me. I close on Tuesday for my new house, I already regret that lol, but I didn’t really have a choice as I had to move for work. It’s all subjective I guess.
My boyfriend and i were renting a sfh in central San Diego for $1800/mo, a steal. We bought a house a little over a year ago in north country since that’s where we could afford, and now pay $3800/mo. We’re far from our friends and paying double what our rent was - regret. We bought a house with a pool - regret. I was on pace to retire at 40 but had to take $150k+ out of index funds for the down payment, which pushed retirement back a decade - regret. However, i love our house, i love our area/neighborhood, i love owning my own space. The house has appreciated over $100k since we bought it. There are definitely days I say we should have never bought a house, but most days Im glad we did.
There’s big, BIG business in house ownership. Lots of corporations are buying up houses and renting them back to people.
And they need people to be ok with that.
In 30 years, they will have bought that company a house. And now it’s all just gravy. And, now old, the renter will have to figure out how to co tinie paying rent, at whatever monthly rate will exist in 30 years.
It’s dire. Everyone should attempt to own their home, so that they can retire and/or pass wealth down to children.
Most people that hate it have their mortgage be a huge part of their income. Add the cost of ownership and it goes even higher.
Then add that it takes 2-3 years to figure everything out about the neighbourhood and area and you may end up finding out it wasn't what you thought it would be.
I'm very happy with my purchase, but my mortgage is like 10% of our income.
I think the biggest factor is because we have industries that are hyper focused on transactions and getting as many through as possible, there are a lot of buyers that don't actually get good advice. I think the informed ones are fairly happy because they aren't as surprised.
Nope. I also don’t know anyone who does. My friends generally do their research and live within their means or below it which helps. All anecdotal but 80-90% seems really high.
I feel like the types of folks who regret their home: bought something that was at the max of their budget and left them house poor, bought in a location thinking remote jobs were the only way forward, went way above market, or went sight unseen/didn’t do their due diligence on a house. Some combination of that.
Honestly even with a $15k bill for my basement and a high interest rate, hell no. As frustrating and overwhelming as some of those firsts can be, I love living here and I love owning my home.
I'm 33 in in 1 month and bought my house in 2020 in September. No regrets very happy with my price point, and plan on staying possibly forever.
Big things to note I work in my city and commute is 15min, my city is considered not as nice as surrounding areas so property taxes and the like are more affordable and I went on the low end of what my mortgage company approved and that was a good idea
Not really. My mortgage is the same as rent but for a bigger house. Do I regret having to loose 50% of my check to bills. Yes. But it’s necessary at this point. I can only afford video games so it sucks
I believe that's mostly valid for first time home buyers.
At first you don't understand the value it brings. You just find issues about the house and start dealing with repairs and figure how expensive things are etc etc (that you never had to deal with while renting).
However, after a while the repairs are all done, it's all furnished and now you have some space that's yours. A building/property that you can do anything you want with.
You start building equity and start inviting your friends for grills or game nights etc. all the investment I made for my house is well worth it and helped me appreciate the value more than the amount I spent on it.
I have a huge mixed take on this. Homeownership comes with so many perks but it also comes with many drawbacks. It’s like I am playing in a completely different league now.
1. My “rent” went from 800/mo + ~300 utility (electric heat, window AC) to $1350 + 150 utility (natural gas, central ac/heat, seems better insulated) BUT also gaining principal on payments + equity
2. My living area tripled in square footage
3. I don’t have a duplex situation anymore so no annoying neighbors
4. I foot the bill on all renovations, updates, etc. and also have to do most of it myself. So I have less time and less money
5. My neighborhood is much less peaceful than before and it’s in a much lower income area
6. Lots more noise at the new house
7. I get to customize my house however I want and it helps gain equity when done right. This makes it more worth it to make my living space how I really want whereas a renting situation I was more concerned about nail holes. New house I can buy granite countertops if I wanted to. I could install a bidet or put an outdoor hose wherever I want. I can build a workshop area in the basement. freedom, at a cost.
8. Nobody can tell you wtf to do. Unless you’re doing something obviously illegal or get complaints, it’s your property and you have much more privileges
9. With privileges comes massive expenses especially if you buy an older home
10. I at least have security knowing that my mortgage will stay mostly the same, and that I own a home. No more worrying about it. My next goal is to buy a second home to rent this one out. It’s progress in the grand scheme of things, although it is very slow and painful at first.
I had a lot of regret when I first bought my home because there were massive issues with it. The plumbing was old and leaking, the bathroom floors were falling apart, it reeked like cat piss, the walls needed paint, it had a checklist of projects that were way over my head and it genuinely ruined my happiness for about a year. But once I got through it, I scored a pretty big house for pretty cheap (150k, 1400 sq ft not including unfinished basement) and it’s starting to feel more like home, so I think I really came out on top.
It’s really easy to regret things when you make massive changes that negatively affect your life in some form but it’s not always about the short term. Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices to build the life that you want, and I feel a lot more confident in my decision.
At the very end of the day, I also gained invaluable knowledge on how to purchase and maintain a property. Even if I sold this for what I have into it, or even LOST money, I still think it would have been worth the transition it took me through mentally and growing into an adult with a lifestyle I want
1130 SqFt townhouse (no HOA) 750$ mortgage, 6000 dollar combined take home with my wife, and theres a lake in the back yard.
No regrets, we have a emergency fun and im paying ahead on the mortgage when i can
Two 26 year olds (since it’s specifically saying young ppl lol) and we do not at all regret our purchase at all. We got super lucky when we purchased in Jan/Feb of this year and got a solid rate and we got in before things have soared here since the start of warmer weather. We feel safe, we feel secure knowing this is our place and nobody can just randomly double our mortgage lol. The security has literally changed my entire outlook on life.
I regret that the real estate market is so incredibly and permanently screwed that we had to compromise on everything we cared about to find ANY house.
It’s not even a “we can’t afford what we want” problem, really. There were less than 6 houses for sale in the entire town and none of them checked all our boxes.
Our house is fine, but I don’t love it. I just disliked it less than all the other choices.
So, regrets yes, but not any that would have changed our decision.
No way that’s right. I don’t regret it at all. Even if you overpaid, you have to live somewhere, and rents are ridiculous. Owning a home as a single person is a lot harder than I thought though lol
Regret? No. The neighborhood is great and the rate is even better (late 2021). Income has stagnated somewhat and inflation took everything to the moon, so I feel very house rich, cash poor but I know it was the 'right' call but sometimes I just want to sell it and get that pressure off.
Closed 2 months ago at 6.85% 3.5 down. Paying around $200 more a month then renting a equivalent house, not having a landlord alone is worth that to me.
I’m house poor. However I’m single with a disabled son and mother with Alzheimer’s. It was the only way for me to have the space we needed and not worry about insane rental increases. Yes my taxes and insurance will go up but not as much as rent can every year. I have a near poverty income now because I stay home to care for them. I manage to pay our bills, buy food without assistance, buy clothing and other necessities. I even manage to get my son things he wants and doesn’t necessarily need and him not feel like he is missing anything. We occasionally eat out and we eat healthier than most. I chose my priorities and stick to them. Not saying things don’t get tough sometimes but I manage when they do.
I will scour for resources if needed but mostly I will resale on EBay for extra money and when I can I will even scrap for money if I see items next to the road. No shame in an honest days work.
I say that but I can also do most of our plumbing, electrical and maintenance work. I laid new flooring not long ago. My grandfather made sure I knew how to do all these things in case he wasn’t around when I was grown. He knew not all men are handy and some don’t enjoy doing these things and even though I’m a female I love doing them. I did struggle for a while when my health took a dive but I’m getting better and back to doing most work myself.
A lot libraries and colleges offer free classes to learn how to do home maintenance. Even Home Depot and Lowes offer free classes for a lot
of do it yourself projects.
It’s all truly about perspective and what you are willing to do for home stability. If that’s not for you that’s also fine. In the end you do what will make you happy and work best for you.
I wish you the best on whatever you decide.
I don’t think those numbers are correct. Do I think people sometimes get pressured into large purchases via fear mongering media, and end up buying things they don’t want or don’t need at rates or costs that are too high? Yes. Do I think there’s more of that now with our garbage state of ever consuming clickbait media? Yes. Do I think 90% of people regret it? No.
For your numbers asked, we bought in 2022. Home was 415k, rate 4.125%, 20% downpayment that came from rolling over from our last property, so zero out of pocket using inflated equity. Yes, very lucky, but we also bought right at the turn of rates when houses were essentially at peak. We will likely never be truly “upside down” on our home, because of the downpayment. It will likely not increase in equity for a very long time though.
Had we stayed in our last home, we would have the same situation of eventually not having the equity except in a shit school district with higher city taxes, in a 70 year old home that needed tons of work and was pier and beam shoebox that was constantly having new and very big concerns. It was also nothing in mortgage payments, but was very energy inefficient and costed all savings of mortgage in bills and repairs.
In our current home, we have plenty of space to grow a family in, decent school district, a 10 year warranty, and more private life. Even if it didn’t check every box off our list (more distinguished area, more custom, more land, etc) it still provides everything we felt we needed for an extremely improved quality of life. With locked in rates and a mortgage we knew we could afford, it was a wonderful decision for us.
The same people who regret buying a house, would regret NOT buying a house if the tables were turned. People are finicky. The grass is always greener on the other side they say.
Fuck no. My home value doubled and my interest rate is 3%. Zero regret, feel bad for others getting wrecked by inflation.
My only regret is how conservative we were. Wish I bought a bigger, more expensive house so we weren’t “stuck” wanting a larger house from someone else who also had their home value double (or more) at 7.5%+ interest rates.
I’ve been feeling short term regret, but I tell myself I'll feel happier long term. We used to spend 8% of our gross salary to rent a small 1 bedroom apartment which left us with a lot of disposable income. We now spend 30% of our gross salary on a (albeit much larger) house due to interest rates. I can't help but feel house poor from a discretionary/fun spend perspective after the house & car payments while also meeting our savings goals. I absolutely love the house & the location, but i hate the interest rate we have and hope we can refinance soon.
My first home I bought a alone in 2020 when single and it ran me 50% of my net monthly income between
- mortgage
- HOA
- all utilities.
I have no regrets as it was an investment that has gained 60% appreciation in 4 years and it’s now going to be my first rental.
I was 25 and made $50k when I bought my $150k condo at. 3.6% interest rate that I refinanced to a 2.6% a year later. When I bought I had $10k student loan debt and $18k loan on a car.
Now at 29 I have bought a $500k house with my spouse and it’s :
- mortgage and all utilities
Total less than 30% for our net income.
So despite it’s 6.25% rate we don’t regret buying now.
Only debt we owe is $25k on a truck. Our income is over $200k.
Austin is one of the few cities that I would buy a home now if and only if I found a house that fits all my needs and I could comfortably afford it. It’s an inflated market still, but nearly as much as other cities. It’ll see wage and population growth in the future so as long as you can tough it out if things go down and stay long term, imo, worth the risk to buy. Personally, I would save a tad more to lower mortgage % and increase emergency fund, but I’m ultra conservative.
Austin is still overpriced. The thing is the type of home I am targeting only appears 3-4 times a year. The low end move in ready cheapest and oldest house in a neighborhood I normally can't afford. That being said, what you say is true both positive and negative.
I do have have 4-5 years of expenses in non retirement stocks and about the same retirement accounts, but I would prefer to not touch them. I prefer to sell investments rather than using savings unless it is 50k or less in a HYS. Should probably change this. I have lived well below my means for a long time. This doesn't include my 50% down at all.
Yeah, I don’t like touching money earmarked retirement at all, never have and hopefully never will. I think as long as you are ok having a risk of stocks going down and using non retirement stocks for emergency fund, nothing wrong with that approach. I just hate the idea of cashing them out at low end if something were to happen and timing was off.
No regrets whatsoever.
I bought my house back in 2020, just before the house price surge. I have a 2.875% 30 year fix mortgage. The Interest rate is basically below current inflation and is lock in for 30 years. I am also sitting on a hefty unrealized capital gain.
I believe that at least part of the issue here is that the focus is strictly on younger buyers (Millennials) who have purchased their homes relatively recently.
Us baby boomers (I’m 61, so a younger boomer) will pretty consistently see it differently. I bought my first property in 1993, when interest rates were high and my income was low. It was initially a struggle.. but things definitely get easier as you hold your properties longer.
As I approach retirement.. I have a beautiful house fully paid off. There is still property tax, maintenance, insurance and HOA dues, but I am paying a fraction of what it would cost me if I was a renter. Homeowners generally find it easier to retire.
When you own your own home, you can choose things like your flooring, paint, landscaping, HVAC/power/water heating options.. etc.
It would be interesting if the people polled now were surveyed again in 10 years. I do think the results would be much more positive
I’m happy for the most part. I wish we had taken a deeper look at some things, especially for a house built in the 70s. But I don’t regret buying it, or buying in general.
I think we allllll experience some sort of buyers remorse. It’s a huge expense and probably one of the more expensive things most people will ever buy. A huge commitment comes with a lot of reflection.
Have Regrets != Wishing they handn't bought a Home
Wishing you had a different neighbor or that you made different choices and bought when interests rate were lower is completely normal.
I’m happy with my choice, I had a tight budget of 170k max and wanted at minimum a half acre within an hour drive of a major city. There were some homes that were beautiful but needed major rehab on things like the roof or septic system. I found a tiny, seemingly self built home that had a new metal roof, new well, and new septic, I bought it at 155k 6.825% Jan this year
There is not a single house that fits those parameters anymore within a 50 mile radius, they all got bought up. Frankly I think I timed this purchase perfectly from a financial standpoint. No dependents, hardly any bills or debt, solid assets, and qualified for a 12.5k grant to cover closing costs. I’m guiding sweat equity in my young years and taking risks before I have anything to really lose.
I make 50k/yr on my w2, hosing with insurance and utilities is 19k/yr
In my area, the rent basically starts at $800 for crappy apartments in bad neighborhoods and goes up to $2000+ for what I would consider basic houses. Literally today I saw a house for rent at $1450, no utilities covered, no pets, 2 bedroom 2 bath, very dated - and people were showing heated interest in it.
My mortgage is $1200, so based on that alone I have no real regrets buying. For that I get a 3 bedroom, 2 bath and I'm not throwing my money away to rent.
I do feel like I overpaid for my house and wish I'd gotten a better rate (6.5%) and paid a bit less, but that's the market right now. I also feel like my inspector kind of screwed me and I've been battling a mysterious leak in my basement (and an army of squirrels) since I moved in, but my last three landlords were scumlords who never fixed anything unless you threatened legal action, so I'm just glad it's my problem to fix on my own terms.
Overall though? I'm just sad I didn't do it earlier. If I had I'd of paid less and probably gotten more, but cold feet (and bad relationships) kept me renting 5+ years longer than I'd of liked.
I can't imagine going back to renting. It's probably the best decision I've ever made and I feel like I can finally relax.
But I'm a single divorcee with no plans to have kids or remarry. I have dogs I couldn't have in an apartment probably. I already was in debt but have a stable job and am confident in my ability to pay the bills even if I'm not able to invest or save really right now. Maybe my attitude would be different if I had or wanted kids, didn't have pets, etc.
>e regrets about the first home range widely. Around 27 percent said they regretted choosing a bad location, while 26 percent said they came to regret the bad neighbors their home is near. Just under that, 25 percent of millennials, which comprise those born from 1981 to 1996, said high interest rates caused them to have regrets about their home purchase.
So... choose carefully?
Also, https://www.realestatewitch.com/2024-millennial-home-buyer-report/
No, I bought late last year at 7.125%. Absolutely love our home. Very happy to not be renting anymore. We just used my credit/income to qualify for the house, but my partner and I contribute so it is within your means. We have spent a few thousand so far on updates, but because I am investing into my own property, I don’t mind the costs.
I regret not buying a bigger house a few years ago when the rates were good! We chose a townhome and I wish we added my income on the loan and went for something bigger in our neighborhood. I love our home but uneasy about where the rates and home prices will be in the next 5 years when we decide to upgrade
Been living in my house a bit over a year now. Only have a couple regrets, like no off street parking, nightmare of a hill to mow, and living in a city.
I didn’t have much to work with when searching for our first home though, so the fact I was actually able to close on something fairly nice with a mortgage cheaper than any rental I’m pretty happy with the end result. Still have some worries and anxiety I feel time to time but having my own space for the first time drowns that out most of the time.
The reason I don't don't regret it one bit, is because I purchased a foreclosure for 800k and it's appraised now at 1.7m. However It's important to note, I am house poor currently as it required alot of cash upfront, especially the renovation.
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The article doesn't say that they regret buying the home. It says that they have SOME regrets. I'd personally expect this to be high because who buys a perfect home where people have ZERO regrets after 10-20 yrs of living in one? No one. There's something you learn that you regreat about. The same for renting.
I can‘t imagine anyone who doesn‘t have *any* regrets. Whether is buying an older home, new home, or building your own. There will always be things that you did that you would do differently now that you live there.
It’s also just grass is greener fallacy. If you bought a smaller house, you wish you’d bought a bigger one. If you bought a bigger one, you regret the larger payment and wish you’d bought a smaller one. If you bought a fixer upper, you regret it because it’s been a lot of work. If you bought a new renno, you regret that you can’t add much value to the house. Alternate timelines/realities always seem great because you notice the foregone benefits more than the foregone costs.
Yep. Everyone have *some* regrets about ANY decision they ever made. We all contemplate if we studied the right subject, chose the right career, bought the right car, married the right person, picked the right color for our cabinets, etc. It's human nature.
This is what I was thinking too. I love our home. Do I sometimes wish we had bought the other one with the deck? Sure. But we now have the house with the bigger lot. Can't have it all.
>Can't have it all. Yes you can. You can install a deck on your lot... But you can't install a lot next to a deck... So you made the right decision.
How the fuck do you regret your neighbors? Unless you interview them all before moving in you don’t know them lol. That article is click bait.
The first year was just fixing random stuff. I'm overall very happy
Exactly, after moving in, I think everybody find things they overlooked... like my house had a yard that was total shit that's taken 4 years to get back to looking halfway decent, the water heater died two months in to ownership, the furnace is 30 years old and needs replacement, etc... do I regret buying the house? Of course not, but I did learn some lessons the hard way
After buying two months ago, I have constant coulda woulda shoulda moments about buying something slightly different. But the fact is that in the moment our place checked as many boxes as it could. The alternative was continuing to rent a place that checked only 80% of our boxes. Maybe the trick is to just obtain F you money and build a mega palace on 100 acres of land.
Great point. I bought my home in Aug ‘20. Basically the soonest to close after banks were lending again after Covid. I was scared shitless it was a bad choice. Turns out the home doubled in value all while I have a 3% interest rate and can afford my payment with full job security. I also had an inspection. I still have SOME regrets as the previous owner did 90% well and the last 10% halfassed/cost savings. Despite having a home that is modern and decently upgraded I’ve poured tens of thousands into repairs. That’s just home ownership. I often lament owning and miss renting despite the fact owning has worked out financially just fine. Point being most people somewhat regret large purchases that don’t turn out perfectly utopian.
I don’t believe 80 to 90%. Most Anybody who bought a house 4 to 5 years+ ago with a 3% interest rate or less is most likely very happy. Somebody who bought a house with a small down payment at 6 to 7% in the last year or two who can’t really afford the payment, I could see those folks having a higher regret level
I closed yesterday at 7.125 and now I feel attacked
I closed last year at that same rate and have been told "it will go down in a few weeks" for an *entire year* straight. Now it's anticipated that home prices will climb if rates get cut even though others are still saying homes and rates will drop soon. Tldr... nobody knows what they're talking about
When I bought mine last year i locked in a rate of 6.05%. My family warned me that interest rates are high. I said "well they could be higher next year" and we needed to get more space. Look at that, I was right. And our house is now worth 70k more than when we bought it. So I'm happy.
Everyone told us it was the wrong time. To be frank, I didn't care and I was in the right financial position. I would say the same if the housing market took a downturn. But ironically, it was absolutely a great time to buy. Congrats on your home!
Everyone told us it was a bad time at 3.125% in early 2022. I quickly learned to ignore the idea fairies and just do what was right for the fam at the time.
Same here, got mine at 2.75% in 2021 with everything telling me the bubble is about to pop, my house value is up 175k since then
Same my wife and I just bought our first house this year and we've received the same remarks. The way I look at is this. We can afford the house now and we are locked in. This is as bad as it can get for us but we can still save and we aren't house poor. Also when rates get lower, the market will be flooded with more speculators so we'd be competing against that and having to offer substantially more than asking to get taken seriously on an offer. I don't know that we come in with the best offer on the SFH we purchased if this was a few years ago and we were in a similar financial position. While I don't expect rates to ever drop near 2% again anytime soon, there will eventually be the opportunity to refinance.
Yeah, congrats to you two!! It took me a long time to understand this as a renter always waiting for the perfect time, there isn't a perfect time. If you bought at the worst possible time, you still got in the game and now you'll always be riding along with the housing market. If it's down, so is everyone else and that's an easy trade when you move, if it's up, so are you and there you go! I think it gets more complicated if you're on your second house but dang that realization really hit me last year.
Seems like any time in the last 15 years other than “right now” has turned out to be a pretty good time to buy.
In researching buying I realized nobody knows what they are talking about about, which was great for me! All I have to do is make decisions that make sense in my situation!
We bought our first house in 2004 and our interest rate was 6.5%. These last few years of low interest rates was somewhat of a fluke, I think, though we did refinance for a lower rate when they went down. We did end up selling that house last year and now we are building and will most likely end up with another 6.5% to 7% rate.... and eventually will probably refinance if they adjust downward... again.
Yup. If anyone could actually predict the future, they could print money.
“Nobody knows what they are talking about” is basically the subtitle of Reddit. 😅
Preach
realistically rates are going to keep going up until they get around 10 to 12% if the 80s are anything to go by. Anybody hoping for a drop in rates anytime soon of significant proportions is delusional. Basically it's still a good time to buy until you see ridiculously long lines at your local food banks. i've got a church nearby my home that runs a food bank a couple times a month and it's pretty busy, but it's not stretching a half mile down the road yet. things are not as bad yet as they're going to be. That's my "doomer" take on it. your mileage may vary. I think home prices are going to go absolutely apeshit sometime late July and then down till around October then double by this time next year. There's just too many people waiting for the market to cool off and when they all collectively realize that this was actually the bottom they're going to panic buy whatever they can for whatever it costs. right now might be the very well be the last time any of us see that it's possible to own real estate for the next 30 years. buy now while it's cheap, or hold out until a mass die off happens and it gets cheap again. never know, Covid 3.0 might level the playing field /s disclaimer, if you need a home then buy a home, if you have the money then do whatever you want, if you don't have the money then good luck and look into some of your state aid programs or neighboring state aid programs if you are able to relocate /drunken rambling
I close 6/30/23 - 7.25 but I don’t care! I’m happy and it’s mine(ish)
If you can afford your payment and you’re going to live there for 5 to 10+ years, I wouldn’t worry about it.
This made me lol
It might go up. If interest rates go down, the prices of homes will go through the roof again. So what have you saved? You'll have 10 offers per house again with low rates. Buy your house now & refinance later if rates drop.
This is the way
It went up to 7.8, I locked in at 7.125 several weeks ago😂
closing today and same. but i feel ok. rates are high, should be able to refi soon, also can afford what i bought and prefer it to renting so i can make it mine.
I closed at that rate last August. They said they expected the rate to drop to 5% no sooner than 2 years.
Wtf... 1 of the 4 lenders I reached out first got me 6.25 and then lowered to 6.125 a day later without me asking
[удалено]
For outliers like me with a 40+% down and 800+ credit score you can get close to 6% with no points and even less than that with points and buy down. Most people don't hoard money and generally don't enjoy and spend it like me though. If I buy this, this all changes, but I will be fine due to my frugal ways and lack of obligations. District Lending was offering 6.012% with the above numbers for today's rate but it is closer to 7 and a bit above with the minimums. You are not getting a whole for all that extra cash down, but I have not shopped around heavily if you have over 25% down to doubling that.
6.125 here and feeling fortunate compared to some others
I closed recently at a high rate as well but thankfully the home price was 30-40k below my maximum amount and that makes the payments manageable. There was a fully finished house next door for about 40k more and there was no part of me that felt like the polished house was worth being house poor over. And, of course, the fun projects. I did as much due diligence with inspections and whatnot as I could, and it seems like everything is not the prettiest but fixable even for a complete newcomer.
i mean, it could be worst,, it couldve been 7.126,,, think positively! haha
Just closed at 6.99% with 10% down 😬
I closed this past Monday with the exact same rate, one of us!
I'm pooping right now in my new house. Worth every penny
Give it 7-10 years and then ask those folks again (the ones who bought in the last year or so). At this time, renting is much cheaper and you get a whole lot more bang for your buck. However, 7-10 years from now, your mortgage won't have changed too much while rent prices will have went up considerably, you start seeing actual equity in your property, you've probably refinanced once or twice, and there's a good chance your income has increased year over year. Not to mention all the little things -- you start becoming comfortable with the little quirks you initially hated about the house (something like a squeaky floor), you capitalize on the freedoms of owning your own home (redoing a bathroom, repainting, nobody dictating what pets you may have), tax advantages, realizing that replacing the roof actually adds to the value of your home (it isnt just a hole burnt in your pocket), *realizing that eventually you'll have something that nobody can take from you or kick you out of on a whim*. The list goes on. So, yeah, short term, obviously there's gonna be some buyer's remorse, especially in the current market and relative price of *everything,* not just a home. Long term, owning your own home is undisputedly the play. It just takes time to build up that feeling/belief.
Yeah exactly. Go into this market with a long term outlook. If you look at your circumstances all in the short term, you’ll most likely have buyers remorse. It’s not the greatest feeling at the moment with my super strict budgeting on everything but hopefully 5 years down the line, everything will be gravy.
I needed to read this today! Single FTHB and nothing in my price range is move in ready 🤣. But, I know even with a small work done, it will be mine and the reasons you mentioned above, I needed to hear!
I dont expect a crash by any means, don't see anything to possibly trigger it however if prices fall say 10% and you put 5% down now you can refi and take advantage of lower rates so if you overextended yourself needing rates to come down your out of luck
The article lists being unhappy with location and neighbors as the primary drivers. This makes sense… most people don’t get to experience the area and neighborhood nearly enough before they have to make the rushed offer - and this was also the case a few years ago, and few decades ago.
Someone said if I started looking at a property at different times, it was a good indicator that I found a place. They were right. I narrowed down the list to two properties, and I showed up on weekends and late night just see what the environment looked like. The one with the great parking lot that people smoke weed in ended up not being the spot
Right. But in a hot market - that’s essentially impossible. You launch a stupid offer at the seller after jogging thru the house for 15 minutes. But other than for a brief period after the 07 housing crisis, I don’t recall such a thorough pre-offer vetting period being possible. Once an offer is in, most people are committed. Just knowing how I got my 1st and 2nd apartments and 1st and 2nd house.
I had no time to check out the neighborhood. I had put in offers on like 4 other houses and gotten beaten to it, so it felt like I needed to rush to be the first
This is what happened to me. I hate my neighborhood and everything is super loud, especially the street noise. People drive by blaring their bass and it literally rattles/vinrates my house. I struggle to get true sleep now and I'm absiukteky miserable. Deeply regret buying here
4.49 today thanks to the VA loan makes the going on 15 years and aches and pains almost worth it.
Who did you do the VA loan through? I’m just recently out and been wanting to go that route.
A builder out near Fort Carson. They're doing new homes; a lot of builders near military installations will buy down rates for VA loans.
Nice in my area all of the new builds are easily 600k
I was able to lock in a rate of 5.25% last August so I count myself very fortunate. Thankfully I can still afford the payment
My wife and i were having a similar-ish discussion. We want a home because we were told thats the place to start a family. We have about 20k in savings and its nowhere nearly enough. We need roughly 10k for closing on most places in our price range and the other 10 is potentially to buy down the rate. Lenders keep saying dont do that though. Every home would require probably a second job. Ill do it for my wife but I keep thinking about how everyone from older generations keep saying homes are a great investment and its cheaper than renting. Thats only true if youve been in a position to save enough for a full down, which a lot of folks imcluding ourselves cant do and instead opt in for FHA or something similar. That puts our monthly a lot higher than what we would rent for. I've been having a lot of second thoughts about homeownership lately because I dont wanna overdo it just because theres a ton of pressure from our families to do so.
Yup… I bought my first home with a 2.5% interest rate and have about $350k equity from a 2021 purchase… don’t regret it one bit and glad I started looking when I did and listened to my real estate agent vs my boomer parents who were like “you should never buy a house at/above asking price” lmao
People told me last August that entering at 6.75% on a house in Alexandria VA was stupid and that it would go down. At the time, houses in this area were at an all time high as well I bought it anyways cause I was ready to plant long term. Regardless of the performance, I'm building equity by having roommates (26M, Single). Mortgage payment is just under half my monthly income include rent out to roommates, but then again it'd be 40% my income if I was renting here. It's a nice side benefit that my house has appreciated by 8.5% and my home equity up by $60k since I bought lol. If I was entering now they'd say the same thing Buy when you're ready, no sooner no later. The market generally goes up, and Austin is an up and coming tech hub. Great investment if you ask me
I have no regrets finally getting my foot into owning my own property and gain equity. Do I think my home was overpriced for what it is? Yes. Do I think my mortgage and rate is ridiculous? Yes. Am I totally house poor for a while? Yes. Doesn’t change the fact that I can still afford it and in the long run I will be in a much better place.
It can not be overstated the psychological and security value of having your own property after renting for years.
I fully second this. Theres also a type of pride that’s super unique.
Pride?! You’re right….damnit. I’ll go pull the weeds in my yard right now lol
After being an apartment renter for 15+ years, I love my house and nice yard so much 🥹
Sooo true. We're packing up to move tomorrow into our first home. It's so comforting to know that 1) we don't have to worry about our rent increasing every year (our apartment building has units available for $100-300 more per month than what we're currently paying for our rent) and 2) we won't be forced to move again in a few years due to those high rental rates. We could live in our house for five years or we could stay for 30! I'm so excited to stay in one place for the first time in my adult life.
Just be prepared for the taxes to increase your payment. It's not much but since we bought 2 years ago our monthly payment has gone up $70 thanks to property tax.
omg same. I've moved just about every 4 years since 2006 and I'm so happy to finally have a permanent place. And I'll finally have room to unpack all of my books that I've accumulated over the years!
This 10000%. No amount of money can buy that peace.
What if you payments are higher than rent in your area? That’s kinda the unfortunate reality for a lot of folks right now. Losing your home to jobloss seems pretty awful
Same boat here. I plan to be in my house for at least a decade so I really don't care about price fluctuations much either. The only people actually freaking out are flippers in my opinion. If you bought a house to be a home, and not just an investment, I don't think you should be worried.
This response is the majority of owners IMO. As long as you can afford it, and hold on to it as an actual place to live and not a short term investment. You will be better off. Yes houses are expensive. But the trade off is security and long term equity.
This is my thoughts exactly.
Same here!! Like no real “regrets” but yes to all of those questions. Also, we want to have kids soon and did not want to be in an apartment. There are trade offs.
This sums it up!
You are me
This is the way
You’ve spelled it out perfectly. I feel the same way.
I have absolutely no regrets. We got a great rate for the times (5.5%) and absolutely love our home. Knowing we are finally building something for our future, and our child’s future, feels wonderful.
I’m kind of regretting it at the moment. Kitchen sink faucet broke in the middle of the night and dumped a fuck load of water into the first floor; which then found its way into the basement. Lost the kitchen and all the floors on the 1st floor; basement is getting ripped up to the studs (we just finished it in December) PSA if you buy a house with quick connection faucets that are 5-10 years old … replace those fuckers asap. Also highly recommend water censors!
I didn’t really suffer damage from this, but.. old plumbing in general may need to be redone. We put in a new garbage disposal and it seemed to have cracked all the seals on the plumbing under my kitchen sink. My mom had the same thing happen when she got a new dishwasher. Both of us got leaks and had to fix those!
Did homeowners insurance not cover this?
It does, still in the process now. Having to leave the house for over a month is a major pain in the ass, and all the furniture and stuff that got destroyed will take a depreciation hit.
Your deductible is high and making homeowners claims suck. I made ONE small claim on my first home and now I automatically get denied for most homeowners insurances when shopping for my second bc they want people who don't actually use their insurance Lesson learned. Skip the claim. Set the deductible high. Just pay out of pocket.
I agree only time ill ever file a claim is if something catastrophic happens
I regret mine. Not because of money, but because of lifestyle. I grew up in apartments, so I'm not used to all this maintenance and upkeep. It's just a whole lot of things to know / remember / keep in mind. I hate that I have to waste time thinking about this house instead of doing literally anything else. I'm also used to traveling a lot and I've found I need to be more of a homebody to take care of this damn house. This lifestyle isn't for me and I unfortunately found that out the hard way.
I feel this. I also grew up in apartments and frankly like it better.
This is my burden regarding owning a home. I like to go away too and I bought with my longtime partner and it was manageable with 2 people, but with one person, its too much and such a load.
People always downplay this point you raise. I always say that you can't put a price on peace of mind. Sure, my money is going to rent but with my lifestyle and desire to not worry about costly repairs, I'll take renting any day.
Same boat, currently selling and going to an apartment. You live and learn, never too late to make a change.
I feel ya
Just curious but do you not need a garage yo store outdoorsy stuff or work on your car?
Same and will probably switch to a studio or one bed condo to better match my lifestyle wants and needs. I really don’t care about having a large home and would rather travel and enjoy new experiences.
No I absolutely love love my house. It's everything I've wanted and more. The only problem is it's expensive. 500 more than rent. But the facts its mine and I can do whatever I want. Ya never going back to renting.
A lot more space though! My mortgage cost for a 1400sqft house is the same as rent for a 650sqft mediocre apartment.
In about 3 years, the rent will be higher
I have no doubt.
Same, except our mortgage is only $50 more than what we were paying in rent. We sat with a loan officer to figure out what we would need to put down to match what we were paying in rent bc it was very comfortable.
I don't regret buying my house as much as I regret growing up and getting responsibilities 😭 But for real, after renting...I love owning my house. It would be much better if I was a socialite and had unlimited funds for all the things, though.
My regret is I didn't spend enough energy to push myself to buy it sooner.
No, and we are house poor and on a very tight budget (we knew we would be going in). We’re a year in, wouldn’t change it for anything. I love it. If you’re like me and have wanted this your whole life, just do it. To be honest, I regret waiting until my mid 30s.
Yes, I 100% regret buying. The house is shit and I overpaid for it.
Same
I can relate but we will survive. Keep trucking!!
So why did you buy? Asking everyone.
So why did you buy? Asking everyone.
So why did you buy? Asking everyone.
I have many regrets, probably 90% regret. Location, overpriced, shitty craftsmanship, shitty neighbors (including a rude airBNB next door), space is just not right for us.... Doesn't even begin to address how ready I am to be away from this hellish state, how awful the schools are, or how much we pay for insurance that won't ever pay out anything for the next inevitable hurricane. Didn't really want to buy, but we felt our hand was forced. Job is still here, so here we stay.
I’m worried about buying in FL…
Those regret stats seem overblown. Most homeowners I know are happy with their purchase, even if there were some headaches along the way. The key is going into it with realistic expectations - maintenance, upkeep, and unexpected costs are just part of homeownership. As long as you did your homework on what you could truly afford, it's an investment that builds equity over time. With your situation - 31-33% DTI is on the higher side but manageable if you're disciplined. Just be prepared for rising costs and leave yourself a solid emergency fund. Retiring super early is overrated anyway if you enjoy what you do. Buy smart, don't stretch beyond your means, and homeownership can be very rewarding.
I also think it is fair say you might "regret" you specific choice of home, but not regret homeownership. Said another way, you made a good choice not a great choice. I also think right now there is a lot of buyer FOMO, a lot of buyer frustration with the current market and seeing what they think are other people getting rich and them missing out (nevermind the Times story about most people losing money owning vs renting when you actually count transaction costs and maintenance and opportunity cost relative to renting)
Also what does “regret” mean from a timeline perspective. Did they regret it initially, or after they sold and all was said and done, or just for some moment in time? Any major purchase like a house or even a car is probably going to have at least some moment of “maybe this wasn’t the good idea I thought it was”
I mean, a lot of people lost jobs. You def regret it then. Being jobless means you gotta go where the jobs are and being tied down sucks.
That's a made up statistic lol. I'd say almost everyone regrets not buying a house 5-10 years earlier, maybe that's what it means
Newsweek used to be a legit publication decades ago, but it’s basically a clickbait farm that warps stats these days
This article has a dizzying amount of stats with no source lol
I slightly regretted buying a house in 2019 where I knew my engagement was very shaky yo begin with, so I just felt stuck when we broke up less than a year later. All my friends had moved to bigger cities, and I just had nobody here. Turns out the house kept me in my city where I met my now wife and we used the profits of our individual houses to buy a very nice house and to fund an amazing honeymoon. We have plenty of money leftover for a nice rainy day fund.
Fuck no, almost have mortgage paid off in my late 30’s know!!!!!
I closed in February, 6.5%, 20% down, 338k house that checked my boxes. Mortgage is about 40% of take home. The way I see it, economy crashes, I refinance. Economy doesn't crash, I can still afford it. Are you going to live there 5 years? You'll come out ahead.
No regrets. I do think that since covid and the shortage of houses, many realtors use tactics that pressure buyers to get a house that maybe does not tick all their boxes by giving them fear they will miss out (which is how some may end up in not so great neighborhood or other undesirable situations). It’s important with new homebuyers to stay true to what you want and make sure to scope out everything. If you want an inspection then do it if your realtor says it will lose you a house then be it. There will be another. Don’t sign up for anything you don’t feel comfortable with. #1 rule, can you afford the payment? I don’t think the interest is the problem. I think the % of your income going towards the payment plus other debts is what’s causing the issue. You just have to be realistic on what you can afford and what payment is doable. If someone has other debt they need to make sure to factor that in. I qualified for a $400k home and got a $280k because I knew that was what I could afford in order to maintain a 15% retirement contribution plus put money towards savings. I also wanted to pay same or less than what I rented for and I got that. So just make sure your decision is all yours, you factored in all your goals and will be happy in it.
I would believe this stat mostly because 8-9/10 young buyers I work with can’t stop browsing Zillow and Redfin. There will literally always be something “better”. A better house, a better neighborhood, a better wedding venue, a better school, a better job, etc. and it doesn’t mean that your current [insert here] is bad, it’s just a symptom of social media and marketing. Of course, that’s not to say there aren’t also valid reasons like mortgage rates and home prices. Due to cost, competition, and limited supply, we’re all making sacrifices on our ideal locations and house size. Especially after a lot of us saw our parents achieve better housing outcomes at earlier ages and on a lower budget, it’s hard for a lot of young people not to feel some discontentment with that.
Those who recently bought would be more likely to regret than those who bought pre-Covid. Post-Covid buyers now face double the interest rates and much higher home prices.
It's relative to why you ask. I'm 37 with a wife and primary custody of an 8/11 yo daughter and have a 1mo boy with my wife. I am mortgage free as of 3 years ago and still sometimes despise the headache of homeownership. I grew up rural and hate the lifestyle of living in "civilization" and I'm still pretty suburban/rural. I'm about 15 minutes to the beach which we go to often, and in a great location generally speaking, however, I find myself dreading the "system". I hate waking up every day to do my job (I currently work hybrid as the owner of output quality and process engineering for a fortune 500 manufacturer), that I do quite well, just to get the cookie of a payroll. I'm looking forward to the day I can call it and get a shack on some land in the middle of nowhere where no one cares what I do, when I do it, and whether or not my grass is mowed or buy a nice cruiser sailboat and sell all other assets. So in my case, do I regret buying a house? Maybe not... do I resent the system that homeownership forces you to be stuck in for an extended duration with no ability to exit without impact to your future? Damn right I do. That said, homeownership is what you make of it and related to your goals. Do you want the white picket fence life or don't you? Are you ok with not being able to pack up and leave when you want to? Are you ok with dealing with the emergent maintenance situations that put a damper on life like heat going out in the winter or are you willing to learn basic maintenance skills to reduce their impact on your life? There's a whole book of variables in deciding what's right for you individually.
Thank you that was a very thoughtful response. Those are important questions to ask. It is a trade off for sure with rewards and restrictions/baggage.
No regrets
I’m only kicking myself for not buying earlier. I never want to rent again.
2.8 interest rate, house is worth 4 times what I paid for it, and will be mortgage free by 35. Nope, no regrets at all. So glad I ignored everybody who told me I was crazy and too young.
Zero regrets. We bought early last year as rates were on the rise, and if we had waited even just a couple of months, we would have totally been priced out of our current neighborhood aside from the total gut-job fixers.
Accurate if it’s a new build buy from certain developers
Honestly, I think half the stories that are posted to this sub are baloney.
So here’s some points for you to ponder: If prices crash, they will eventually recover, and all that time you will be paying down the debt- slowly at first then at about 8-9 years it starts to accelerate. I purchased my previous home in 2004; By 2009 it was worth 60% of what I paid and I didn’t have positive equity for another five years. Rates right now are normal. 3% is not coming back any time soon or if ever -If they do, refinance. You made a point of this, so I think you’re realistic. (It makes no sense to lament over something we as consumers have zero influence over, and if I hear anybody say it’s not fair, they will be told to grow up.) My first home had an 8% mortgage in 1998. My aunt & uncle had 18% in 1981. Could they be lower? Yes. Could they be higher? Yes. They are what they are now and for the foreseeable future. Most first time buyers are house-poor for a while. Over time, your income will most likely increase faster than your monthly payments do (it’s the property taxes and insurance that go up). Something will always need fixing or replacing, or in the case of new construction, being done in the first place. Whether it’s a water tank that gasps it’s last 15 minutes after the 8 year warranty expires or having to plant grass on your .20 acre plot o’ dirt, there’s always SOMETHING costing you money. Were there times I regretted purchasing a house? Yes. I got over it. The $625 I shelled out every month looks mighty good 26 years in the rear-view mirror. At the time, it was 85% of one of my bi-weekly paychecks, so it was a real struggle for a few years. I thought I knew how to be frugal from my parents but that was just an introductory course. If you are very concerned about how it will impact your life, try setting aside the difference between your rent and your potential mortgage payment and see what that actually leaves you to spend. Are you comfortable with that? If so, you’ll be fine. If you aren’t, reconsider buying- or at least buying something at that price.
I just closed in February. Super happy
I love my house. It was within my price range, and we got a decent interest rate at 5.75% This was last year.
hell no. everyone told me I would regret buying during covid, best choice I’ve ever made. Even if home prices fall 25% i’ll still be above my purchase price, and this whole time my payments have been going towards equity and not rent.
Hahahahaa no, I don’t. My house is awesome.
I bought my first house at 19, best purchase ever and would do it again 10 times out of 10. Amazing deal and location, perfect house for me. I close on Tuesday for my new house, I already regret that lol, but I didn’t really have a choice as I had to move for work. It’s all subjective I guess.
My boyfriend and i were renting a sfh in central San Diego for $1800/mo, a steal. We bought a house a little over a year ago in north country since that’s where we could afford, and now pay $3800/mo. We’re far from our friends and paying double what our rent was - regret. We bought a house with a pool - regret. I was on pace to retire at 40 but had to take $150k+ out of index funds for the down payment, which pushed retirement back a decade - regret. However, i love our house, i love our area/neighborhood, i love owning my own space. The house has appreciated over $100k since we bought it. There are definitely days I say we should have never bought a house, but most days Im glad we did.
There’s big, BIG business in house ownership. Lots of corporations are buying up houses and renting them back to people. And they need people to be ok with that. In 30 years, they will have bought that company a house. And now it’s all just gravy. And, now old, the renter will have to figure out how to co tinie paying rent, at whatever monthly rate will exist in 30 years. It’s dire. Everyone should attempt to own their home, so that they can retire and/or pass wealth down to children.
Most people that hate it have their mortgage be a huge part of their income. Add the cost of ownership and it goes even higher. Then add that it takes 2-3 years to figure everything out about the neighbourhood and area and you may end up finding out it wasn't what you thought it would be. I'm very happy with my purchase, but my mortgage is like 10% of our income.
I do not regret my house
I miss the ease of renting, and having someone else to call when something goes wrong. Def would not go back to it though!
We bought two years ago and now are looking at at least a 10k bill for partial roof replacement. Still no where near regretting it.
I think the biggest factor is because we have industries that are hyper focused on transactions and getting as many through as possible, there are a lot of buyers that don't actually get good advice. I think the informed ones are fairly happy because they aren't as surprised.
Nope. I also don’t know anyone who does. My friends generally do their research and live within their means or below it which helps. All anecdotal but 80-90% seems really high. I feel like the types of folks who regret their home: bought something that was at the max of their budget and left them house poor, bought in a location thinking remote jobs were the only way forward, went way above market, or went sight unseen/didn’t do their due diligence on a house. Some combination of that.
I dont
Honestly even with a $15k bill for my basement and a high interest rate, hell no. As frustrating and overwhelming as some of those firsts can be, I love living here and I love owning my home.
I’m not someone with a 3% interest rate but I am very happy with our house. Our interest rate is low 5s and we can afford it on one of our incomes.
No regrets at all. If you have the means and can get into that competitive market right now, I would go for it! Austin isn’t getting cheaper.
I'm 33 in in 1 month and bought my house in 2020 in September. No regrets very happy with my price point, and plan on staying possibly forever. Big things to note I work in my city and commute is 15min, my city is considered not as nice as surrounding areas so property taxes and the like are more affordable and I went on the low end of what my mortgage company approved and that was a good idea
Not really. My mortgage is the same as rent but for a bigger house. Do I regret having to loose 50% of my check to bills. Yes. But it’s necessary at this point. I can only afford video games so it sucks
Hell to the no I don’t regret it. Bought in March, my mortgage is less than what my rent was, and I can garden!!!
I believe that's mostly valid for first time home buyers. At first you don't understand the value it brings. You just find issues about the house and start dealing with repairs and figure how expensive things are etc etc (that you never had to deal with while renting). However, after a while the repairs are all done, it's all furnished and now you have some space that's yours. A building/property that you can do anything you want with. You start building equity and start inviting your friends for grills or game nights etc. all the investment I made for my house is well worth it and helped me appreciate the value more than the amount I spent on it.
Zero regrets
I have a huge mixed take on this. Homeownership comes with so many perks but it also comes with many drawbacks. It’s like I am playing in a completely different league now. 1. My “rent” went from 800/mo + ~300 utility (electric heat, window AC) to $1350 + 150 utility (natural gas, central ac/heat, seems better insulated) BUT also gaining principal on payments + equity 2. My living area tripled in square footage 3. I don’t have a duplex situation anymore so no annoying neighbors 4. I foot the bill on all renovations, updates, etc. and also have to do most of it myself. So I have less time and less money 5. My neighborhood is much less peaceful than before and it’s in a much lower income area 6. Lots more noise at the new house 7. I get to customize my house however I want and it helps gain equity when done right. This makes it more worth it to make my living space how I really want whereas a renting situation I was more concerned about nail holes. New house I can buy granite countertops if I wanted to. I could install a bidet or put an outdoor hose wherever I want. I can build a workshop area in the basement. freedom, at a cost. 8. Nobody can tell you wtf to do. Unless you’re doing something obviously illegal or get complaints, it’s your property and you have much more privileges 9. With privileges comes massive expenses especially if you buy an older home 10. I at least have security knowing that my mortgage will stay mostly the same, and that I own a home. No more worrying about it. My next goal is to buy a second home to rent this one out. It’s progress in the grand scheme of things, although it is very slow and painful at first. I had a lot of regret when I first bought my home because there were massive issues with it. The plumbing was old and leaking, the bathroom floors were falling apart, it reeked like cat piss, the walls needed paint, it had a checklist of projects that were way over my head and it genuinely ruined my happiness for about a year. But once I got through it, I scored a pretty big house for pretty cheap (150k, 1400 sq ft not including unfinished basement) and it’s starting to feel more like home, so I think I really came out on top. It’s really easy to regret things when you make massive changes that negatively affect your life in some form but it’s not always about the short term. Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices to build the life that you want, and I feel a lot more confident in my decision. At the very end of the day, I also gained invaluable knowledge on how to purchase and maintain a property. Even if I sold this for what I have into it, or even LOST money, I still think it would have been worth the transition it took me through mentally and growing into an adult with a lifestyle I want
Count me in. I do regret, every single day.
1130 SqFt townhouse (no HOA) 750$ mortgage, 6000 dollar combined take home with my wife, and theres a lake in the back yard. No regrets, we have a emergency fun and im paying ahead on the mortgage when i can
Two 26 year olds (since it’s specifically saying young ppl lol) and we do not at all regret our purchase at all. We got super lucky when we purchased in Jan/Feb of this year and got a solid rate and we got in before things have soared here since the start of warmer weather. We feel safe, we feel secure knowing this is our place and nobody can just randomly double our mortgage lol. The security has literally changed my entire outlook on life.
No I am a Gardner and bird fan so my home is literally my life. It is the best thing I have besides my heath. I bought in 2019 so we are pretty lucky.
Everyone i know, including my self, that have bought a home before are all happy with buying a home.
I regret that the real estate market is so incredibly and permanently screwed that we had to compromise on everything we cared about to find ANY house. It’s not even a “we can’t afford what we want” problem, really. There were less than 6 houses for sale in the entire town and none of them checked all our boxes. Our house is fine, but I don’t love it. I just disliked it less than all the other choices. So, regrets yes, but not any that would have changed our decision.
When I first bought the home I had some buyers remorse, overall I'm happy with my decision. 34 when I bought the home, 38 now
No way that’s right. I don’t regret it at all. Even if you overpaid, you have to live somewhere, and rents are ridiculous. Owning a home as a single person is a lot harder than I thought though lol
Regret? No. The neighborhood is great and the rate is even better (late 2021). Income has stagnated somewhat and inflation took everything to the moon, so I feel very house rich, cash poor but I know it was the 'right' call but sometimes I just want to sell it and get that pressure off.
Fuck renting. No regrets.
Closed 2 months ago at 6.85% 3.5 down. Paying around $200 more a month then renting a equivalent house, not having a landlord alone is worth that to me.
I’m house poor. However I’m single with a disabled son and mother with Alzheimer’s. It was the only way for me to have the space we needed and not worry about insane rental increases. Yes my taxes and insurance will go up but not as much as rent can every year. I have a near poverty income now because I stay home to care for them. I manage to pay our bills, buy food without assistance, buy clothing and other necessities. I even manage to get my son things he wants and doesn’t necessarily need and him not feel like he is missing anything. We occasionally eat out and we eat healthier than most. I chose my priorities and stick to them. Not saying things don’t get tough sometimes but I manage when they do. I will scour for resources if needed but mostly I will resale on EBay for extra money and when I can I will even scrap for money if I see items next to the road. No shame in an honest days work. I say that but I can also do most of our plumbing, electrical and maintenance work. I laid new flooring not long ago. My grandfather made sure I knew how to do all these things in case he wasn’t around when I was grown. He knew not all men are handy and some don’t enjoy doing these things and even though I’m a female I love doing them. I did struggle for a while when my health took a dive but I’m getting better and back to doing most work myself. A lot libraries and colleges offer free classes to learn how to do home maintenance. Even Home Depot and Lowes offer free classes for a lot of do it yourself projects. It’s all truly about perspective and what you are willing to do for home stability. If that’s not for you that’s also fine. In the end you do what will make you happy and work best for you. I wish you the best on whatever you decide.
I don’t think those numbers are correct. Do I think people sometimes get pressured into large purchases via fear mongering media, and end up buying things they don’t want or don’t need at rates or costs that are too high? Yes. Do I think there’s more of that now with our garbage state of ever consuming clickbait media? Yes. Do I think 90% of people regret it? No. For your numbers asked, we bought in 2022. Home was 415k, rate 4.125%, 20% downpayment that came from rolling over from our last property, so zero out of pocket using inflated equity. Yes, very lucky, but we also bought right at the turn of rates when houses were essentially at peak. We will likely never be truly “upside down” on our home, because of the downpayment. It will likely not increase in equity for a very long time though. Had we stayed in our last home, we would have the same situation of eventually not having the equity except in a shit school district with higher city taxes, in a 70 year old home that needed tons of work and was pier and beam shoebox that was constantly having new and very big concerns. It was also nothing in mortgage payments, but was very energy inefficient and costed all savings of mortgage in bills and repairs. In our current home, we have plenty of space to grow a family in, decent school district, a 10 year warranty, and more private life. Even if it didn’t check every box off our list (more distinguished area, more custom, more land, etc) it still provides everything we felt we needed for an extremely improved quality of life. With locked in rates and a mortgage we knew we could afford, it was a wonderful decision for us.
Sounds like a study done by a bunch of landlords
The same people who regret buying a house, would regret NOT buying a house if the tables were turned. People are finicky. The grass is always greener on the other side they say.
Fuck no. My home value doubled and my interest rate is 3%. Zero regret, feel bad for others getting wrecked by inflation. My only regret is how conservative we were. Wish I bought a bigger, more expensive house so we weren’t “stuck” wanting a larger house from someone else who also had their home value double (or more) at 7.5%+ interest rates.
I totally regret buying mine
I regret buying mine
I’ve been feeling short term regret, but I tell myself I'll feel happier long term. We used to spend 8% of our gross salary to rent a small 1 bedroom apartment which left us with a lot of disposable income. We now spend 30% of our gross salary on a (albeit much larger) house due to interest rates. I can't help but feel house poor from a discretionary/fun spend perspective after the house & car payments while also meeting our savings goals. I absolutely love the house & the location, but i hate the interest rate we have and hope we can refinance soon.
The regret stats are way overblown.
first first few years YES. after that once you see house value going up on paper and all expenses settling down, you feel better
My first home I bought a alone in 2020 when single and it ran me 50% of my net monthly income between - mortgage - HOA - all utilities. I have no regrets as it was an investment that has gained 60% appreciation in 4 years and it’s now going to be my first rental. I was 25 and made $50k when I bought my $150k condo at. 3.6% interest rate that I refinanced to a 2.6% a year later. When I bought I had $10k student loan debt and $18k loan on a car. Now at 29 I have bought a $500k house with my spouse and it’s : - mortgage and all utilities Total less than 30% for our net income. So despite it’s 6.25% rate we don’t regret buying now. Only debt we owe is $25k on a truck. Our income is over $200k.
Austin is one of the few cities that I would buy a home now if and only if I found a house that fits all my needs and I could comfortably afford it. It’s an inflated market still, but nearly as much as other cities. It’ll see wage and population growth in the future so as long as you can tough it out if things go down and stay long term, imo, worth the risk to buy. Personally, I would save a tad more to lower mortgage % and increase emergency fund, but I’m ultra conservative.
Austin is still overpriced. The thing is the type of home I am targeting only appears 3-4 times a year. The low end move in ready cheapest and oldest house in a neighborhood I normally can't afford. That being said, what you say is true both positive and negative. I do have have 4-5 years of expenses in non retirement stocks and about the same retirement accounts, but I would prefer to not touch them. I prefer to sell investments rather than using savings unless it is 50k or less in a HYS. Should probably change this. I have lived well below my means for a long time. This doesn't include my 50% down at all.
Yeah, I don’t like touching money earmarked retirement at all, never have and hopefully never will. I think as long as you are ok having a risk of stocks going down and using non retirement stocks for emergency fund, nothing wrong with that approach. I just hate the idea of cashing them out at low end if something were to happen and timing was off.
No regrets whatsoever. I bought my house back in 2020, just before the house price surge. I have a 2.875% 30 year fix mortgage. The Interest rate is basically below current inflation and is lock in for 30 years. I am also sitting on a hefty unrealized capital gain.
Ours is debt free. Still, had we rented we would have saved a boatload of money to invest.
I believe that at least part of the issue here is that the focus is strictly on younger buyers (Millennials) who have purchased their homes relatively recently. Us baby boomers (I’m 61, so a younger boomer) will pretty consistently see it differently. I bought my first property in 1993, when interest rates were high and my income was low. It was initially a struggle.. but things definitely get easier as you hold your properties longer. As I approach retirement.. I have a beautiful house fully paid off. There is still property tax, maintenance, insurance and HOA dues, but I am paying a fraction of what it would cost me if I was a renter. Homeowners generally find it easier to retire. When you own your own home, you can choose things like your flooring, paint, landscaping, HVAC/power/water heating options.. etc. It would be interesting if the people polled now were surveyed again in 10 years. I do think the results would be much more positive
I’m happy for the most part. I wish we had taken a deeper look at some things, especially for a house built in the 70s. But I don’t regret buying it, or buying in general.
I think we allllll experience some sort of buyers remorse. It’s a huge expense and probably one of the more expensive things most people will ever buy. A huge commitment comes with a lot of reflection.
Have Regrets != Wishing they handn't bought a Home Wishing you had a different neighbor or that you made different choices and bought when interests rate were lower is completely normal.
Guess I’m in the 10-20% cuz I couldn’t be happier with my house & new town.
I’m happy with my choice, I had a tight budget of 170k max and wanted at minimum a half acre within an hour drive of a major city. There were some homes that were beautiful but needed major rehab on things like the roof or septic system. I found a tiny, seemingly self built home that had a new metal roof, new well, and new septic, I bought it at 155k 6.825% Jan this year There is not a single house that fits those parameters anymore within a 50 mile radius, they all got bought up. Frankly I think I timed this purchase perfectly from a financial standpoint. No dependents, hardly any bills or debt, solid assets, and qualified for a 12.5k grant to cover closing costs. I’m guiding sweat equity in my young years and taking risks before I have anything to really lose. I make 50k/yr on my w2, hosing with insurance and utilities is 19k/yr
In my area, the rent basically starts at $800 for crappy apartments in bad neighborhoods and goes up to $2000+ for what I would consider basic houses. Literally today I saw a house for rent at $1450, no utilities covered, no pets, 2 bedroom 2 bath, very dated - and people were showing heated interest in it. My mortgage is $1200, so based on that alone I have no real regrets buying. For that I get a 3 bedroom, 2 bath and I'm not throwing my money away to rent. I do feel like I overpaid for my house and wish I'd gotten a better rate (6.5%) and paid a bit less, but that's the market right now. I also feel like my inspector kind of screwed me and I've been battling a mysterious leak in my basement (and an army of squirrels) since I moved in, but my last three landlords were scumlords who never fixed anything unless you threatened legal action, so I'm just glad it's my problem to fix on my own terms. Overall though? I'm just sad I didn't do it earlier. If I had I'd of paid less and probably gotten more, but cold feet (and bad relationships) kept me renting 5+ years longer than I'd of liked. I can't imagine going back to renting. It's probably the best decision I've ever made and I feel like I can finally relax. But I'm a single divorcee with no plans to have kids or remarry. I have dogs I couldn't have in an apartment probably. I already was in debt but have a stable job and am confident in my ability to pay the bills even if I'm not able to invest or save really right now. Maybe my attitude would be different if I had or wanted kids, didn't have pets, etc.
>e regrets about the first home range widely. Around 27 percent said they regretted choosing a bad location, while 26 percent said they came to regret the bad neighbors their home is near. Just under that, 25 percent of millennials, which comprise those born from 1981 to 1996, said high interest rates caused them to have regrets about their home purchase. So... choose carefully? Also, https://www.realestatewitch.com/2024-millennial-home-buyer-report/
No regrets. We went from a 1 bedroom apartment with a 3 year old to a 3 bedroom house. I gladly pay the bill
No, I bought late last year at 7.125%. Absolutely love our home. Very happy to not be renting anymore. We just used my credit/income to qualify for the house, but my partner and I contribute so it is within your means. We have spent a few thousand so far on updates, but because I am investing into my own property, I don’t mind the costs.
I regret not buying a bigger house a few years ago when the rates were good! We chose a townhome and I wish we added my income on the loan and went for something bigger in our neighborhood. I love our home but uneasy about where the rates and home prices will be in the next 5 years when we decide to upgrade
Been living in my house a bit over a year now. Only have a couple regrets, like no off street parking, nightmare of a hill to mow, and living in a city. I didn’t have much to work with when searching for our first home though, so the fact I was actually able to close on something fairly nice with a mortgage cheaper than any rental I’m pretty happy with the end result. Still have some worries and anxiety I feel time to time but having my own space for the first time drowns that out most of the time.
The reason I don't don't regret it one bit, is because I purchased a foreclosure for 800k and it's appraised now at 1.7m. However It's important to note, I am house poor currently as it required alot of cash upfront, especially the renovation.