How I Dealt With Home Buyer's Remorse

Buyer’s remorse is surprisingly common after a home purchase, especially among pandemic-era buyers. A 2022 survey of 1,000 people who recently purchased a home found that nearly 80% had regrets. Many respondents were dissatisfied because homeownership was more expensive than anticipated and their houses required too much upkeep.

I had similar regrets after I bought my home in January of 2021, but I’ve since gotten past it. Here’s why I had buyer’s remorse and how I dealt with it.

Dealing With Cosmetic Flaws

After I got the keys and surveyed my empty home, I felt like I’d made a big mistake. Every cosmetic flaw was magnified without any furniture in the house, from the stains on the blue carpet upstairs to the scratches all over the wooden stairs. I wondered how I would live with the outdated finishes throughout the house, such as the blue countertops in the kitchen and the vinyl floor in the guest bedroom and mudroom.

Don’t Panic

If I could return to that moment, I’d tell myself not to panic. Unlike changing the floor plan, cosmetic issues are easy to fix. As long as you like the flow of a house, you can update pretty much anything else, especially if you’re willing to get creative. For example, I put interlocking foam tiles down in the guest room to create a comfortable workout space and cover up the vinyl flooring.

Filling my home up with my favorite furniture and knick-knacks also helped immensely. It’s amazing how different a space can look after you put down a rug, hang up some pictures, and put a few coats of paint on the walls. So if you’re not crazy about the look of your new home, give it time. Stay positive and focus on the design and decor elements you can afford to change now. Bit by bit, you’ll be able to save up for renovations and turn your house into your dream home over the next few years. You’ll get there even if it doesn’t seem like it now.

Overcoming Price Regrets

Another one of my major regrets was the price of my home. My spouse and I were relocating from Boston to Michigan and only gave ourselves one weekend to come here and look at houses. We only saw four or five properties before purchasing our current home, which was $36,000 over the $150,000 budget I had set.

The other properties we had seen were barely livable, and we were just relieved to find a home that didn’t have obvious issues like sagging floors and water damage. We heard that other buyers were coming to look at this house the next day. So we rushed to get in an offer to avoid any bidding war. I later regretted this and felt we could’ve gotten a better deal if we had held off and looked at more homes.

Get Off Zillow!

My regrets about the price of my home also took a few months to overcome. Initially, I fell into the comparison trap and kept looking at other home listings. I was trying to gauge whether or not we had gotten a good deal, but continuing to shop virtually for homes just made things worse. Do yourself a favor and get off of Zillow! You won’t be able to start feeling more positive about your home until you stop house hunting and accept the choice you made.

Feeling Grateful

Once I got off Zillow, I stopped playing the comparison game and was able to start feeling grateful for having a home I could afford. When I was living in an overpriced one-bedroom apartment in Boston, it felt like I would never own a home and be able to build equity. Focusing on how lucky I was to achieve my financial goal of owning a home helped me feel more positive about my house, even if the price was higher than I would’ve liked.

I had to let go of the idea of “getting a good deal” on a home and recognize that real estate is a long-term investment. The real gains come from holding onto a property for the long haul. I also turned my price regrets into productive action. Feeling like I paid too much for my home motivated me to pay my mortgage aggressively. In the two years we’ve lived here, we’ve paid off $40,000 of mortgage debt. Our principal balance is $140,000, below our original budget. This makes me feel more comfortable and secure because we could always refinance to lower our monthly payments.

Wrapping Up

If you’re dealing with home buyer’s remorse, my two biggest tips are giving it time and looking at your situation positively. Even if your home isn’t everything you’ve dreamed of, the fact that you own it is still a huge milestone worth celebrating!

If you still regret buying your home down the line, remember that you can always sell it. Don’t allow yourself to wallow or feel stuck for too long. See if you can use your regrets as motivation to make changes that will help you love (or at least like) your home. Planning a renovation project or making extra mortgage payments can help you improve your situation and feel more in control.

Have you ever felt regret after making a major purchase like buying a home? How did you deal with those feelings? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Vicky Monroe

Vicky Monroe is a freelance personal finance and lifestyle writer. When she’s not busy writing about her favorite money saving hacks or tinkering with her budget spreadsheets, she likes to travel, garden, and cook healthy vegetarian meals.