Helping Your Client Avoid Home Buyer’s Remorse

Posted by Premier Commission on May 24, 2016 in Helpful Tips, Real Estate, Real Estate Agent

Home buyer’s remorse is a condition that affects up to 80% of home owners after they have made their purchase. Whether the buyer regrets the whole purchase or just one or two details about the home they chose, it is an unsettling feeling that they ended up in a house they don’t absolutely love. There are a lot of reasons that people experience remorse after making a major purchase like a house, but there are many ways that you can act as their agent to reduce the chances that they will be unhappy when all is said and done.

Cover the Basics

Many first time home buyers, or buyers who have not purchased a home for many years, may not be familiar with the various steps in the purchasing process. Before you ever set foot in a single house with your client, sit down and walk them through all of the nitty gritty details and make sure they understand the financial implications of what they are about to take on. For most people, owning a home is a major part of their dream, but is also the single largest purchase they will ever make. Unease with the basics at this stage will only complicate things down the road.

Prioritize Features

To ensure that your clients are looking at the right kind of houses, make sure you narrow down your search efforts to revolve around the most important features. Make a list of their top five needs in a house. Space, location, budget and storage are typically at the top of this list. Make sure that the list is prioritized so that you have a little bit of wiggle room with the least important features, whether that means that the house is located an extra mile from work, or that it has a smaller closet than they would have liked. As long as the house meets the buyer’s expectations for their primary concerns everything else can be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Dig

Once the buyer has decided on one or two houses that they are seriously considering, your job is not done. Help them do a little bit more research about the homes in question and really dig to determine if this is the right choice for them. Home buyer’s remorse often comes into play when the owner learns about traffic, troublesome neighbors, or other issues that are not normally disclosed in a home listing. Look into insurance claims and maintenance information regarding the house, ask the neighbors why the previous residents moved away and get familiar with the area.

Purchasing a home means putting down roots for young families, and creating a comfortable place to retire for older buyers. Home buyer’s remorse can keep your client from being completely happy with their purchase if they feel like they didn’t have enough information before reaching the closing table. As an agent, your job is to walk buyers through the process and give them insight based on what you have learned from previous purchases and common issues. Asking the right questions and pointing clients toward the information they need to make an informed decision will earn you a reputation as a trustworthy agent working on behalf of your clients.

Premier Commission provides commission advancements to real estate agents who need money to get their businesses off the ground. For more information about our services, visit us online or call today at 1-866-309-5582 to speak to one of our agents.

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