This Is a Surefire Way to Regret Buying Your Home

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Don’t buy a house without reading this first. 

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the average sales price of a home in the U.S. reached $535,800, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. With the typical home now costing more than half a million dollars, it’s increasingly likely your home will be the largest purchase you make. So, naturally, you don’t want to regret it.

Unfortunately, many people end up making a bad decision when it comes to buying a property. And there’s a simple reason why that’s the case.

This home-buying mistake will likely lead to disaster

When it comes to your home purchase, you are likely to end up dealing with regret if you act based on your emotions rather than using your head to make a sound financial decision.

Now, buying a home is an emotional process, so it’s easy to see why so many people fall victim to this mistake. When you go shopping for a property for you and your family to live in, chances are good you’re picturing what your life there will look like. You may envision your kids running around the backyard or think about cooking romantic meals in your kitchen.

When you see a property that pushes your emotional buttons and makes you envision a life you want, you may be tempted to throw caution to the wind and buy the property. And that’s fine if you’re using your head first to make sure the home is right for you.

But if you don’t think about the financial details and the fundamentals underlying the transaction because you’re so swept up with falling in love with a house, you could end up in a nightmare rather than your dream home.

What should you do instead?

Instead of letting your heart control what home you buy, you need to use your head first. Specifically, you must make sure you find a property that:

Comes with a mortgage you can easily afford both now and in the futureIs in a safe neighborhood with a good school district (even if you don’t have kids, since school district affects property values)Has a reasonable commute to work, restaurants, stores, and family members who you wish to see regularlyIs priced fairly so you don’t end up underwater, where you owe more than the house is worthDoesn’t need more maintenance and upkeep than you feel comfortable tackling

These are ultimately the factors that are going to control whether you are happy with a house or not. If you buy a property that doesn’t have these things, then you are almost assuredly going to end up miserable. After all, those long hours playing with your kids in the backyard aren’t going to happen if you have to work extra because your housing payments aren’t affordable or if your commute is so long.

While it’s OK to wait for a house you love that also has these other attributes, you want to check these boxes first and pass up any property that doesn’t fit, even if it otherwise seems like the perfect place to set down roots.

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