You can return clothes that don’t fit, but a house? Not so much.
Lindsey DellaSalla with the DJ & Lindsey Team says the housing market is so competitive and the demand is so high, people are buying homes sight unseen and waiving inspection periods.
She says on the flipside, almost a third of home buyers report that they now regret their big purchase.
David Lumley’s time is up in Indiana. He and his wife have traded the snow for Florida’s sunshine and warm weather. Can you blame them? They just bought a condo in Jacksonville.
“Buying it through a virtual tour was okay; I would’ve loved to have been down there,” Lumley said.
The couple bought their home sight unseen. When asked if the couple ever had any buyer’s remorse, Lumley was happy to say, “no, not at all.”
He added, “I was kind of surprised by that, too...The week that we did put in a bid for the condo, was the week that we got ten-to-12 inches of snow and it was bitterly cold here, so we knew we were making the right decision.”
While the Lumleys got lucky, DellaSalla says not everyone has been happy with their purchases during the pandemic.
“These people who are regretting their decision, once they’re moved in and living here, the only thing you’re not able to look up on Google or Google Maps is the actual lifestyle you’ll have in that neighborhood,” DellaSalla explained.
She says it has to do with location. To prevent buyer’s remorse, she suggests planning a trip to the city or town you’re moving to, and getting familiar with what it has to offer so that you have a clear vision of what part of town you want to live in. If, say, you’ve already purchased a home that you regret, DellaSalla says there’s still hope:
“Inventory is still incredibly tight, there’s hardly any homes for sale, so let’s just turn around, get it back on the market,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lumley wants other home buyers to know, “eventually you end up finding what you want.” He says patience is key.