Home Buyers' Regrets

Hindsight is a great thing - especially when someone with buying experience can tell you what they wish they had known. Here's the beginning of a list of regrets from recent home buyers:

1. I should have asked the seller to do more repairs before closing.
2. I should have asked my agent to rebate me at least enough to pay for all the closing costs.
3. I should have scoped out the neighborhood at different times of day; the neighborhood gets a little dicey at night.
4. I wish I had 20 percent to put down on my home so I wasn't saddled with mortgage insurance now.
5. I wish I'd thought to have the sewer line tested-it's 90 years old and needs to be replaced.
6. I should have bought the cheaper house with good "bones" in the nicer neighborhood and done a little cosmetic fixing.
7. I should have done a "practice" commute - that road to work really backs up in morning rush hour.
8. I wish I had researched the cost of remodeling before I bought my fixer-upper.
9. I should have measured! I am never going to get that queen-sized bed up that narrow staircase.
10. I wish I hadn't agreed to an escalator clause - now my house is worth less than what I paid for it.
11. I wish I owned stock in Home Depot.
12. I wish I had thought about the eventual resale value....my perfect house for two has very limited appeal. 

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Related Links

• Coming Up With a Down Payment
• Can You Afford to Buy?
• First-time Home Buyers vs. Old Hands