Finding and financing a dream home is no easy task. Now, new findings are shedding light on the reality of the home buying experience.
First-time homebuyer Alexandra Lucero is happy in her new home. But the home buying process often brought more stress than smiles.
According to Nerdwallet, 42 percent of American homeowners said the home buying process was stressful. Thirty-two percent described it as complicated, and 21 percent called it intimidating.
"It was extremely intimidating," Lucero says. "I had no idea what I was doing half of the time or what anything meant."
Shannon Peer with Brothers Redevelopment helped Lucero through the process, and says many people underestimate how fast it can go and don't have all the information they need to make the best decision.
"That's where the regret comes in," Peer says. "If you make a decision and you didn't know you had other options and you felt you had to take something the way it was that can make for a very stressful and regretful situation."
The report found nearly half of homeowners would do something differently if they were to go through the home-buying process again, and 41 percent of mortgage applicants felt they were not aware of all of their loan options during the lending process.
To avoid regret, Peer and Lucero advise homebuyers to have paperwork in order, to work with a realtor and mortgage professional you trust and most importantly, to stick to a budget.
"It was actually a lot of work," Lucero says. "But if you have a good team with you working with you it definitely makes the process a lot easier and becoming informed."
Despite the challenges, 41 percent of homeowners said the homebuying process was manageable and 30 percent even said it was rewarding.
