MATT GEPHARDT

Half of homebuyers experience remorse. Here’s how to help avoid regrets about your new home

Jul 2, 2024, 10:58 PM | Updated: Jul 3, 2024, 7:06 am

SALT LAKE CITY The odds are nearly one-out-of-two that a homebuyer will have at least one regret about their purchase.

So says a new study Bankrate shared with the KSL Investigators.

“The question ultimately about a regret is if I knew back when what I know right now, would I be better armed with information?” said Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate. “The answer is yes.”

Forty percent of regretful homebuyers told Bankrate their biggest regret is the hidden costs being more expensive than they bargained for. Costs like the upkeep of your property and fixing appliances along with the ever-rising costs of property taxes, insurance and utilities.

At 18%, the next biggest regret is buying a house that is too small, compared to the 10% who said their big regret was that the house was too big. Fifteen percent regretted moving into their new neighborhood and 14% said their chief regret was they paid too much for their home. Along with that, 13% said too high of a mortgage payment topped their list of regrets.

The odds are nearly one-out-of-two that a homebuyer will have at least one regret about their purchase, according to a study by Bankrate. (KSL TV)

Hamrick says you can avoid many of those regrets by sticking to your budget. Don’t go for a house you absolutely love, but it’s tens of thousands of dollars over budget. Instead, he says shoot for a home between the top and bottom ends of what you can afford.

“Somewhere in the middle that gives you some flexibility with your finances so that you’re not among those people have this regret about the mortgage payment being too high or that those maintenance costs are higher than what we expected,” Hamrick said.

Another big regret: 10% of homebuyers told Bankrate they regret they didn’t get the best mortgage rate. Hamrick says this is something we can control.

“We can shop around for the best mortgage rate,” he said. “We can try to optimize our credit scores, so we qualify for a lower rate of interest.”

Bankrate also asked those homebuyers if they had to do it all over again, would they? The vast majority – 69% – said yes, despite their regrets they would.

Matt Gephardt

Andee Otuafi's dishwasher, pictured on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, hadn't been working, and the manufac...

Matt Gephardt and Sloan Schrage, KSL TV

Get Gephardt helps Eagle Mountain woman when her dishwasher became a repair nightmare

Andee Otuafi is hand washing a lot more dishes than she thought she would after buying a new GE dishwasher. She says just two months after she purchased the appliance, it stopped working.

2 days ago

Soup appeared to be an exception to the shelf-positioning strategy. The more pricy, boutique brands...

Matt Gephardt and Sloan Schrage

Location, location, location: How supermarkets influence the foods you buy

The cost of food has risen sharply over the last few years, but that’s not the only reason the tab at checkout can run high. KSL’s inflation buster Matt Gephardt reveals a tactic that could have you paying more.

6 days ago

Standard Optical is closed for good, leaving customers wondering when they will get the lenses they...

Matt Gephardt

Standard Optical closure becomes permanent: what can customers do now to get their eyewear?

It has been a month since Utah-based eyewear company Standard Optical abruptly shut its doors to all its locations and left customers wondering if they’ll ever get the contact lenses or glasses they’ve paid for.

11 days ago

Mark Steinagel, director of Utah’s Division of Professional Licensing, tells KSL’s Matt Gephard...

Matt Gephardt

Unfinished Business: Is enough being done to shut down unlicensed contractors?

It’s a nasty pattern in our state: unlicensed contractors who abandon jobs, leaving homeowners out thousands. KSL Investigators Matt Gephardt explores the likelihood of criminal charges.

12 days ago

Dennis Deloach shows KSL TV's Matt Gephardt the bid for a landscaping project he says was later aba...

Matt Gephardt and Sloan Schrage

Unfinished Business: Sandy couple says landscapers took thousands, never finished the job

Frustrated Utah homeowners who have been trying to track down the money they paid to an unlicensed contractor who abandoned their job discovered the contractor has done the same thing to several others.

13 days ago

When Morgan Butler asked Maverik to investigate some fraudulet charges he recently recevied, letter...

Matt Gephardt and Sloan Schrage

Get Gephardt helps Wyoming man sent to collections for thousands of dollars in fuel he says he didn’t buy

Morgan Butler was recently hit with fuel charges that he claims he never made. Worried he'd have to pay thousands for fuel he never bought, Butler asked KSL Investigators to look into it.

25 days ago

Sponsored Articles

abstract vector digital social network technology background...

Les Olson

Protecting yourself against social engineering attacks

Learn more about the common types of social engineering to protect your online or offline assets from an attack.

family having fun at home...

Lighting Design

Discover the impact of lighting on your mood

From color temperature to lighting saturation, we tackle how different lighting design setups can impact your day-to-day mood.

Laptops in a modern technology store. Department of computers in the electronics store. Choosing a ...

PC Laptops

How to choose the best laptop for college students

Finding the right laptop for college students can be hard, but with this guide we break down what to look for so you can find the best one.

young male technician is repairing a printer at office...

Les Olson

Unraveling the dilemma between leasing and buying office technology

Carefully weigh these pros and cons to make an informed decision that best suits your business growth and day-to-day operation. 

A kitchen in a modern farmhouse....

Lighting Design

A room-by-room lighting guide for your home

Bookmark this room-by-room lighting guide whenever you decide to upgrade your lighting or style a new home.

Photo courtesy of Artists of Ballet West...

Ballet West

The rising demand for ballet tickets: why they’re harder to get

Ballet West’s box office is experiencing demand they’ve never seen before, leaving many interested patrons unable to secure tickets they want.

Half of homebuyers experience remorse. Here’s how to help avoid regrets about your new home