When looking to buy a home in our Denver area market, buyers may experience sticker shock, frustrations, or even cold feet. Buying a home is a daunting process and it’s common for a buyer to not feel 100% at ease all the time. There are many variables that go into the process. With proper preparation before starting to look plus perseverance and patience as the process moves along, this uncertainty typically dissipates and the excitement of owning a new home takes over.
But what happens when the idea of a new home fills a buyer with dread, anxiety and an overall unsure feeling that won’t go away? Buyers need to know the difference between a bad deal and just cold feet. As an experienced Colorado-based Realtor, I help you decide on your needs and wants first, then help through these feelings and guide you to make the best decision for you and your family. Below are some examples of both good and not-so-good reasons to walk away from a home buying deal.
Good Reasons:
- Second guess on price / affordability
Having a good understanding of your finances is critical. If you’ve crunched the numbers time and time again, still to find that you are overextending your budget then it might be time to walk away. Spending all, or most of your savings on the down payment, is one of the biggest mistakes homebuyers make. You’ll want to buy furniture for your home and add your own personal touch, but if you’re living on the financial edge because you used every dollar on the down payment, it takes a lot of fun out of your life. - Location
Whether the house you love is too far from work, from your favorite recreation, or you just simply decide that you’re in a neighborhood you don’t like, then this could be a legitimate reason to keep house hunting until you find a location that is right for your lifestyle. Location is the first thing you should decide upon.
- Foundational issues / Bad inspection
This is probably the most common and legitimate reason to walk away. During the home buying process, you’ll hire an inspector who will look at the home from a logistic perspective to make sure it is sturdy and safe. If the inspection uncovers foundational cracking, roof issues or electric problems and the seller is unwilling to fix them or to negotiate a solution so you can fix them, it may be time to walk away. - Appraisal is way off
Another issue is the appraisal of the home could be extremely inaccurate. In a hot market as we have had in the Denver area for several years (and not likely to change anytime soon), the appraisal for a home is not at the asking price. It could be either higher or lower. If there aren’t ways to negotiate a solution for all parties, it might be time to walk away.
Not-so-good reasons:
- Paint colors
While some cosmetic issues may be unsightly, as long as they are not tagged by the inspector as dangerous, superficial cosmetic issues like paint color or window trimmings is not a good reason to walk away from the house. Of course, some buyers want their new home to be turnkey and they don’t want to do any work, but things like paint color are easy and affordable to fix. You’ll want to add your own personal touches.
- The kids don’t like it
As good parents, we want to make sure the whole family is happy with the home purchase. But at the end of the day it might not be the best thing to let the kids have a big say in the home. Of course, their opinions matter but if there’s nothing wrong with the home itself, the kids will grow to like it over time. - Location
While location might be a good reason to walk away from a home, it can also be a not-so-good reason. For example, if the location issue is more about being a few blocks away from a dream location, as opposed to across the city, this might not be a reason to walk away from an otherwise nice home.
Are you curious if you have cold feet or a good reason to walk away from a home? Are you in the market to buy or sell your home? Call and text me at (720) 323-4176 or email me at [email protected]
