The 5 Most Common Fears When Buying a Home & Their Solutions

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Have you thought about buying a home but certain fears keep holding you back? 

Do you think you won’t qualify or there are certain roadblocks in your situation? 

Buying a house or condo isn’t like buying a pair of shoes. 

The price is much higher and you can’t return it if you change your mind.

It’s common for many people to worry about the smallest details – whether you’ve bought before or this is your first time. 

Although buying a home usually requires a lot of careful planning and research, remember you won’t be going through it alone. 

In fact, I did a video post called “Biggest Mistake [Home Buyers] Make When Looking For a Home”.

In that post I not only mention the biggest mistake but I also talk about just how important choosing the right Buyer’s Agent is make sure those details, extensive research, and decisions I referred to are supported by someone you trust.

If you’ve chosen the right Buyer’s agent then your agent will be there to help you every step of the way. 

Still, I understand that peace-of-mind is till important and fears can still arise when you least expect it. 

To help eliminate some of these possible fears here are the top 5 fears that home Buyers have, along with suggestions to overcome them:

#1. What If My Credit Score Isn’t Good?

Many people think you need a perfect credit score to qualify for a mortgage. 

So their imagination and fear of not getting approved convince them to not even bother trying.

As you know, nothing is impossible if you break a goal down into steps. 

First you should get a copy of your credit report and make sure there are no errors. 

If you don’t know how I can help you with that.

More often than you can imagine credit reports have errors that bring down your score and can be corrected. 

Then, if your credit score is still less than you think it needs to be don’t be embarrassed or feel helpless. 

A really good Mortgage Broker might still be able to get you approved for a mortgage with one of the big banks. 

Please be sure to check out my video post called: “Mortgage Brokers vs. Banks: What’s The Difference?”.

It highlights some more very important info on this exact topic.

Finally, if you have spoken with a really good mortgage broker and still need to get your credit score a little higher there are steps you can take. 

Gradually pay off your delinquent accounts, improve your debt-to-income ratio, and try not to take on any new debt. 

Be proactive about your credit and start improving it.  

Even if you don’t pay off all balances, if you do what I just suggested, I’ve seen some people raise their credit score by 100 points in as little as 4 to 12 months.

#2. Getting a Bigger Mortgage Than You Can Handle!

I’m going to break this topic into two parts. 

First, let’s focus on budget. 

A large monthly payment can seem overwhelming at first. 

You can eliminate fears [which don’t help you in any way] by being clear about your financial situation. 

You should prepare a budget that includes all of your current and ongoing bills. 

List down all your monthly payables, credit cards, loans, car leases, etc.

Once you know your monthly income & expenses you’ll know how much you can afford to comfortably spend on a house. 

Secondly, as I said before you should never assume because assumptions are often wrong. 

I remind you the importance of a really good mortgage broker, and my other video post “Mortgage Brokers vs. Banks: What’s The Difference?” . 

Specifically, you can’t decide if you can afford to carry a mortgage until you know how much the mortgage will cost you. 

A good mortgage broker might get you better rates, find ways to lower monthly payments, and offer solutions that makes something which seems out of reach, fully doable for you. 

And by the way, talking to a Mortgage Broker for this info is free, so why wouldn’t you at least want to try. 

And if you want the name and number of the best Mortgage Brokers just email me and I’m happy to introduce you. 

The ones I recommend have many years of success with exactly these types of situations. 

#3. What If The Value Of My Property Goes Down?

While it might not be true for other parts of Ontario, or Canada, or other countries, here in Toronto and almost all of the suburbs forming the GTA, prices haven’t gone down for a long time. 

And all indications are that they will keep going up and up. 

And yes, that might sound like a sales line, but I’m not selling anything here, and I say that based on understanding exactly what drives the increasing prices and why it will keep going. 

So I base it on supporting facts. 

But even if by some unknown fluke there was a hiccup in the market or a blip, and the value of your property went down for a few months (or even a year), that is only risky if you’re buying a house to live in short-term or to flip. 

As long as you intend to stay in your home for at least a few years, it is almost impossible here in the GTA that the value of your home in 4 or 5 years will be less than it is today. 

And finally on this point, even if it does happy, it does NOT change your monthly payment or affordability. 

As long as you discuss fixed rates vs. variable rates with your Mortgage Broker your payments are protected. 

It only matters if you were going to sell your home and your home is worth less at the time of sale than you owe the bank. 

So the solution is to stay a little longer. 

#4. Maintaining Upkeep Of The Home!

When doing your budget you should factor in the upkeep costs in your expenses. 

If you don’t know what they are because you haven’t bought yet, that is where it is extremely helpful to hire a really good Buyer’s Agent. 

I know when I sit down with potential Buyers I often help them forecast the upkeep costs of the type and size of homes they are interested in looking at. 

A really good and honest Buyer’s Agent will also help you avoid buying a money-pit or home with potential problems in the future. 

They’ll help you choose a well-maintained home that has recent upgrades and replacements, such as new plumbing or new  roof or new furnace & A/C.

When buying a house you should also hire a Home Inspector to spot home defects that would otherwise go unnoticed.

For more on how an Inspector can help you avoid costly upkeep problems in the future, check out my video posts called:

“The [REAL] Purpose of a Home Inspection & What Home Inspectors Do” 

and “6 Ways To Avoid Buying a Money Pit”

#5. Buyer’s Remorse!    

I have many many years of experience in sales and understanding customer behaviour. 

In my experience most buyer remorse only happens as a result of impulse buying. 

You saw something, you liked it, you bought it because you can, without planning for it. 

Buyer’s remorse is uncommon in real estate, especially if you’re working with a really good Buyer’s Agent, because your Agent will likely take the time to help you decide exactly what you want and need. 

They help you choose exactly where you want to live, what type of property, to make sure you get exactly what you want and need. 

And if you already know what you want, need, and can afford, then a good Buyer’s Agent (one who listens) should only be showing you properties that meet your criteria. 

So once you see a property and you love it, if you’re willing to make an offer and buy it, then it likely is everything you want and need. 

Thus, no buyer’s remorse.

Being firm with your standards and sticking to your budget and other criteria will help you justify the decision you’ve made and put you at ease about your purchase.

If you have questions about buying a house or condo I’m always happy to chat. 

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