For my wife and I, buying a home was one of the most rewarding accomplishments of our lives. While some days it feels like we’re barely treading water as homeowners, other days we’ve never been more happy and thankful.
But getting to the closing table was a long, frustrating process. From getting our finances in order, to shopping for a home, to actually finding one that met our needs and budget, there several aspects of the home-buying process that left a lot to be desired.
In fact, I can safely say there was a lot about the process I hated. While I’m happy now in my new home, here are 13 things I hated about buying it:
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1. Low inventory
My wife and I began looking at homes in December 2014. In the lovely state of New Jersey, “December” translates into short days, near-freezing temps, rain, snow and all the “fun” that comes with that.
The real estate side effect of gray skies and snow showers is that not a lot of people are interested in selling their homes. Long story short, we spent months and months picking through the bones of the market, looking at one clunker after the other.
You may be asking, why would anyone shop for a home in the winter? Buyers shop for homes in the winter for the same reasons homeowners sell in the winter: they have to. We had just sold our co-op and the thought of shacking up with the in-laws for an extended period of time was not something any of us wanted.
2. Deceiving online pictures
When will I learn?! When it comes to online real estate photos, I’ve fallen into the “ooooh, that’s looks nice” trap so many times.
Since the invention of Craigslist, I have been duped by online photos of apartments and now houses. Every house I saw during my home-shopping adventure looked way better online than in person.
Online pictures of homes are like profile photos on online dating sites: they disguise imperfections of all shapes and sizes, making things look a lot better in virtual reality than they do in reality.
3. Dirty homes
Speaking of things looking worse in person … For me, there was nothing worse than walking into a dirty home. Forget a home that needs upgrades or repairs, those you know you can fix. But a dirty home is an instant turnoff that can disguise the potential of a home.
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