Monday 19 August 2013

Tips to Handle Home Buying Stress and Anxiety

Buying a house is an emotional experience - it can be thrilling, exhilarating and stressful. The emotions that you experience during the buying process can make you do weird things. If your emotions get out of hand, could make a mistake and end up with a raw deal. It is prudent to remember that many other things can go wrong during the buying process, so why let your emotions worsen the situation? A seller can end up being unreasonable; a home inspection may reveal that the house is ultimately not your dream house because of too many defects and flaws; your mortgage application can be rejected; there could be problems with the title of the property. With so many things that can go wrong, buying a house can be stressful. When emotions come into play, the situation ends up becoming hopeless.

Tips to Handle Home Buying Stress

Here are some tips to help you cope with the stress of buying a house:

Hire a Real Estate Agent

Using the services of an experienced real estate agent can be extremely useful and can make the entire process of house buying less problematic and stress free. You can save yourself a lot of headache and time by using the services of an agent to find properties within your budget.

Get Pre-Approved for the Mortgage

Most house sellers will not take an offer without a pre-approval from a lender. So get a pre-approval from your lender before you start checking homes and making an offer. Your agent can help you find a suitable lender and work with you to prepare the documentation for pre-approval. This also will help you decide the amount you can afford for the house and the anticipated monthly installments you would have to pay. Pre-approval depends on your credit history and report. So, work towards clearing outstanding debts and organizing your finances. Once your credit history is in good order, you can approach lenders.

Making an Offer

When you like a house, you make an offer and this starts a vicious cycle of stress. Typically, when you are interested in a house, the offer is made via a purchase agreement. This agreement gives the seller information on the price you are offering, down payment, earnest money deposit, loan details, closing date, information on home inspection and appraisal, how the closing costs will be paid and by whom and the time frame for accepting the offer and handing over the keys to the property.

It is best to work with a real estate agent who can explain all the details of the purchase agreement to you. Take it home, study it well and when you are satisfied, sign on the dotted lines. This will help you understand the agreement and also give you enough time to absorb the fact that you will be making an offer to the house seller.

Waiting for the Seller to Accept Your Offer

This is the crucial phase where it can be nerve wracking. Each time the real estate agent calls you, you will begin shaking and your heart will start pounding with nervous anticipation. You will stay awake at nights wondering whether the house owner will accept your offer. Then thoughts of rejection will come to mind, and this will lead you to start planning what to do if the seller rejects your offer. Different scenarios will play in your mind, and you will not have an answer for each situation. This is needless stress that you can do without. Instead, try to follow these tips; they are much better than feeling miserable:
  • Talk to a close friend, who has just bought a house. Speak about your worries and feelings. Alternatively, you can speak to your real estate agent about your worries.
  • Try to divert your attention to some task or leisure activity. You can read the book that you have wanting to read for the last few weeks or take out your frustration by going to work or exercising.
  • Remember, the situation is not in your hands. So, you can do nothing about it. It all depends on the seller, and you will have to wait to get a reply from him or her.
Waiting to Close the Deal

Once the seller accepts your offer, the next stage of stress begins - waiting to close the deal. Instead of getting worked up and letting your blood pressure skyrocket, sit with your real estate agent and find out exactly how the closing is done. If you know each step, you will be mentally and emotionally prepared to handle the situation because you will know what to expect. An experience agent will be able to tell you about possible issues and how to resolve them before they become a big problem. So, tap into the experience of your real estate agent and get answers to questions you are worrying about or don’t know the answers to.

Using the services of an experienced real estate agent can help reduce the stress of buying a house and also help you deal with the nervousness, anxiety and pressure associated with each stage of the buying process. Once you close the deal, then you can celebrate your victory!

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