How can I avoid buyer’s regret?

A: Purchasing a home can be a stressful event. Studies have shown only death and divorce can cause a person more anxiety. So it’s completely normal to have concerns once you decide to purchase what will be the most expensive asset most of us will ever own.

So how can you avoid buyer’s remorse? First, educate yourself as much as possible about the market, understand the inventory, and find out what comparable sales have occurred. A professional, full-time Realtor can help you understand what all this information means.

Ask lots of questions. For example, have inspections been done on the property? You want to know the true condition of the home before purchase so you can anticipate any expenses that will come up in the future like a new roof or repairing pest or water damage.

Once you have made your decision, understand normally wellmeaning friends and family may inadvertently confuse you, especially if they’re from out of the area and don’t understand the local housing market which can be vastly different across the country. They may express concern about how much you paid or say you bought in the wrong area and start planting seeds of doubt.

If you’ve done your homework, you will know you have made a solid investment and will begin growing that all-important equity, essential for building your financial future — an exciting and worthwhile decision.

Jill Gumina, Hill & Co. Real Estate, (415) 265-1717, jkgumina@gmail.com.

A: When purchasing a home, it is important to recognize the difference between things you can change and things you cannot. An outdated kitchen, older baths, unattractive paint colors, dated windows and a lack of landscaping are all cosmetics that can be changed in the future, even if your budget does not allow for upgrades at the moment. Even a small home can be added onto if the lot is large enough.

There are other things, however, that will never change — location, microclimate/weather, lot size, shared walls and traffic noise. If you’re making a compromise that involves something like this, take the time to make sure you’re OK with that before moving forward with the property.

Once you’ve made this decision, start doing your homework. Have the property inspected and pay attention — finding out that you have to replace a foundation after you’ve already purchased your new home is not a great way to start things off.

Also take the time to educate yourself about the school district, the neighborhood, the homeowners association, the taxes, the zoning, etc. There is no perfect house. Holding out for one really means you will wind up emptyhanded, so do be willing to make compromises. Just make sure you’re aware of them before closing escrow.

Logan Link, Golden Gate Sotheby’s, (415) 336-6858, logan@loganlinkhome.com.

A: The most common and most natural thing for buyers to do following close of escrow is to look at properties that come up for sale shortly after their purchase has closed. The foremost question is, did I overpay? Compound this concern with the fact that after the initial test run, it is not unusual to find items in the house that buyers wish were different, so it is not surprising that buyer regret can set in.

The reality, however, is that there is no such thing as a perfect house, whether the price is $500,000 or $5 million. Buyer expectations are simply different in various price points; the $500,000 buyer really wants what a $750,000 house has to offer, and the $5 million buyer wants what a $7 million house has.

One of the ways I prepare buyers for post-escrow regrets is to send them sold data on the homes they did not feel were quite right and did not make an offer on. This data is a good reality check.

Finally, I point out that the people who most regret the outcome of a sale are the unsuccessful buyers. They are back in the market, competing yet once more with an uncertain outcome. It is good to keep in mind that except for contractors with the skills to do major renovations and thus flip a house within a year or two, for the rest of us real estate is a long-term hold. Temporary market gyrations even out.

Astrid Lacitis, Vanguard Properties, (415) 860-0765, astrid@vanguardsf.com.