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Buying a new house is supposed to be an exciting experience and, for the most part, it often is. As you browse through potential properties, you’ll feel a frisson of excitement at the idea of moving somewhere new, starting afresh, and embracing all the potential a move may offer to you and your family.
However, looking for a new property can also have its downsides. As you try to juggle the twin requirements of selling your existing home and finding a new property, it is almost inevitable that the occasional concern will cross your mind. While these concerns are entirely natural, they can be deflating, and cause you to wonder if you are doing the right thing at all.
In an effort to provide reassurance, below, you’ll find five different things that many people think and feel when they are going through the process of buying a new property and selling their own.
“We’ll never find the house we need.”
Perhaps the most significant concern of all is the worry that you will never be able to find “the one” when it comes to properties. Yes, you may have seen a few properties that could almost be the one, but you’ve yet to find a property that instantly makes you think: “yes, I want to live here”.
A house is a major investment, so there is no reason to try and convince yourself to accept a property that doesn’t feel right. Being discerning is actually to your benefit in this regard, helping you to avoid the worst case of buyer’s remorse you’ll ever experience, and ensuring that you are only going to make a move when it’s truly the right choice for your family’s future. Every time you find yourself worrying about the fact you’ve not found “the one” yet, try to redirect this energy into your search; perhaps you could expand the areas you are considering, or visit properties you’d always assumed wouldn’t be right – in the latter case, you may find that a house that looks unsuitable on paper can actually be surprisingly worth considering if you visit in person.
“Is this property really right for us?”
It is not uncommon for people to finally find a property for sale that they believe suits their needs and is well worth buying, and then to find themselves… hesitating. This can happen almost overnight; a sudden switch from “this is absolutely the property we want to buy!” to “actually, I’m not so sure, maybe we should keep looking?”. The whiplash from this sudden change of heart is always difficult to deal with, especially if the process of arranging to buy the property – such as the contract arrangements and conducting a survey – has already begun.
If you do experience sudden doubts, give yourself a moment to take these into account. Sometimes, lingering doubts are worth paying attention to; for example, if you had previously noticed a warning sign about the house but had dismissed it in an effort to focus on securing a property, reconsidering this could well be worth doing. There may be stray thoughts lingering in your mind that are causing doubts, so examining these – and settling them – could well be worth doing.
However, if there is no underlying reason for you to suddenly be experiencing doubts, then you can usually put this concern down to general concerns over the process. Buying a house is a big financial commitment, so even if the property is literally completely perfect, you’ll still experience the occasional wrinkle of discontent. For the most part, it’s best to just try and ride these feelings out – they won’t last long, so keep busy, keep working on the move, and wait for your doubts to pass.
“I’m not sure if moving is the right idea.”
Moving is rarely a straightforward, easy process – it’s time-consuming, stressful, and has a tendency to take over almost everything else in your life. As a result, you may find yourself questioning whether you should move at all at any point during the process.
When these doubts surface, it can be helpful to remind yourself why you decided to move in the first instance. What led you to the decision that a house move was crucial? How will things improve for your family with the move? What will your future look like after the process of moving is complete, and you’re settled in your new home? All of these questions can help to re-centre your thoughts and give you something to focus on even when you are questioning everything else.
“This isn’t the right time to move.”
This concern can arise at any point during a house move, including right up to the moment where contracts are exchanged. Usually, people continue to acknowledge that they do want to move, but that maybe now isn’t the right time to do it. As a result, this thought is a little tougher to overcome than, as discussed, a blanket “I’m not sure if this is the right idea”.
Sometimes, timing is an issue – for example, if you have to change jobs in the midst of planning to move home, then a delay might actually be worth considering. To decipher between genuine concerns and more general concerns-about-moving worries, it can be helpful to ask yourself what a delay would achieve. For example, if you were to move in six months, would it really be easier? If there is a “real” reason for the delay – a change of job or financial circumstances, which may be eased in six months time – then you can recognise this fact, and thus delaying might be the right choice.
However, if you cannot see how a delay would help on a practical level, then it is more likely that this concern is more of a reflection of general anxiety about the move. As a result, you can – as with the standard “not the right idea” worry – just reassure yourself of the reasons to move until the concern eventually subsides.
In conclusion
Moving home is a big ask, so it is entirely understandable that you may find that you have the occasional doubt or concerns along the way. By recognising that these thoughts are completely typical – and can even be helpful – you should be able to guide yourself through each concern, and soon return to focusing on all the positives moving home will bring to your family.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
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