How stressful is buying your first home?

There’s nothing as invigorating as getting the keys to your first home, stepping inside and thinking “This is mine!” Depending on how smoothly the process has been leading up to that wonderful day, however, the rush might be as much down to relief as to joy.

We’re in the business of building and selling homes, so it would be easy for us to say it’s a stress-free experience. Yes, we’ll go out of our way to make sure your move is as simple as possible, but different people cope with the stress in different ways, and no two moves are the same. For some, it’s a worry.

But we think that if we point out the commonest causes of stress during a move into your new home, you’ll be able to prepare for it, and to realise what you’re feeling is completely normal. Just keeping your eyes on the prize – moving-in day – is one way to relieve the strains. You’ll have that Allen key in the flat-pack sooner than you think.

Finding the right place

The first source of stress comes before your pen has come even close to a dotted line: house-hunting. If you’ve experienced it before, you’ll be used to the ups and downs. Finding a place you like is just the start.

You’ll feverishly start looking around the internet to find out what the area is like, which could mean public transport, schools, shopping, parking, broadband speeds … the whole range of factors.

Sometimes you’ll love the house but your sixth sense will give warning signals about the area. Or it might be the other way round. In truth, most of your misgivings will be overblown. If you go looking for faults, you’ll always find them.

Have a rational approach to both the property and the area and unless it’s way beyond the pale, you’ll almost certainly get used to it.

And then there are the times where you find the perfect place, make an offer … and get outbid by someone else. That’s just part of the process, unfortunately, but just remember – the next place you find might be better anyway.

The financial commitment

Unless you’ve won the lottery, it’s likely that you’ll be putting down a substantial deposit and then committing yourself to more than 20 years of mortgage payments. Paired with those niggling misgivings we mentioned above, it’s perfectly natural to ask yourself if you’ve made the right decision. Trust us, everyone feels that way.

Just remember that if you ever do conclude that the place isn’t for you, it’s not the end of the world – you can sell up and move on (and you might even get back more than you paid).

Going through the motions

Third, there’s the time it takes for mortgage approval (which is much quicker now than it used to be), waiting around to see if your offer has been accepted, signing all the paperwork and then waiting for conveyancing to go through.

If you know in advance that conveyancing can take up to 12 weeks (but can be as little as six weeks), at least you’re prepared, and you know that nothing’s wrong. It gives you more time to pack, too.

Uprooting and moving

The final cause of stress is a perfectly human response to moving – leaving your old life behind. Whether you’re moving out of your parental home or vacating a flat you’ve been renting, the home will come with its own memories, hopefully happy ones.

There’s no escaping the emotional magnetism of home, but just think about all the things that will be the same in your life – friends, family, hobbies or work – because they won’t be changing just because you’ve got a new postcode.

New builds ease the stress

One great thing about moving into a new build property is that another source of moving stress – getting stuck in a chain – is removed. So why not have a look at our beautiful new build properties in the area you’re interested in? We’ll be right by your side throughout the process to ensure your move is as stress-free as possible.

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