Survey Reveals What First-Time Homeowners Wish They’d Known

Three in five homeowners said they still live in their first homes, but in hindsight, what do they wish they’d known before buying? 

According to American Home Shield, cost was a big revelation – 46% of the more than 1,000 homeowners surveyed said they didn’t understand the true cost of homeownership before buying their first home. Specifically: 

• 14% regret spending as much as they did on their home 
• 24% did not budget for closing fees 
• 26% did not know their property taxes would increase on their home over time 
• 16% didn’t budget for HOA fees 
• 42% had no furniture budget 
• 56% had no repair budget 

Overall, the top financial regrets were not saving enough (23%), not having savings for repairs (17%) and renovation expenses (15%). 

Homeowners also reported wishing they’d paid more attention to some things, including: 

1. Maintenance needs (49%) 
2. Home layout/size (30%) 
3. Neighborhood (22%) 
4. Neighbors (21%) 
5. Commute (19%) 

They said the hardest parts of homebuying for them were: 

1. Finding the right home (57%) 
2. Contracts/paperwork (41%) 
3. Home inspections/negotiations (29%) 
4. Securing financing (28%) 

However, once they got through the homebuying process, many of them faced one major homeowner worry: home maintenance. 

Fifty-one percent of homeowners reported experiencing anxiety about things breaking in their home, and 27% felt overwhelmed by home maintenance needs beyond basic chores. On average, respondents said they spent seven hours a week on home repairs/preventative maintenance.