You thought that you bought your dream home. But once you moved in and started living in it, you started discovering that the house was turning into a financial nightmare and then the buyer’s remorse set in.

It may even still look like your dream home, but over time skeletons start rising to the surface.

Whether it’s the unforeseen structural issues, hidden problem with fixtures or fittings that came with the property, constantly breaking down. Leading you to conclude, those plans you had for your new property are no longer feasible. 

What are your options? Is it better to cut your losses and sell fast, or stick it out and hope for the best?

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Do the sums

As hard as it is, especially if this is your first home or what you thought was your ideal home (at least until you moved in), try to remove emotions from the equation when considering your options.

Do your sums, work out what you can or cannot afford to fix — if this is even possible — and compare these costs and effort to the possible costs of selling and moving again. Take into account the emotional strain that potentially long-term or drawn-out renovations may place on you.

Fix properly

Whether you stay or go, there may be some things you just cannot avoid fixing. For the things you do fix, be sure to fix them properly; the last thing you need is a dodgy fix that creates more problems down the track — for you or potential buyers.

Don’t hid

Don’t lie to potential buyers or real estate agents about problems you’ve encountered and why you’re selling. With agents, if they are good, they’ll help you draw out the positives enough to get potential buyers through the door.

The last thing you want is a potential buyers pre-purchase inspector discovering all the issues and buyers using the highlighted issues to drive the price below what is reasonable.

Be realistic

The pragmatic approach applies whether you decide to stay or go. If you’re staying, be practical about what you can do, what you can live with and what you can afford to make the property liveable.

If you decide to sell, be prepared to accept a reasonable offer. Don’t feel like you can’t accept the first offer: if the buyers are going in with their eyes open and make you a fair offer, you can definitely accept it and move on.

Also consider all the costs involved in buying a different property.

Moving on may be easier said than done, especially if you’ve lost a lot of money on the property. But as with all disappointments in life, the best approach is to try to learn from your mistakes and look forward to bigger and better things!

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This article does not constitute advice; readers should seek independent and personalised counsel from a trusted adviser that specialises in property, a tax accountant and property design specialist.