Millennial Homeowners and Buyer’s Remorse

Arguably bigger than the “to-may-to/to-mah-to” or even the “po-tay-to/po-tah-to” debate just might be the over or under question.

No, not in reference to sports betting — but that age-old question about how the toilet paper falls from the roll. The UK’s Daily Mirror reported that Choice magazine had unearthed a 128-year-old patent which contained a detailed illustration showing the paper coming up and over the roll, not hanging under.

While not completely determinative, it is compelling evidence of what was intended. On the other hand, they do drive on the other side of the road in the UK…

In more relevant news, while millennials are buying more homes than any other demographic, it seems like Baby Boomers — those age 60 and above — have created about 7.9 million homeowners in recent years. That is a growth rate higher than any other demographic. Seems unusual — almost backwards if you think about it — but apparently true according to National Mortgage News.

That’s a decent number of homes (mostly smaller, more affordable homes) that millennials had to compete for and didn’t get —likely losing out to more qualified, better financed Boomers.

Bankrate.com recently surveyed millennial homeowners. The bad news is that almost two-thirds said they had regrets about buying. Basically, they don’t like the maintenance. For many, it appears they prefer calling the landlord to fix the kitchen sink rather than putting out the cash to fix it themselves.

When you’re working with millennial homebuyers, don’t be afraid to discuss the “unexpected” expenses that they should be considering when shopping for a home. If they are more mentally (and financially) prepared for the random maintenance costs that pop up, we may see a little less buyer’s remorse.