One Thing Your Realtor Neglected To Tell You

If you’ve ever bought a home, or are currently in the process of doing so, the stress it creates may make you feel as if the whole world has come crashing down on you. Certainly, there’s the excitement of moving into a new place, and the idea of creating memories with your family in a home of your own, but the stress involved with getting through the home buying process may impact your health - seriously.

A British firm recently conducted a study on behalf of In-Deed, a British conveyancing service, which reported something very interesting about the stress of buying or selling a home. In the study they interviewed 200 Britons who had sold or bought a house in the 3 months prior to the study. The results indicate that the stress associated with buying or selling a home can take about 2 years off of your life!

Of the individuals interviewed, more than two-thirds maintain that the process accelerated symptoms associated with aging. It’s widely believed that going through a foreclosure is more stressful than losing a close family member, however there’s no “scientific” evidence to back up this assertion.

According to Glenn Wilson, the chief psychologist for the study, “Periods of prolonged stress and anxiety - such as when buying or selling a home - can seriously take their toll on our well-being, with depression, weight loss and even premature aging a likely outcome.”

Symptoms felt among the respondents varied widely, including problems such as a diminished sex drive, issues with short-term memory and even hair loss. The length of time involved in the process determined, at least for the subjects questioned, the severity of aging that took place. For example, a normal buying or selling process of 15 weeks aged individuals by 25 months whereas buyers and sellers who were more pressed “aged” almost twice that length of time at 47 months.

Four in ten couples interviewed claimed that the event caused squabbles that “were nearly as divisive” as fights about money.

Despite the stress that such an event places on an individual, if you ask nearly anyone whether the stress associated with buying their home was worth it, chances are very good that they would answer in the affirmative.

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