69% Of Homeowners With Unsecured Debt Regret Not Doing This One Thing Before Buying A Home

American homeowners are finding it difficult to pay off their homes, and as a result, they wish they would have saved up more money before signing on the dotted line.

That’s according to a recent survey from Freedom Debt Relief which polled 1,028 U.S. homeowners with at least $10,000 in unsecured debt. (Unsecured debt includes credit card debt and medical bills.)

Of those surveyed, more than half (69%) say they should have saved more money for their down payment. On top of that, 52% of homeowners say their monthly mortgage payment is too high, 29% say owning a home stresses them out, 26% feel that it’s a burden to own a home and just over 40% say they weren’t aware of all of their mortgage options.

Despite feeling stressed and regretting their approach to home buying, a majority of homeowners (59%) still view homeownership as a big part of the American dream.

In a recent home ownership survey, Bankrate found similar results. While 79% of Americans view owning a home as “a hallmark of achieving the American dream,” 44% of homeowners said they had regrets about their home purchase.

Homeownership doesn’t appear to be getting any easier —or more affordable — for prospective buyers, either. From 2017 to 2018, the median home value rose by 6%. While that’s good news for homeowners, it’s not so great for buyers, since down payments and monthly mortgage costs will inevitably be higher, home co-investment company Unison found in its 2019 Home Affordability Report.

Unison’s report also found that it now takes more than 25 years to save up for a 20% down payment on a median income in major U.S. cities, such as New York City, Los Angeles and San Diego. Nationwide, it takes about 14 years to save up for a 20% down payment if you earn a median income. As a result, potential homeowners are waiting to buy.

“The way things are going, an entire generation of Americans may be approaching retirement before they can securely own a home or be forced to take on more risk than they can reasonably afford in order to realize their dream of homeownership,” Unison CEO Thomas Sponholtz said in the report. “This is a societal and economic problem that impacts all income levels.”

Read more at: cnbc.com