Use An Expert Guide!
The home buying process is full of potential pitfalls.
Most of those potential pitfalls result from making poor decisions,
including: choosing the wrong type of home, the wrong lender, failing
to get a thorough inspection and problems with the title. The last
two potential problems can cost you a lot of money and grief!
Do not buy without a real estate agent! Your agent
will help navigate you through the entire home buying process and
help you avert many of these mistakes. Plus, the seller pays
your real estate agent’s fees. Buying a home through your agent
costs you nothing! Now imagine if our other professionals,
including accountants, attorneys and dentists, cost us nothing!
Below are the most common mistakes buyers
make, which cost them thousands of dollars and tons of grief:
1. Not Planning Before Purchasing
Searching for a home can be impulsive and emotional. Don’t let
one aspect of the home (its appearance, the color of the carpet) be
the sole factor in your buying decision. Sit down with your real estate
agent and map out a strategy.
Answer the following questions before you begin searching:
1) Where do I want to live? Do I want to commute? What area has the
highest price appreciation according to my agent?
2) How Much can I afford? The first thing you should do is get
pre-approved. That way, you’ll save yourself a lot of time
by not looking at homes you simply cannot afford. Also, how much do
you have as a down payment?
3) What type of home do you want? Be brutally honest with yourself.
The point of this is to make sure you make the best
investment and live in the right area. Plus, you don’t want
to be over-extended with your mortgage payments!
2. Not Identifying Opportunities
Before you buy a home at or above market value, find
out where the “deals” are. Your agent may know of
several sellers in your market that are selling due to “special
circumstances”. Perhaps one seller in the neighborhood you want
to live is getting divorced. Maybe another one is being relocated
by her or his company and needs to sell fast. How will you know if
a seller in the neighborhood lost her job and is willing to sell for
thousands below list? Work with your agent on this! It is alsop vital
to bring an experienced appraiser in to make sure you are buying a
good deal.
Get our FREE Report: "How
To Find Hidden Real Estate Bargains" - this report offers many
specific things you can do to locate the best deals!
3. Not Finding The Right Lender
Getting the right type of loan for your situation is
critical. There are many lenders vying for your business. Many are online,
many are local. The difference truly is the person you work with during
the lending process. A good
lender will make sure you get the right loan at the right rate. Be
careful!
4. Failing To Get A Good Title
Nothing can be more draining, financially and emotionally, than buying
a home with a “clouded” title. For example, you may buy
a house and learn after the fact that the previous owner still owed
a contractor $5,000 for the remaining payment on the basement remodeling.
The contractor filed a lien on the property prior to the sale. That
lien is now on your property! Make sure the title to the property
is free and clear and purchase a good title insurance policy.
5. Failing To Get A Good Inspector
Like any profession, there are good inspectors and those who tend
to overlook a lot of problems. You want an inspector that will scrutinize
every aspect of the house. Make sure you get several referrals from
past clients. Most importantly, make sure you do not buy a house that
has structural or other defects because the inspector overlooked them!
This will cost you!
6. Wasting Your Time
All too often, buyers waste hours in front of their computer combing
through online real estate sites. Problem is, these homes are usually
not the best deals. Save your time. Spend it on things that are important
to you . . . family, friends, work, etc. Your agent will notify
you when the right homes become available.
7. Not Using An Experienced Escrow Company
A good escrow company can make the entire buying
process hassle-free. The wrong escrow company can cause you nothing
but headaches. Do not overlook the importance of having seasoned transaction
facilitators working for you.
8. Failing To Do A Final Walkthrough
This can be a critical mistake. Before you close
on your home, do not assume that all of the repairs you asked for
have been done. Walk through the house before closing, and make sure
the repairs have been done. Make sure nothing else has changed. Once
you buy the home, any problems are yours!
