Avoid
These Common Homebuying Mistakes
Buying
a house covers a lot of ground--including legal, financial and emotional
considerations. To not educate yourself and learn from the mistakes
of others only sets you up to be at best disappointed and at worst
finding yourself living in the wrong house. We have listed some
of the most prevalent--and potentially dangerous and expensive--mistakes
made by first time home buyers.
Running before
walking. This is easy to do once the decision to buy a
home has been made. It means rushing off looking at homes, surfing
the web or calling on advertisements before doing some up-front
preparation. Not spending time doing this preparation, though, can
be a disaster. We get a number of emails from buyers who have contracted
to purchase a home and want to know the easiest way of getting out
of the purchase. Let it be known loud and clear: If you contract
to purchase a home and "change your mind," the chances
of getting released from the contract are almost non-existent. Still
we hear "We found another home!" Sorry, too late. Maybe
next time. "We are buying too much house!" Okay, maybe
you will be able to rent out a room or two. " It's not what
we want!" Maybe you can paint the house, or add on to it or
replace the carpeting, but you will almost certainly will be living
in it!
Over-buying the
first time. Being "house poor" is a very uncomfortable
existence. A large and beautiful home with little or no furniture
tends to be empty and cold. A life where almost every dime of your
earnings goes to the support of your house wears thin very quickly
and is a frequent cause of family stress. Pushing yourself right
up to--or beyond--your limits leaves you highly exposed when the
inevitable changes to the national or your personal economy occur.
Leave yourself some breathing room! Your free Real
Estate Assistant mortgage calculators can help you
budget for your new home. Get yours today!
Finding out too
late that you have no representation. This can be a real
nasty surprise when you assume that the Agent with whom you are
working represents you when they actually represent--and owe complete
allegiance to--the seller. How does this happen? By not taking the
time to investigate and familiarize yourself with the laws regarding
Agency. Or, by rushing out to look at homes, whether in person or
on the Internet, and contacting the Agent who has the house advertised
(who will be the listing Agent and will absolutely represent the
seller). Another pitfall occurs when you try to represent yourself
in the purchase of a home, thinking that you will save money. This
may be the case, but it is just as--or more--likely that you will
run into a savvy seller who is looking to keep the commission savings
in their pocket rather than give it to you. In addition, without
representation and the use of a Comparative Market Analysis, how
do you determine a realistic purchase price for a property?
Not comparing
mortgages. There are far too many variables--type of mortgage,
term, lender and amount of points to mention a few--not to investigate
all of your options. Don't simply accept the first plan presented
to you, whether it is from a mortgage broker, an Agent or on the
recommendation of a friend or relative. Spend time comparing to
get the most advantageous plan for your requirements and financial
situation. Your courteous and professional Allegro
Lending Source mortgage consultant will review over
550 different loan programs to find the loan that meets your unique
needs.
Not getting mortgage
preapproval. In the past it may have been different, but
in the year 2000, prequalification and preapprovals are a necessary
part of the home buying process. Not only will it give you an exact
price range for your purchase, preapproval will add a great deal
of strength to your offer.
Waiting for the
"perfect" home. Many first time buyers make the
mistake that they will, if they look around long enough, find a
home that has a full 100% of their needs and wants. With the thousands
of variables available in housing, including location, style, size,
amenities and condition, this is almost always an unrealistic goal.
There are two potential problems with this strategy: First, these
buyers pass by homes that meet 90% or more of their requirements
only to eventually give up (often purchasing homes with less of
their requirements because they are worn out!) and second, while
they are waiting for the "perfect" home, housing market
prices (and often mortgage rates) continue to rise, adding expense
to their purchase. Instead, it makes sense to determine the most
important of your needs and the most desired of your wants and selecting
a home that meets the majority of them. The Real
Estate Assistant can help you determine which things
are most important to you in a home. Request your free copy!
Shortcutting
the inspection process. This can involve skipping a whole
house inspection completely in order to save the relatively small
amount of money involved or it may involve using a friend or relative
with limited experience to conduct the inspection. In either case
you run the risk of not exposing potentially expensive--or even
hazardous--defects in the property. Protect yourself and invest
the $200 to $500 for a professional inspection.
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