3 Common Home Buyer Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Buying your home for the first time can both be overwhelming and thrilling. It’s a long process that involves many emotional highs and lows that can affect your decision-making along the way. This roller coaster of emotions often obscures your view of the process which may lead you to pitfalls.

To avoid these pitfalls, it is important to know them before you take the plunge. A well-prepared home buyer knows not only the ‘do’s’ of buying a home but also the common house-hunting mistakes. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most common home buyer errors and how to avoid them.

• Shopping for a home without mortgage preapproval

Getting prequalified for a mortgage is an important step in the home buying process, but many first-time home buyers neither see its value nor are aware of the prequalification process. Sellers would go for a buyer who has enough cash or is certain to secure a fund to cover the purchase – especially if they have multiple offers on the table. So before you eye out for that dream home of yours, make sure to consult a lender first to speed up the process.  

• Rushing the process

It is understandable that many home buyers want to take hold of the keys as soon as they spotted their dream house. They tend to rush the process and even skip steps just to arrive at the close immediately. This can lead to issues that can cost you later on. Remember that the home-buying process is a long, complicated process that needs time to be executed successfully. So it is important to remain patient and to duly execute every step in the process.

• Scraping all your money

To get a better interest rate and a lower monthly payment, many home buyers try to make their down payments as large as they could. The common mistake among buyers is draining all their savings including their emergency and retirement fund to put toward a down payment. Leaving yourself with zero savings is a risk that should be avoided. Your priority should be emergency funds overpaying mortgage insurance.  

Buying your first home includes so many aspects that every home buyer should learn. It is a technical process that needs research and proper guidance to be executed successfully. Mistakes happen all the time but committing one or two in a large purchase can cost you a considerable amount of money. So take note of the missteps that you might encounter along the home-buying process, and avoid them before they happen.