Buying a home for most people is an exciting time; however, it can also be challenging, even if you’ve purchased a home before. However, first time home buyers often find the process frustrating, and at times intimidating. The good news is it doesn’t have to be that way. You can easily overcome the frustration and intimidation by taking some time to educate yourself about how the home buying process works and what the most common mistakes are so you can avoid them. Here are the seven most common mistakes first time home buyers make and how you can avoid them.
1.  Not Living Within Your Means.
Yes. Living within your means is probably the most important aspect of buying a home, if you don’t want to lose it. The last housing bubble taught us that just because a bank decides how you much are able to borrow, doesn’t mean that’s what you can actually afford. You need to assess your lifestyle and determine what you can comfortably afford to pay each month. And if necessary, ask yourself what you could do without and where you are willing to make lifestyle changes to make a mortgage payment. Additionally, and probably the better way, is to find a house that you could easily afford without having to change your current lifestyle too drastically.
2. Not Getting a Pre-Approval Letter.Â
Yes, you absolutely should get a pre-approval letter before you actually begin the home buying process. There’s no sense in looking for a home before you know if a lender will approve you for buying one and if they do how much you will be approved for. Additionally, having a pre-approval letter in hand will give you more leverage with any seller, especially if you find a home that you don’t want to lose to another buyer who does have a pre-approval letter. If one buyer has a pre-approval letter and the other one doesn’t, which offer do you think the seller is going to choose? In most cases, it will be the one they know is qualified to buy their home.
3. Taking Too Long to Make a Decision.Â
Taking too long to make a decision is probably one of the most common mistakes first time home buyers make. And that’s understandable since you’ve never done this before and don’t want to rush into anything; however, if you find a house you love and it fits within your budget, don’t wait to put in an offer. Because if you love the house that much, the chances are good that someone else will too. And you don’t want to lose the perfect home just because you took too long to make a decision.
4. Not Compromising.Â
You might be wondering why you as a buyer would have to compromise. Besides, you are the buyer, shouldn’t the seller be the one who should be compromising if they want to sell their home? Well, not really. Just because you are the buyer doesn’t always mean the ball is in your court. And the worst thing you could do is to be so picky as to what you want and what contingencies you are demanding, that the seller decides he doesn’t want to sell to you.
Additionally, you probably made a list of your wants and needs before you started your home search. However, it’s very rare you find a home that has everything you want. Therefore, it’s best to put your wants and needs in priority order, beginning with your needs. Then try to find a house that has the most important things on your list. Otherwise, you could find yourself searching for the “perfect” home that just doesn’t exist.
5. Letting Your Emotions Get in the Way.Â
It doesn’t matter how much you try to keep your emotions out of the home buying equation, they will at some point enter the picture. This is especially true if you’ve found a home that’s perfect and has everything on your wish list. However, the worst mistake you could make is to buy a house that is higher than what you can comfortably afford.  Or trying to justify needed repairs to convince yourself this is the right house for you or really any other reason that takes you out of your comfort zone. The best way to overcome the emotion issue is to remember that you found this house and just because it isn’t going to work for whatever reason, there will at some point be another one, guaranteed! You’ll see. So hang in there and don’t let your emotions take over.
6. Not Including the Additional Expenses in Your Monthly Budget.Â
It’s normal for first time home buyers to not realize there are other expenses that will be added to their monthly mortgage payment. That’s why it’s so important to do your research before you begin looking for a home. The most common expenses added to a monthly mortgage payment are PMI (private mortgage insurance), property taxes, and homeowners insurance.
7. Skipping the Home Inspection.Â
The home inspection process is probably one of the most important things you will need to do before buying any given home. A home inspection could uncover underlying issues with the home that are not readily visible, even to the trained eye. You should never, ever skip the home inspection process if you don’t want to be left with a potential money pit. Additionally, a home inspection report can provide you with the leverage you need to encourage a seller to accept your lower than asking price offer.
What Other Issues Do First Time Home Buyers Need to Consider?
There are other issues first time home buyers should consider. For example, before you begin your home search, you should think about how your life might change in the future and what type of house you will need to accommodate it, such as having kids, and so on. Not being able to see past a few easy cosmetic fixes that could save you thousands of dollars rather than finding a home that has already been cosmetically updated. Not realizing that any given neighborhood could require you to pay a homeowners association fee. And last but not least, after you close you should check into getting a homestead exemption, which could lower your annual property taxes, among other things.
2 Point Highlight
1. Â The seven most common mistakes first time home buyers make and how you can avoid them.
2. Â Living within your means is probably the most important aspect of buying a home, if you don’t want to lose it.
