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Eight Major Mistakes To Avoid When Buying A Home*

LeahXL/ House Buying

Buying a home is incredibly overwhelming, especially for first-time buyers. While it is certainly an exciting process at times, it is also quite daunting. After all, a house is the biggest purchase most people make in their whole lives but is nothing like any other financial transaction you will have faced. Because of this unfamiliarity, many first-time buyers sabotage their search and sale by making easily avoidable errors. With that in mind, here are eight mistakes you should know of.

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1. Buying Before You’re Ready

If there’s one decision in life that shouldn’t be taken lightly, it’s buying a home. This is one of, if not the biggest transaction you will ever make, and, as such, is sure to affect you for the rest of your life. For this reason, you must ensure that you’re ready to purchase a property before you jump into the process. If you plan to move in the near future or don’t have the funds, then you should hold back for a while. Renting can be frustrating, but the flexibility it offers is beneficial.

2. Not Getting Pre-Approved

When trying to determine how much money you can borrow, online mortgage calculators can be a lot of help. However, just because this tool says you should get approved for a certain amount size loan, it doesn’t mean that you will be. Thousands of loan applications are denied every single year for a variety of reasons. Because of this, you should get your loan pre-approved before you start house hunting. This puts you in the best position to begin negotiations.

3. Forgetting The Extra Expenses

Unbeknownst to many inexperienced buyers, the loan you borrow when buying a house doesn’t actually cover the entire cost doing so. There are many extra expenses that you will have to cover yourself, including stamp duties, loan application fees, valuation costs, and more. You’ll also need to cough up for a downpayment on the property, as well as consider the cost of moving and decorating. When you start house hunting, you need to save for these expenses.

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4. Failing To Research Location

Buying a home is about so much more than just the building itself. You may love the property that you’re looking at, but, if the neighbourhood isn’t up to scratch, then you might not enjoy your time living there. Because of this, you should spend some time researching locations, as well as individual properties, to find a place you truly love. Make sure that everything from the quality of schools to the crime levels is at a standard that you are happy with.

5. Settling Out Of Desperation

The house hunting process can easily go on for months or even years, causing many buyers to become frustrated. Rather than purchase a home you don’t want, just because you’ve become desperate, you should give yourself a break before you start hunting again. If you continue to struggle to find a home that you’re happy with, then consider working with housebuilders, like Redrow. This allows you to choose fittings, fixtures, and other details that are important to you.

6. Using The Seller’s Agent

A real estate agent can make the property buying process a whole lot easier, as well as save you money along the way. That being said, this may cease to be true if you choose to use the seller’s agent as your own. This would be like allowing your ex-partner’s lawyer to dictate your divorce settlement. While it’s incredibly beneficial to have an estate agent in your corner, you must make sure that yours truly is. This means spending time shopping around for the right one.

7. Skipping The Professional Inspection

Taking a look around a property can certainly tell you a lot about it, but, unless you’re a professional inspector, you might not notice subtle, yet incredibly serious issues. Home inspections can be costly, which is why many home buyers try to avoid them. However, as pricey as they can be, the time, money, and worry they can potentially save you are invaluable. Without a home inspection, you might pay out for a house that you can’t even live in.

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8. Neglecting Your Own Finances

As important as it is to get pre-approved for your mortgage, having this approval doesn’t guarantee that you will get one. Lenders look at credit reports right before settlement, just to make sure that the borrower’s financial situation hasn’t changed. This means that, if you’ve switched jobs or made a big purchase since applying for your loan, it could put your plans in jeopardy. To prevent this, you should try to keep your circumstances exactly the same.  

Buying a home is a huge transaction, so make sure that you do it the right way and avoid the mistakes above.

*collaborative post

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