What Not To Do When Buying a Home
Normally, we love to give you tips on what you should prepare for. Whether is getting your home ready to sell, what to do when buying, or preparing for a holiday, we love giving you some great tips! Today, we want to share some great tips on what not to do when you are buying a home.
Buying your home will likely be the biggest financial decision you make in your lifetime. Therefore, you will want to ensure that you know all the tricks to make it a successful and easy process.
Realtor.com wrote an awesome piece about what not to do when buying a home. It lists everything that we would recommend! Here's what they have to say:
Don't Shop Around for Homes Without an Agent
Don't Meet with just one Mortgage Lender
Don't Understate Your Budget
Don't Hold Out for the "Perfect House"
Don't Make Ridiculously Lowball Offers
Don't Forget to Budget for Closing Costs
Don't Make Big Purchases Before You Close
For their advise on each topic, visit their website with the link above.
We personally would recommend just about everything on that list! Here's a little more on what we have to say about it:
Financially:
When you decide to buy a house it is absolutely crucial that you go through the entire pre-approval process with a lender. We highly recommend a sit down meeting to go over all the pieces so you fully understand what you'll be paying for and what you can actually afford. Do not be afraid to ask a lender questions about the financial piece! They are the experts and will want to help make sure that you understand everything so everything goes smoothly throughout the entire process.
Once you have a lender and you have discussed finances, make sure that your Real Estate agent knows what price you want to pay based on the information you learned (don't go over what you're approved for), and the monthly payment you are comfortable paying. (Just because you are approved for a $300,000 home doesn't mean you want to pay the monthly payment for it!)
Finally, we cannot stress this enough - do not make any other major financial purchases when you are buying a house! That means any large purchase that could have an effect on your credit. Wait until you have closed on your new home (this means you have the keys and everything is 100% done) before buying that new car or putting your next vacation on your credit card. The large debt can affect your credit score and may affect your ability to purchase the home you want.
The Home Search:
If you haven't bought a home in a while, or you are a first time home buyer, we know it's both fun and stressful to find your next home! There's a lot to choose from and it can be overwhelming. However, one of key things to remember when looking for your next home is there no such thing as "the perfect house". Every home as quirks and things that you may want to modify - even new construction!
One of the joys of owning your home is that you'll be able to take those imperfections and modify them to make your home yours. When you're looking at homes, keep in mind that almost every home will have something that you will want to change when you move in. This does not mean that it's not the right home for you. If you find a home you love but there's a few things that you want to change, don't let it go waiting for a perfect home that doesn't exist. Don't worry, your Realtor can help you through the process if you are really torn on what you should do!
If you are shopping around for a house - don't forget to include your Real Estate agent! We completely understand looking around and seeing Open Houses for fun or searching online. We love to do that too - but if you are seriously looking for a home, find a Real Estate agent you trust to help you set up showings and to represent you when you find that next home. It will make the process so much easier in the long run for you!
Have you bought a home and discovered your own "what not to do" or have more questions? Let us know! We'd love to hear your story or help guide you through the Real Estate process!