Buying a house is a joyous experience, where you get to start life fresh and make so many new memories. It's also a stressful process filled with many pitfalls. These, in particular, are ones you need to strongly avoid.
1. Not Getting Pre-Approved
Many home buyers go into this process not really sure how much they can afford in a home. Then after living in their home for several months, they may come to realize that it's not affordable long-term.
You can avoid this mistake simply by getting pre-approved, before ever looking for a home. The pre-approval process lets you know exactly how much you can afford in a mortgage, based on your assets and monthly income. Knowing this baseline figure prevents you from putting yourself into a financial hole.
Getting pre-approved also makes you a serious buying candidate in the eyes of sellers, which is important for closing on a house as quickly as possible.
2. Forgetting About Hidden Fees
It's quite common to forget about hidden fees when buying a home, especially if you've never been through this process before. This oversight can be costly, however, because it may put a lot of financial stress on your plate.
That's why as soon as you realize you're buying a home, you need to write down all of these hidden fees. These can include inspection fees, escrow fees, lender fees, real estate agent fees, insurance fees, and property taxes. Add these totals up, so you have a more accurate idea of how much it costs to get a particular home.
3. Purchasing Without Professional Assistance
Although It's perfectly normal to buy a home without any professional assistance, this path can lead to a lot of potential mistakes. For example, you may overpay for a particular property.
You can avoid a lot of these dilemmas simply by working with a real estate agent, who can guide you through every step of this process. They'll help you quickly track down houses that match your price range and feature preferences. They'll also evaluate the properties and come up with fair offers so that negotiating with sellers goes much more smoothly.
Finally, real estate agents can take care of all of the paperwork -- enabling you to focus your attention on other important matters related to this life transition.
Even though purchasing a home involves a lot of stress, you can overcome it by avoiding common mistakes that have affected so many people in your position. All this requires is patience, research, and access to the right resources. For more information, contact a company like Mike Cusack Homes.
Share24 September 2018
When I started looking for a new home, I realized that there were a few things I needed to be careful about. For instance, I really needed to focus on finding a home that would appreciate in value, so I began thinking about investing in the right property. After quite a bit of research, I was able to find a great neighborhood that had a big support system for my family. After we found a house we loved, we worked with a real estate agent to procure it, and it was really nice to feel like we belonged somewhere. Read this blog about ways to find amazing pieces of real estate the first time around.