Home Buying Help - 7 Mistakes You Must Avoid When Buying A House
Mistake #1: Buying the Wrong House Before you start looking for a house, create a checklist that contains everything you want in a home.
Take the checklist with you EVERY time you look at a house and use it to identify what the house does and doesn't have.
Make a list of all the features that you want in a home including location.
Do not let your real estate agent or anyone else sway your opinion.
When in doubt, refer back to your checklist.
The house you buy should come as close as possible to meeting the requirements on your list.
You will have to live in the house, so you need to make the final decision.
Mistake # 2: Choosing the Wrong Mortgage Choose your mortgage carefully.
You know your financial situation better than anyone else -- make sure that you will be able to make your payments comfortably.
Write out your monthly budget so you know how much you can afford to pay each month.
Don't fall in love with a house and commit to a payment that will put you in a position where you struggle each month to make your monthly mortgage payment.
Just because the bank approves you for a specific dollar amount, doesn't mean you can easily make a payment for that amount each month.
Don't jump at the first offer.
Mortgage rates and mortgage lenders are competitive.
Make sure to talk with several lenders and compare their offers before choosing the best deal for you.
Mistake #3:Having Too Much Debt Make sure your debt is as low as possible before you look for a home and settle on a mortgage company.
The less debt you have, the more likely you are to get a better mortgage rate.
In addition, lots of debt means a higher portion of your monthly income going to pay off the debt rather than being available for the mortgage payment and other unexpected incidentals that come along with owning a house.
Mistake #4: Skipping the Home Inspection Don't skip the home inspection.
You want to know as much as you possibly can about the house you're about to buy BEFORE you buy it.
A home inspection by a well-qualified, thoroughly trained individual will tell you a lot about the property.
If problems are found, you can decideif you want to renegotiate with the seller by asking them to pay for the repair costs or accept the problems and move forward.
Be proactive and know what you are buying before signing the final papers.
Once you own the home, it is often too late to seek assistance from the seller if problems do appear.
Mistake #5: Not Putting Everything in Writing Verbal agreements can not be enforced, so make sure all terms are spelled out in writing.
The seller may be a nice person and the real estate agent may be very willing to work with you to make the sale, but that is no reason not to put every agreement in writing.
Be overly cautious.
If your own real estate agent tells you an item doesn't need to be in writing, tell them you appreciate their advice and ask to have it written anyway.
Do not take shortcuts to speed up the process.
Mistake #6: Not Reading All Of The Fine Print Read everything included in your documents, including any restrictions that might be on the property through a homeowner's association, property deed or other means.
Homeowner's associations often have many rules.
Make sure you know what they are and that you can live with them before you buy a home.
Also, many property deeds have restrictions regarding zoning.
Check out the restrictions before you sign on the dotted line! Mistake #7: Not Verifying All Of The Information Listed About The House Just because the listing for the house says the house is in a particular school district or the average monthly electric bill is a certain amount doesn't necessarily mean that it is.
Don't assume anyone would intentionally misinform you but mistakes do happen.
Do your due diligence and verify information by calling the school district or the utility company to verify the information provided.
The home buying process can go very smoothly if you avoid these seven mistakes.
Simply prepare yourself ahead of time, know what you want and what you can afford, and take the time to thoroughly read and understand the whole deal.
Take the checklist with you EVERY time you look at a house and use it to identify what the house does and doesn't have.
Make a list of all the features that you want in a home including location.
Do not let your real estate agent or anyone else sway your opinion.
When in doubt, refer back to your checklist.
The house you buy should come as close as possible to meeting the requirements on your list.
You will have to live in the house, so you need to make the final decision.
Mistake # 2: Choosing the Wrong Mortgage Choose your mortgage carefully.
You know your financial situation better than anyone else -- make sure that you will be able to make your payments comfortably.
Write out your monthly budget so you know how much you can afford to pay each month.
Don't fall in love with a house and commit to a payment that will put you in a position where you struggle each month to make your monthly mortgage payment.
Just because the bank approves you for a specific dollar amount, doesn't mean you can easily make a payment for that amount each month.
Don't jump at the first offer.
Mortgage rates and mortgage lenders are competitive.
Make sure to talk with several lenders and compare their offers before choosing the best deal for you.
Mistake #3:Having Too Much Debt Make sure your debt is as low as possible before you look for a home and settle on a mortgage company.
The less debt you have, the more likely you are to get a better mortgage rate.
In addition, lots of debt means a higher portion of your monthly income going to pay off the debt rather than being available for the mortgage payment and other unexpected incidentals that come along with owning a house.
Mistake #4: Skipping the Home Inspection Don't skip the home inspection.
You want to know as much as you possibly can about the house you're about to buy BEFORE you buy it.
A home inspection by a well-qualified, thoroughly trained individual will tell you a lot about the property.
If problems are found, you can decideif you want to renegotiate with the seller by asking them to pay for the repair costs or accept the problems and move forward.
Be proactive and know what you are buying before signing the final papers.
Once you own the home, it is often too late to seek assistance from the seller if problems do appear.
Mistake #5: Not Putting Everything in Writing Verbal agreements can not be enforced, so make sure all terms are spelled out in writing.
The seller may be a nice person and the real estate agent may be very willing to work with you to make the sale, but that is no reason not to put every agreement in writing.
Be overly cautious.
If your own real estate agent tells you an item doesn't need to be in writing, tell them you appreciate their advice and ask to have it written anyway.
Do not take shortcuts to speed up the process.
Mistake #6: Not Reading All Of The Fine Print Read everything included in your documents, including any restrictions that might be on the property through a homeowner's association, property deed or other means.
Homeowner's associations often have many rules.
Make sure you know what they are and that you can live with them before you buy a home.
Also, many property deeds have restrictions regarding zoning.
Check out the restrictions before you sign on the dotted line! Mistake #7: Not Verifying All Of The Information Listed About The House Just because the listing for the house says the house is in a particular school district or the average monthly electric bill is a certain amount doesn't necessarily mean that it is.
Don't assume anyone would intentionally misinform you but mistakes do happen.
Do your due diligence and verify information by calling the school district or the utility company to verify the information provided.
The home buying process can go very smoothly if you avoid these seven mistakes.
Simply prepare yourself ahead of time, know what you want and what you can afford, and take the time to thoroughly read and understand the whole deal.