Home buying mistakes and how to avoid them
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By Melissa Wirkus
Buying a home can be a nerve-racking
process, especially if you are doing so for the first time. There
are countless details to consider along with mountains and mountains
of seemingly endless amounts of paperwork.
Buying a home
is considered to be quite a feat, since there are so many different
problems and mistakes that can arise from one single transaction.
A recent article posted on about.com by Elizabeth Weintraub, “Three
major home buying mistakes,” discusses some major blunders
that potential home owners make and how to avoid them.
“Not every mistake in a real estate transaction can be reversed,
much less fixed before closing. If buyers goof up and make an innocent
mistake, they might very well be stuck with the consequences for
a long time or, worse, their deal might not even close.”
One of the biggest mistakes that potential home buyers make, and
often times do not even realize they are making is by not confiding
in a trusted professional in the business. This advisor could be
a real estate agent or broker, but you should definitely have someone
you can talk to and share your feelings about the transaction.
There are a variety of reasons that home buyers withhold information.
Some of the reasons include fear of being judged or they don’t
feel as if it is important enough to be brought up.
“Experienced real
estate professionals handle such a multitude of transactions
and personality mixes, there's little they haven't heard before.
Your advisors are representing your best interests and have a fiduciary
responsibility to do so. If you have cold feet and have thoughts
about backing out of the transaction, talk to your agent
about those feelings. She can help walk you through the anxieties.
Pros will help you to determine if you really need to cancel and,
if so, manage the transaction so you can get your deposit back.”
The second big blunder people make when buying a house, which can
actually stop the whole entire sale all together, is altering their
financial picture (mostly credit) before signing the closing documents.
Everyone knows that your financial history and credit
score are vital facets to getting approved for a mortgage, so do
not do anything to alter it before you sign final paperwork.
“Today's home buyers make the same mistake. Do not buy anything
on credit and / or with a credit card once you have completed a
loan application. Do NOT buy: Automobiles, washers, dryers, refrigerators,
lawnmowers or garden equipment, expensive electronics or computers
or furniture for your new home. Slight alterations in your credit
ratios could cause an underwriter to throw out your loan and deny
it. If your loan contingency has expired or been removed, you could
forfeit your earnest money deposit in addition to losing the home.”
Before you even start to look for a house, you should decide which
features are most important to you so you do not end up making the
biggest blunder of all, which would be buying the wrong house!
“The very first thing home buyers should do is make a list
of priorities and define home purchase objectives. Figure out what
features and benefits are most important and which you can live
without. Before you close escrow, review this list. It's easy to
overlook a major factor that could come back to haunt you later.”’
