Avoiding first-time home buyer errors
October 27, 2011
First-time home buyers may find themselves hard-pressed to learn everything about buying a home without the advice of a real estate agent. An agent can be useful in navigating the complexities of the transaction, but inexperience is difficult to counter.
For example, they may be distracted by a home's decorations and style when walking through, and fail to realize how easy it often is to change the color of a room's walls or carpet. While major redecoration can be costly, minor flaws in an otherwise good home should not be permitted to spoil a good deal.
Money missteps
One common mistake that first-time home buyers make, according to the Wall Street Journal is failing to accurately determine their own price range. Using online calculators and similar resources may allow a rough estimate, but looking at homes without knowing a lender will approve a mortgage loan may be a waste of time.
Evaluating potential homes
Because of the long-term financial and personal implications of choosing a home, and the fact that multiple individuals are commonly trying to make a selection together, the process can easily become confused. One common oversight is to focus so much on the characteristics of an individual house that the neighborhood is not considered.
While physical location and distance to shopping, recreational and working destinations may be an obvious consideration, home buyers should devote some attention to figuring out who lives in an area. If they have children, for example, they might find a neighborhood more attractive if it contains similar families they can relate to and become friends with. Older residents might prefer a quieter area, on the other hand.
First-time buyers may let a home's charm or appearance draw them into an unwise purchase. This does not reflect on their judgment so much as their lack of experience, but the only solution is carefully, thoroughly examining a home and its characteristics.