Buying a home is often a very exciting time as it represents a significant life achievement. However, new homebuyers can overlook some important considerations in all of the excitement, leading them to make potentially costly mistakes. The best way to avoid these mistakes is to be aware of them right from the beginning. If you are looking to buy a home, here are some common homebuyer mistakes to avoid:

1) Getting a home at the top of your budget

When buying a home — especially your first home — it may be tempting to go all out and get your dream house. You will start rationalizing more expensive properties to yourself because you fall in love with them, even if they are over your budget. Breaking your budget is not a good idea, and the best way to keep yourself from doing so is to get preapproved for a mortgage first.  Know what the annual property taxes are in your top area(s) of choice and calculate a monthly PITI (mortgage principle and interest, property taxes, and homeowner's insurance)- is this monthly amount a payment you can comfortably afford from month to month? 

2) Forgetting about additional homeownership costs

One of the main reasons why you should always stay within your budget is that homeownership comes with many hidden costs which can really add up. You need to be aware of property taxes, utility costs, insurance and maintenance costs that are going to come with your new home.  If you are planning to buy a condo there will be monthly common charges and perhaps special assessments for capital repairs or improvements.  If you don’t take these costs into account when calculating your budget you may have a challenge making all of your monthly payments on the house. 

3) Forgoing a professional inspection

The importance of getting a professional inspection on a home cannot be overstated, as it can save you from unexpected costs in the future. A house may look like it is in good shape and worth every penny, but a professional inspector can tell you if you will need to make major and costly repairs after your purchase. This information can help you decide to move ahead to contract or back out of the deal, or, if you’re willing to make the repairs, possibly renegotiate the price of the home.

4) consider the resale value/MARKETABILITY of your home

When in the process of buying a new home one of the things you should consider is the home and neighborhood's potential resale value and marketability. If you love the home and you plan to stay there for many years, then why give any thought to selling it one day? Any number of life changes could mean needing to move again in the future. The time may come when you will want or need to sell your home, so ensuring that it will be readily marketable before you buy may help considerably in the future.  As true buyer's agents we will point out physical, functional, and locational attributes and drawbacks on any home of interest and their impact on value and marketability.