3 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Your First House - HOUSE

Buying a new house is very exciting. And very stressful. And there are lots of little details that you can easily miss. So the best advice for any first time home buyer is to get help from a realtor. Lots of people like to do things on their own. But this is one situation where getting help from a professional is very worthwhile. And in most cases the help is free, since the home seller pays the realtors from the proceeds of the house.

So here are
3 mistakes to avoid when buying your first house:

1)    Hire a realtor who specializes in helping home buyers, not home sellers. Realtors usually make more money helping a home seller, so if that is their specialty then you might not get the attention you need. So getting the right realtor will help you understand the entire home buying process. If you don't have one, go to a few open houses and talk with the realtor hosting the open house. Look online and in the newspaper to see if you notice any realtors who advertise that the specialize in helping home buyers. Or ask a friend who recently bought a house. Then, make sure to ask questions so you get a good idea if the realtor is a good fit. Sometimes it may take months to buy a house, and in that case you'll be spending lots of time with your realtor. Better to get to know them a little before you get started to make sure there is a good match.

2)    Get the house inspected. Some people think that a home inspection is expensive. But don't think of it as a cost, think of it as insurance to help protect your very big investment! Most inspectors charge a few hundred dollars, and it is well worth the cost. While you may see the big problems by just walking around the house, an inspector will inspect the entire house and give you a complete report. Even if you know a little about construction, you may not be able to pay the right amount of attention to detail while you look over the house. The inspector can focus on doing it right, while not worrying about all the other details involved with buying a house. When you get the report, you can decide whether or not to walk away from the house if there are major issues, or negotiate a lower price if there are issues that need to be fixed but you still want the house, or to just keep the report for future reference so you know what repairs to expect in the
future.

3)    Get pre-approved for a mortgage. Without pre-approval, your offer won't be as strong to the seller. They want to make sure that if they accept your offer, it will go through. A pre-approval is much more detailed than pre-qualification. And will make you look like a much more serious buyer. You don't want to miss out on a house you can afford just because of the paperwork. Also, just because you are pre-approved for a mortgage doesn't mean you have to use all the money to buy a house. Figure out your real budget, and only use a much as you can really afford. Or, if you want to make immediate repairs or upgrades you can discuss with your banker or mortgage broker about using any extra money to do this work.

There are other tips you should follow when buying a house, but these are the most important - and potentially the most costly ones. So make sure to be fully prepared before you start looking for a house. There is nothing worse than getting into a house you can't afford, end up with costly surprises, or live in an area you didn't research and you end up being disappointed.