Common First Time House Buyers Mistakes You Can Avoid

Making mistakes is especially common with first-time house buyers.

In today’s fast-paced housing market, if you need to buy your first home, you need to be smart.

Before you go house hunting, you need to get ready for your big purchase.

If you are looking in the process of purchasing a home, CNN Money gives us a rundown of practical tips for first-time home buyers and common mistakes to learn from and avoid.

Practical First-Time House Buyers Tips You Need To Know

Home prices are hitting record highs in many parts of the country, often selling for more than the asking price, and going from list to contract in a record 37 days, according to Redfin.
“We’ve never seen a faster or more competitive market,” says Redfin spokeswoman Rachel Musiker. “Basically this market isn’t for the faint of heart.”

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Home prices show no sign of going down.

If you’re a first-time house buyer, you must be prepared for what your dream house will cost.

Buying a house can be very challenging but not when you know what mistakes to avoid.

How Does A Competitive Market Affect First-Time House Buyers?

Buying a house for the first time is already a challenge.

You don’t know what to expect, so you are prone to make mistakes especially in today’s fast paced housing market.

Although, this should not scare any first-time homebuyers. 

According to Keith Gumbinger, Vice President of HSH.com, “Given the competitive interest rate environment and the competitive housing market, it’s a good idea to be prepared and organized before you start the process.”

Reading and considering the pieces of advice from CNN Money can be useful for first-time house buyers.

Tips such as these give you direction on what to prepare, what to do, where to go to get a mortgage, and what roadblocks to avoid before making your big purchase.

Perhaps one roadblock you won’t see coming is your emotional state.

Buying a house for the first time can be thrilling and nerve-wracking.

Keep in mind, you should not let your emotions control your decisions. Otherwise, you can end up paying for more or find yourself in a bidding war.

Admittedly, today’s competitive housing market can be stressful, and first time home buyers may be tempted to pay extra or go beyond the budget.

This should not be the case though.

Sure, you want that house badly.

When you rush in closing the deal, you may miss important details and forget about your mortgage limit.

So, avoid maxing out your mortgage limit. You can use it to cover the housing costs each month.

Keeping Up With The Competitive Housing Market

Buying your first home is not easy yet not impossible.

While it is true you may be susceptible to make mistakes, there are practical ways to avoid them.

Yes, you can’t prevent housing prices to go up every year, and you certainly can’t stop competition to get tougher.

These factors can be inevitable, yet there are things you can control.

You can always make your offer attractive to the seller.

Start by working on your credit score and saving for your down payment.

Read the 4 biggest things people overlook when buying a house.

Watch the clip below from Ben Graham, Realtor with Remax Infinity for the top 10 first-time home buyer mistakes to avoid:

Are there other first-time house buyers mistakes you know? Share it in the comments below!

Up next: It’s Fierce Out There: Buying A House In A Competitive Market