Homebuyers’ Common Mistakes

Buying Blunders

Five Common Mistakes of a First-Time Home Buyer

By Therese A. Hartmann

I just closed escrow today with a firsttime home buyer who needed a lot of hand-holding, something I enjoy doing. While there were some extraneous hurdles I had to deal with (agent out of the country, borrower unsure because of family pressures, etc.) there are some very common errors that can be navigated around if one is aware. So, let’s get right to it:

Mistake #1: Looking for A Home Before Getting Pre-Approved When you shop for a home before approval, you run the risk of falling in love with a home that’s out of your price range --ruining the whole home buying experience before you start. Remedy? Meet with a qualified lender first.

Mistake #2: Buying More Than You Can Comfortably Afford Many falsely believe that the loan amount they are approved for accurately depicts how much home they can afford to purchase. BUT, the income and the debt-toincome ratio data that lenders use to determine eligibility doesn’t take into account your monthly expenses like groceries, utilities, gas, or insurance. Instead, use the amount you’re preapproved for as a starting point for calculating your actual “home-owning” budget. to drain your savings to come up with enough money to put down on a home either! You’ll have unexpected costs that come with owning a home, trust me. If you don’t have money set aside to handle these expenses, you put yourself in a significant financial predicament that could cause you to be unable to keep up with your house payments. With interest rates so low, it might be a better investment to put less down and take care of repairs.

Mistake #4: Forgetting About Moving Costs With everything involved in buying the house, many first-time homebuyers oversee the moving expenses. So when you start looking for a home, also start saving for moving costs -including packing materials, truck rental, labor and the chiropractic treatment you’ll need after!

Mistake #5: Applying For Credit Before Closing Lenders don’t just check your credit during the prevapproval process but also just before your scheduled closing day. First-time homebuyers sometimes believe they should buy new furniture or a new car to go along with their new home. BIG WARNING…jumping into something that increases your debt load might end up having the lender saying no to your home loan. Additional debt can also affect your credit score so, when it comes to buying a home…don’t spend a dime until after the close of escrow!

Now that you’re equipped with firsttime home buying tips and know what mistakes to avoid, let me help you get pre-approved and jump-start your home buying journey. Many happy customers can’t be wrong about us!

Therese A. Hartmann has 20 years’ lending experience. She is a Licensed Broker, California Dept. of Real Estate #01048403, NMLS # 298291, affiliated with C2 Financial Corporation. For a free consultation, call Therese today at (805) 798-2158.

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