Buying a home is exciting, and buying your first home is even more so! If you are ready to take the leap and buy a home, you want to feel confident about your decision to purchase. By avoiding these common first-time homebuyer mistakes, you can feel better about the house you buy and your journey into homeownership.
• Not Knowing How Much You Can Afford– Not knowing how much you can spend on a house before you start looking can be a waste of time. Once you decide to buy a home, sit down and think about how much you can afford for your mortgage to be while taking into account other expenses, like utilities, repairs, property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA fees, etc.
• Using All Your Savings– Focusing on putting down a sizeable down payment is a good move when you buy a home. However, don’t use all of your savings on the down payment. If you buy a previously owned home, chances are good that you will need to do repairs. And like many homeowners will tell you, it seems like there is always an upgrade or two you need to make.
• Shopping for a House First– It is exciting to start looking at homes and imagining your new life living in one of them. But beware of getting too attached to any one home before you finalize your mortgage. Get a pre-approval on a loan to determine how much house you can afford before you start going to showings.