Ready to buy? AVOID the most common, painful mistakes that can cost buyers THOUSANDS!

Use An Expert Guide!

The home buying process is full of potential pitfalls. Most of those potential pitfalls result from making poor decisions, including: choosing the wrong type of home, the wrong lender, failing to get a thorough inspection and problems with the title. The last two potential problems can cost you a lot of money and grief!

Do not buy without a Realtor! Your agent will help navigate you through the entire home buying process and help you avert many of these mistakes. Plus, the seller pays your real estate agent’s fees. Buying a home through your agent costs you nothing! Now imagine if our other professionals, including accountants, attorneys and dentists, cost us nothing!

Below are the most common mistakes buyers make, which cost them thousands of dollars and tons of grief:

1. Not Planning Before Purchasing
Searching for a home can be impulsive and emotional. Don’t let one aspect of the home (its appearance, the color of the carpet) be the sole factor in your buying decision. Sit down with your real estate agent and map out a strategy.
Answer the following questions before you begin searching:
1) Where do I want to live? Do I want to commute? What area has the highest price appreciation according to my agent?
2) How Much can I afford? The first thing you should do is get pre-approved. That way, you’ll save yourself a lot of time by not looking at homes you simply cannot afford. Also, how much do you have as a down payment?
3) What type of home do you want? Be brutally honest with yourself.

The point of this is to make sure you make the best investment and live in the right area. Plus, you don’t want to be over-extended with your mortgage payments!

2. Not Identifying Opportunities
Before you buy a home at or above market value, find out where the “deals” are. Your agent may know of several sellers in your market that are selling due to “special circumstances”. Perhaps one seller in the neighborhood you want to live is getting divorced. Maybe another one is being relocated by her or his company and needs to sell fast. How will you know if a seller in the neighborhood lost her job and is willing to sell for thousands below list? Work with your agent on this! It is alsop vital to bring an experienced appraiser in to make sure you are buying a good deal.

Get our FREE Report: "How To Find Hidden Real Estate Bargains" - this report offers many specific things you can do to locate the best deals!

3. Not Finding The Right Lender
Getting the right type of loan for your situation is critical. There are many lenders vying for your business. Many are online, many are local. The difference truly is the person you work with during the lending process. A good lender will make sure you get the right loan at the right rate. Be careful!

4. Failing To Get A Good Title
Nothing can be more draining, financially and emotionally, than buying a home with a “clouded” title. For example, you may buy a house and learn after the fact that the previous owner still owed a contractor $5,000 for the remaining payment on the basement remodeling. The contractor filed a lien on the property prior to the sale. That lien is now on your property! Make sure the title to the property is free and clear and purchase a good title insurance policy.

5. Failing To Get A Good Inspector
Like any profession, there are good inspectors and those who tend to overlook a lot of problems. You want an inspector that will scrutinize every aspect of the house. Make sure you get several referrals from past clients. Most importantly, make sure you do not buy a house that has structural or other defects because the inspector overlooked them! This will cost you!

6. Wasting Your Time
All too often, buyers waste hours in front of their computer combing through online real estate sites. Problem is, these homes are usually not the best deals. Save your time. Spend it on things that are important to you . . . family, friends, work, etc. Your agent will notify you when the right homes become available.

7. Not Using An Experienced Escrow Company
A good escrow company can make the entire buying process hassle-free. The wrong escrow company can cause you nothing but headaches. Do not overlook the importance of having seasoned transaction facilitators working for you.

8. Failing To Do A Final Walkthrough
This can be a critical mistake. Before you close on your home, do not assume that all of the repairs you asked for have been done. Walk through the house before closing, and make sure the repairs have been done. Make sure nothing else has changed. Once you buy the home, any problems are yours!