1. They don’t ask enough questions of their lender and end up missing out on the best deal.

Often times Buyers are so overwhelmed by the process of mortgages, rates, and fees that they often forget to shop their mortgage.  What this means is when speaking with a lender ask the hard questions. 

What will the interest rate be?  What is the APR rate?  Yes they are two different numbers.  Be sure to inquire about the monthly mortgage payment, as well as how much you will need to bring to the table at signing.  Compare the numbers and decide which plan works best for you. 

Also, be sure to contact the lender a couple of times before deciding.  Why, because you want to see how quickly they respond to you.  If they take the weekends off or don’t answer their phones after 5:00 PM its going to be very difficult getting things done quickly if the need arises.  Most often than not, you will be out looking at homes on the weekend or after work and decide you want to put an offer in.  A Pre Approval Letter is wise to submit at the time of the offer and if you can’t reach your lender or have to wait until Monday morning you could lose the property, especially if the property is well priced and shows well. 

2. They don’t act quickly enough to make a decision and someone else buys the house.

Biggest mistake Buyers make is taking too long to decide what they want to do.  If a home is priced well, shows well, is in a great neighborhood it will most likely sell quickly.  The market tells Buyers that it is their market right now, it is a “BUYER’S MARKET”.  This is true in some neighborhoods but not in all.   If you like a home and want it don’t take too long making the decision.  There are Buyers out there who have been watching the market and most likely waited too long and missed out on a great home.  Often times, we find our clients need to have this happen before they realize that this is true. 

3. They don’t find the right agent who’s willing to help them through the homebuying process.

There are Realtors out there how are all about the numbers.  They will show you a number of homes.  Expect you to decide to buy one of them and when you don’t they will move on and focus on another Buyer. 

There are other Realtors who will continue  showing you homes until you find the right one.  They will help you eliminate what you like and don’t like in homes so that the search process will become refined.  Once you find the right home they will guide you through the process by advising you of deadlines, pit falls, and consequences of action or no action. 

4. They don’t do enough to make their offer look appealing to a seller.

Writing up the offer is not all your Realtor should do.  They should draft a letter that will make you personable to the Seller and possibly tug at their emotional strings.  The offer once completed should be clean and simple with very little added to C67 if possible.

 
5. They don’t think about resale before they buy. The average first-time buyer only stays in a home for four years.

This may have been true prior to 2008; however, until the market cycles back to home values increasing plan on staying in your home for at least 5 to 10 years before reselling if you want to enjoy the equity you built.