What Are the Top 3 Mistakes First Time Buyers Make and How Can You Avoid Them?
October 30, 2009 by Customer Care
What Are the Top 3 Mistakes First Time Buyers in Des Moines Make and How Can You Avoid Them? By Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts
If you’re considering a home purchase in Des Moines, there are several deadly home buying mistakes you should be aware of, so you can be sure you can avoid these mistakes. These mistakes are common and cost home buyers thousands upon thousands of dollars every year. These mistakes are buying too much house, not having padding for hidden costs and not getting the house inspected.
Mistake #1 – Buying Too Much House
This is by far the most common real estate buying mistake in Des Moines. Most people believe that lenders will only approve you for as much house as you can afford. For example, they may pre approve you for up to $500,000. That does not mean you should buy a $500,000 house!
Instead, it’s important to calculate how much you can really afford. Make this calculation both based on the down payment and the monthly payments. Be conservative with these numbers.
Mistake #2 – Not Accounting for Hidden Costs
Closing costs, inspection costs, repairs and last minute costs tend to always surprise buyers. Buyers who go into a real estate transaction with only enough money for a down payment often run into the problem of not having funds for last minute costs.
To save yourself the stress, save yourself money and improve your home buying experience, it’s important to have some spare padding cash to help ensure the home buying process goes smoothly.
Mistake #3 – Not Having the Home Inspected
Having the home you’re buying inspected is absolutely crucial. Although this may seem like common sense, thousands of lawsuits are filed every year over property issues discovered after the purchase that could have been found if the buyer had just gotten an inspection.
The few hundred dollars an inspection costs are well worth the money. On top of the inspection report, you also get to ask the inspector any questions you need about the plumbing, electrical systems and foundations, so that you can really get peace of mind with your purchase.
There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Des Moines real estate. For complete information about the Des Moines real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Des Moines real estate at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.
Filed under Des Moines Real Estate Blog
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