Five Mistakes that Home Buyers Make

1. Not using an Agent at all or using the Listing Agent as your Agent. Listing agents are legally required to work in the Seller’s best interest – not yours! You will only be handicapped during the negotiations due to this unless you have your own Buyer’s Agent that can help negotiate professionally on your behalf. They can almost always save you more money than they cost!
2. Relying on your Agent’s home inspector. All agents have a financial stake in seeing this deal go through, so why risk relying on an inspector employed by them? You can quickly find your own home inspectors with no potential conflicts of interest online!
3. Fronting “non-refundable” earnest money. Giving the seller money that you can’t get back is a stupid move. The standard is a $1,000 refundable earnest check, and if any broker tells you otherwise then maybe you should go looking for better representation.
4. Falling in love with a home. There are thousands of houses being built each day in the United States, so do not give up everything that you have in order to get inside one “dream home”. Make sure you remain unemotional about your purchases or the Seller is likely to get a great deal!
5. Buying more than you can afford. The rule of thumb is that you should not buy a home that costs you more per month than 20 to 25 percent of your take-home pay. It is rare to see people heed that advice today, but it is important to keep a little money set aside in case of emergency in your budget!

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