Not Understanding Agency- Real Estate Agency is a misunderstood topic by many and can create many problems. Basically, agency is, how a real estate agent works for you and treats you in a transaction. One mistake many buyers make, is buying a home at an open house directly from the listing agent. The listing agent or sellers agent, owes the seller fiduciary responsibility. their job is to secure the highest and best offer possible on the property. their duty is to the seller, not you the home buyer. A Buyer’s agent in most cases are free and represents the home buyer in the transaction. The Buyers Agents duty is to secure the right property for the right price for the buyer.

Not Getting Pre-Qualified Before Looking at Homes- Lets face it looking at homes is fun, talking about money is not. It is important to know how much you can afford based upon your down payment, credit score and loan program. The worst thing you can do is put an offer on a house without being pre qualified. First you are locking yourself into a contract and second you have become emotionally involved in a property and will many times end up paying more than you wanted for a property.

Not Seeking the Proper Professional Help — An experienced real estate agent can save you time money and aggravation. A full time real estate agent deals with buyers and sellers everyday and can bring experience of many transactions to the table. A home purchase is a complex legal transaction, you do not need to go it alone. You will also need or should consider the help of an attorney, home inspector, and mortgage professional.

Thinking Short Term and Ignoring Intermediate and Long Term Housing Needs- Thinking about your immediate needs only can be disastrous. Life changes, people get married, have children, jobs change and so on. Most likely you can’t buy a house today and sell in two years and make a profit. you will probably lose money. If your newly married purchase a home where you are comfortable starting a family if kids are in your future. If you are in an industry where you bounce around from job to job, buy a home where it is easy to commute to your job. Think before you leap.

Not Having a Home Inspection or Hiring the Wrong Home Inspector- Trying to save money on a home inspection and have Uncle Bob who was a contractor once is a mistake. A home inspection is your last line of defense in purchasing a home that is structurally sound, safe and healthy. You want to find the best home inspector possible. don’t penny pinch, ask for references from family friends and your agent. Do your home work and do it before you ever find a home.

Not Fully Understanding the Costs Involved- Most home buyer’s just think about the down payment. They fail to figure on closing costs to close a loan, pro-rations on taxes, condo fees, oil payments as well as the cost of home inspections. Again an experienced agent can help you with all of this. Ideally if you are buying for the first time or are not comfortable with the process sit down and have an initial consultation with a real estate agent and or a mortgage originator.

Searching for a Home in the Wrong Way- Jumping from company websites to Zillow to Trulia and other sites will just cause you aggravation. Many of these sites are not up to date and when you call on them they are already sold. The public portals with out any registration is not the way to go. All of these sites pull from the same source and you will carry the same properties. The best way to search for properties is sign-up with an agent for their public portal to their local MLS. (the Massachusetts MLS feeds Trulia and Zillow in our State) An agents portal will be the most up to date and complete. Understand the system you are using and use it properly. Do not drive yourself crazy thinking you are going to find that property that no one knows about.

Relying on Oral Agreements or Statements- When it comes to real estate oral agreements are legal but not binding. Just because a seller agreed on a price with you verbally, does not mean someone cannot sneak in a higher offer. Many buyers have been disappointed thinking just because they had an offer in to the seller that no one else could put in an offer. Also, if a statement has been made and it is important to your buying decision, make sure that statement is in writing in the contract.

Not Understanding Fair Market Value and the Current Conditions — There is often much disappointment with buyer’s when they consistently underbid on homes to ultimately lose a home the love, because they failed to understand fair market value of a property and the current market conditions. More on Fair Market Value.

Not Understanding How to Negotiate- Many buyers think just offering low is the way to negotiate. If you want to buy a home this is usually a very disappointing way to go. If you truly are interested in a house, you want to negotiate quickly while maintaining good faith with the seller. A good buyer’s agent can layout several negotiating strategies and help you choose one that works for your level of desire in the home, the fair market value of the home and your willingness to lose the home.

You do not need to go the process alone. A good Buyer’s Agent can streamline the process and make the home buying process an easy one. Think of a Buyers Agent as a home buying consultant and not a salesperson. A Buyers Agent should never, ever try and sell you a home. Happy House Hunting!!