8 Pitfalls for First-time St. Louis Homebuyers
You know the old saying: practice makes perfect. Yet, most of us do not have the opportunity to practice buying a home. If you are first-time homebuyers concerned about meeting high financial stakes with little to no experience, you’re not alone. Thousands of people do it every year, and unfortunately, hundreds of those thousands make the same mistakes.
Here are 8 common pitfalls to avoid during the home buying process:
Emotional attachment
When you’re hunting for a St. Louis home, it’s easy to develop an obsession with finding the real version of your dream. As soon as you do find a home that compares with your dreams, the excitement and relief you feel can be overwhelming.
Guard yourself against letting a house hunting obsession turn into a single house obsession. When you are emotionally attached to a house, you might be suckered into paying a price you can’t afford or crushed if the sale falls through.
Neglecting your agent
The good news for first-time St. Louis homebuyers of today: there are plenty of tools out there for you to find and research your new home. Bad news: these tools can be misleading. Your real estate agent is there to offer you years of professional experience in buying homes. They can help you spot potential problems in a property and help you survive the tightrope walk of making an offer.
Insufficient funds
Qualifying for a mortgage is a cause for celebration, but don’t count on your mortgage to cover all the expenses associated with buying a home. You will also need funds for a down payment, closing costs, property taxes, and minor renovations like paint or a new sink.
Not getting pre-approved
Pre-approval is your golden ticket to St. Louis home ownership. Not only will pre-approval give you an idea of how much you can spend on a home, when you include a letter of pre-approval in your offer, you will have a much better shot at being accepted. Fail to be pre-approved, and you might be in for a rude awakening when a seller rejects your offer or, worse, when a lender refuses to give you a mortgage.
Paying private mortgage insurance
If your down payment doesn’t cover at least 20% of the home you buy, you will be stuck paying for private mortgage insurance until your mortgage is 20% paid off. Private mortgage tacks a hefty amount onto your mortgage payment each month. Better to scrape up a 20% down payment from the start and escape years of extra cost.
Not checking your credit score
Bad credit has a way of lurking in the background of your life, unpleasant but seemingly innocuous—until you try to make a major purchase like your first home.
Knowing your credit will help you know what type of mortgage you qualify for and, in turn, what kind of home you can afford. Even if you’ve never made a late payment, a mistake on your credit report could cost you.
Foregoing inspection
No matter how pretty a home is on the outside, hidden problems are always a possibility. Home inspectors can help you avoid costly, time consuming, and dispiriting repairs.
Negotiating by yourself
Many first-time St. Louis homebuyers think they can brave negotiations on their own. Rather than hiring a buyer’s real estate agent, they approach the listing agent and try to make a deal. Remember, the listing agent is a professional whose commission depends on how much you pay. Going head-to-head with a listing agent is not likely to end well for you.
As first-time St. Louis homebuyers, you have the advantage of enthusiasm, but that enthusiasm can easily be spoiled when lack of experience lands you in hot water. Always talk to your real estate agent and to friends who have gone through the home buying experience. A little foreknowledge today can make you a happier and more competent homeowner tomorrow.