Yahoo Lifestyle "It Was A Massive Shock": People Are Sharing The Biggest Mistakes They Regret Making When They Bought Their First Home
No one — I repeat, no one! — could possibly prepare you for buying your first home. But, IMO, the closest you could possibly get is through reading the firsthand accounts of other first-time homebuyers. Recently, Redditor earic23 asked folks to share the "one thing they learned in the home buying process" that they wish they'd known beforehand, and hundreds of people came through with some wildly helpful insights. These are the best pieces of advice.
1."If you're a buyer and your agent is not helping you beyond just unlocking doors to properties and writing offers, fire them. They should be trying to help you consider what problems a house may have during showings, asking you questions about what kind of house you may want, and making suggestions about how you could write offers that actually win, drawing from their experience and research. They should be fighting for you in a bidding war and helping push for the win. An agent is not just a set of keys and someone who enters values into a PDF, and you owe a buyer's agent nothing; you can fire them any time you want. There are others who will actually try to help you. I have heard many first-person accounts of agents who are useful."
"I calculated how much money my agent made when I bought a house pretty much by myself, and he does not deserve it. He did not even make the suggestions I added to the offer that helped me win."
2."Go look at the house during and after a rain event, so you can tell us there are any drainage issues."
3."Make sure you put aside between $500 and $2,000 for all the little stuff you forgot about, like changing all the door locks and some basic curtains because the prior owners took the old ones. Also switching/changing/adding services, like trash pickup, fixing that flawed appliance you didn't know about, swapping out that one hideous light fixture, having the chimney inspected/cleaned...the list goes on."
4."Don't buy property near an intersection. Accelerating vehicles make a lot of noise."
5."In climates with snowy winters, if your driveway faces north, you're going to be shoveling snow with every storm and chipping ice until April or May."
6."If a family member wants to help out by giving you money, have them transfer the money before you start the process of getting qualified. It saves some headache down the line when they start asking for proof of income and such."
7."I didn't realize how powerful homeowner's associations are. Do some basic due diligence prior to purchasing a home."
8."Just because you are qualified for a certain mortgage amount doesn't mean you have to go that high. There are perfectly nice houses that cost less."
9."My wife and I built our first house through a developer. When we were at the bank going over our payment, we were shown a ~$ 30-a-month property tax rate that we were told to pay. What we didn’t know was this was calculated on the undeveloped lot. Our actual property taxes were ~$350 a month. So after being in our house for a year, our mortgage payment suddenly shot up $700 a month to pay back taxes for the previous year. It took us months to adjust to the payment, and it was a massive shock."
10."The yard is always bigger than you think. As I get older, I no longer like to do yard work."
11."Learn what termite damage looks like."
12."Don’t be in a rush to buy — that is unless you absolutely have no choice. While we still got a good deal, we could have done better if we were patient and waited, and were willing to walk away."
13."If there are any trees anywhere close to a main sewer line, scope it out to make sure roots aren't punching through."
14."Do your due diligence. I lost a bidding war on a lovely house up against a 4-acre pond. A week later, I got a call from my agent saying the offer fell through and the place was ours if we wanted it. Looked great on paper and well-maintained... Until I went to the town record office. The property was all on a strong conservation easement. Of the two-acre lot, only 10% of it could even be walked on. The easement was worded that the property has to remain undisturbed to all human interaction. The footprint of the house, septic system, walkway, and driveway are basically all the usable space."
15."If your home inspector says they 'can't' inspect something...THAT'S WHERE YOUR PROBLEMS ARE. 'Due to liability purposes, we're not allowed to go on roofs. But the place you're statistically most likely to have problems is where the skylights are.' Or, 'I'm a licensed home inspector but not a licensed gasfitter, so if you think you need your boiler inspected, you'll need to contact a gasfitter.' And even, 'Because of all the snow, we couldn't inspect the foundation at the southwest corner of the structure.' They don't want to tank the deal because they want more referrals from your real estate agent."
16."Don't just get a home inspector. Get an electrician and a plumber to check the house out, too."
17."If you are on the fence of 'buying bigger,' buy bigger, 'cause in 10 years, you're just gonna go buy bigger."
18."Make a direct deposit for house fixes, something like $100–150 a month, to a separate account you never pay attention to. You'll never have a lot of money in it because someone will always be going wrong, but the extra padding can save your life."
19."Look at a house at multiple times of day, including both weekdays and weekends. Even if it's just to sit outside in your car with your windows down for 10 or 15 minutes. Just because the neighborhood was quiet when you viewed the house doesn't mean it's always quiet."
20."Hire all the expertise you need relative to buying a home (title company, home inspector, lawyer) on your own. MAYBE hire the one your realtor recommends, but not necessarily. The realtor recommends them because it's in the realtor's best interest, which isn't necessarily your best interest. When you tell your realtor, "No, I'm using XYZ title, not ABC as you recommend,' they might push back. Stand firm. They get so used to calling the shots that they think they're in charge. But YOU are in charge. Act that way."
21.And finally: "There's always another house. Don't settle for something. Price, location, layout. You will find one that's nearly perfect for you, don't rush the process."
Homeowners, now it's your chance to chime in. What's something you wish you'd known about the homebuying process before you started your journey? Sound off in the comments below.
