5 Mistakes Most First Time Home Buyers Make
As a Realtor, I love helping First Time Home Buyers find the place that starts it all. I love to teach. I remember my first home like it was yesterday. It was many moons ago now. But I remember every bit of the 900 sq.ft. Basement condo with almost no natural light. I remember it was always cool. That was nice. I remember thinking then, it needs a little bit of work, but it was ours.
I know how important it is to start your financial future with a solid foundation. I've seen some first time home buyers buy smart and get ahead quick to a solid financial future and I've seen others get into big trouble. Here are the five mistakes I see far too often.
1) No Down Payment -
If you know anything about my brand PRIME RESIDENTIAL or have read any of my blogs, I am known as the Realtor that says "No" to Home Buyers that haven't saved a down payment. Buying something with Zero Down and nothing invested is never a good idea.
Everyone is making it sound amazing that you can buy a home with "Nothing Down." You can buy anything with No Money these days. If you are ever wondering how you're getting over buying something without using any of your own money, guess what, you are the sucker holding the stupid stick at the end of that game. You didn't win anything. You just got taken advantage of. Now you have to run twice as fast as the other runners because they all got a 2 minute head start.
2) Not Willing To Start Small -
As I mentioned, I help a lot of young couples. More and more I am hearing first time home buyers talk about buying a home and staying as long as they can. So they talk themselves into wanting all of the bells and whistles right out of the gate.
I teach First Time buyers to start small. SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! STAY OUT OF DEBT!!! Buy something conservative and live on nothing. Use your first purchase as a stepping stone to build some equity and have the 20% down payment when you buy the home you're going to stay in for longer than 7 years.
3) Have A "Realtor Friend" Sell Them A Home -
Realtors should be teachers. Not Salesmen or women. They should educate you. Don't hire someone just because "They're Family." Those are always the worst experiences. If you have a family member that is a Realtor, interview them with at least two other agents. See if you are being heard with your wants or if you feel things are going too fast and you're not getting anything that is happening.
They should ask you a lot of questions about your financial goals and how to best achieve them. Then they should listen and teach where needed. Too often I see First Time Home Buyers starting by looking at New Construction Homes. You'll never buy a beater that needs a little bit of work if you start by looking at the latest and greatest.
4) Aren't Willing To Do Any Work-
Nothing gets you more value quicker than rolling up your sleeves and doing some serious DIY work. A gallon of paint. Removing old wallpaper. Scraping off linoleum and putting down tile. The best times as a young married couple were talking about all of the ways we could fix up the depressing dungeon where we lived. Get dirty. Suffer a little bit. Sweat and learn how to work to increase its value. Those were some of the best times. I often tell young couples how jealous I am of the time of life they are in. Enjoy the basement condos while you have them!
5) Have To Buy New Furniture -
As I mentioned before, buy conservative. Take your parents old couch. Make a trip to the Deseret Industries to buy a table. Look on KSL for second hand lamps and decor. Don't spend all that you have impressing your friends. Invited them over and tell them "not to sit on that side of the sofa because there is a stain on the other side of that cushion that we aren't quite sure about."
This T.V. you need to clear the part of the screen worth watching!
Visit our website www.primeslc.com and learn about buying a home. Read our blogs and get educated!
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Brady Tanner is the Principal Broker and Owner of PRIME RESIDENTIAL BROKERS located in Salt Lake City and Riverton.
Brady Tanner
Principal Broker
PRIME RESIDENTIAL
801-916-3542
email me!
THE PRIME MISSION
We are a boutique Real Estate Brokerage committed to educating our clients how to maximize profits when buying, selling and investing in real estate. We achieve this accord by serving our clients with the heart of a teacher.
From luxury listings to first time home buyers, we dedicate our time, resources and knowledge, to achieve a very personal an rewarding real estate experience.
