Atlanta Home Inspection-certified member ICC,

Buying a home can be one of the most important decisions you'll ever make. Owning your own home can open new horizons for you and your family. It can mean starting a family, extending a family, or just enjoying the endless benefits provided to homeowners everywhere.  However, many people inadvertently make the home buying process more difficult than it needs to be. Here are some crucial mistakes that buyers make.

Making a Major Purchase While Attempting to Get a Home Loan

Many people unknowingly make it more difficult for them to get a home loan. They do this by extending themselves financially through a major purchase like a car. Buying a new car can mean at least fifteen thousand dollars of new debt on your credit record. Lenders are in the business of assessing risk. By opening new lines of credit you are increasing your risk factor to a lender.

Failing to Recognize Timely Opportunities

Changing careers while you are attempting to get a home loan can also negatively affect your loan process. While switching jobs may be the right choice for you, for any variety of reasons, lenders see it as a sign of instability. In fact, most lenders consider any career period of less than two consecutive years a risk. If you are not established in a work environment, chances are, you may never have an established working situation. Inconsistency breeds risk as far as your lender is concerned. It's usually a good idea to wait until after you've secured the loan to make a career change.

Failing to Get Pre-Approved

Pre-approval can be a powerful tool in your search for a home. Having loan pre-approval demonstrates your level of seriousness to sellers. If they know you have already qualified for, or even obtained financing, they are probably more willing to sell their home to you than they might be if they suspected you might have trouble getting financing to purchase their home. Moreover, pre-approval helps you figure out how much home you can afford. It helps you narrow your home search to find homes that fit within your pre-approval price range.

Failing to Hire a Good Home Inspector

A home inspector looks at the home before you purchase it to ensure that there are no visible or hidden problems with the home. Most major issues like structural, foundational, electrical, and plumbing issues will not escape the attention of a home inspector. However, a broken dishwasher, a malfunctioning washer and dryer or microwave are all minor issues that can add up quickly. A good home inspector should take a couple of hours, at least, inspecting the home, and should spot all of these problems and more before you buy the home. You may still want to purchase the home despite these issues, but it may make a huge difference in the price you pay for the home!

Failing to Hire a Good Home Inspector

Undoubtedly, the most crucial mistake most buyers make is failing to do a thorough final walk through. Understandably, the buyer is excited and anxious to complete the process and finalize the deal. But a thorough final walk-through will prevent any uncompleted repairs or unanswered requests from going unnoticed. Due diligence and a professional Realtor will help in this regard.

Failing to Recognize Timely Opportunities

Oddly, fear of making a mistake actually leads to many buyers' biggest error; not taking action. While you are being indecisive, somebody else has recognized a great deal and taken action. Buying a new home can be overwhelming. But while it's true that there are a few pitfalls to avoid in the real estate process, it's also true that there are laws in place that were created to prevent you from making any catastrophic mistakes. Do your homework, apply due diligence, hire a professional Realtor, and don't succumb to "analysis paralysis!"