Buying a new home can be an exciting venture, but buyers tend to get carried away in the excitement. Sometimes, you could get caught up in the prospects of owning a property that the other crucial factors to a successful purchase are lost on you.

Indeed, there is a lot to consider when buying a home. As a result, things could go wrong along the line. Taking the wrong step could lead to unsavory experiences such as over-paying for a property or incurring a considerable loss after a property purchase.

You don’t need to fall into making a wrong home purchase – at least realtors in Newnan, GA generally wouldn’t want you to, for example. Below are some common mistakes buyers need to avoid as they shop for a new property.

Settling for the First Real Estate Agent you find

Having a real estate agent help you throughout a property-purchase process is one fact you can’t overemphasize. They have the experience and skill to ensure that you pay for the right home for you. However, hiring an agent is not always synonymous with hiring the best one: at least not when you settle for the first realtor you find. 

A study showed that 70% of new homebuyers would stop searching once they’ve found their first real estate agent. What it means is that 7 out of 10 people risk not getting the right realtor services for their peculiar purchase situations since they have nobody else with which to compare.

In other words, you wouldn’t know if the agent is the best if they are the only one you’ve only ever interviewed. It is why even the best realtors in Newnan, GA, would advise that you consider a few real estate agent options before settling for one. 

Not only do you have the luxury to choose, but you could also compare which of the services offer the most value for your money.

When comparing real estate agents, you need to consider their experience in years, work status, i.e., part-time or full-time employment, and the neighborhoods in which they specialize. For instance, Newnan, GA real estate agents with decades of experience are considerably better than those from California if you’re hoping to buy a house in Georgia.

Quick online searches and referrals may help you with valuable options, but you’d need location-specific links to find realtors in the property’s area. An example is a Georgia-based web search: here, you can find realtors based in Newnan, GA, Atlanta, and other cities in the state.

Making Low Offers in a High-Demand Market

Buyers’ ultimate goal is to get a property as cheaply as legally possible. So, it’s totally fine if you’re looking to get an excellent deal on your next home – but that’s not always the case. An example: Offering low prices for a property for sale in Newnan, GA only works when there are more houses on sale than people to buy.

On the flip side, a high-demand property market – also known as seller’s market – has smaller units on sale, leaving more buyers to jostle for each. This leaves the buyers to make bids for a home, offering the actual value or more. Naturally, you may not stand a chance if you’ve tendered a low offer at the start.

However, making such a mistake isn’t so much about low-balling the negotiation. Instead, it is about the buyer not realizing the market’s nature. People tend to adjust their negotiation strategies once they recognize the supply-demand relationship.

Therefore, you must consult your real estate agent and do some market research before forwarding your offer to the seller.

Picking the Wrong Mortgage Provider

You might think it’s a straightforward thing for buyers to pick a house and apply for a mortgage to finance its purchase. Alas, things could quickly get complicated if you’ve got the wrong financing option. Many homebuyers only realize that their lender isn’t the right fit for their purchased property after the fact.

Similar to hiring a real estate agent, you must compare multiple lenders before picking one. If you would be shopping for property in Georgia, realtors in Newnan, GA, typically recommend that you consider three mortgage providers at the minimum. More importantly, you’ve got to compare lending terms to see which best suits your purchase options.

Ensure that you get Lending Estimates from prospective mortgage providers. It should contain the interest rates and other key terms to the loan amount you seek. The document will give a clearer picture of the best financing options for your preferred property type.

Leaving out Closing Costs

Most buyers tend to consider the closing costs as they go further with the property’s negotiations. This would have been an otherwise severe mistake to make, but mortgage firms generally help to cushion the impact. Still, under-budgeting for a home’s closing cost could lead to unexpected budgets, which can delay negotiations.

Typically, the seller and buyer share closing costs, with the latter taking the more considerable fraction. The overall price depends on the location, but you can expect it to be 2-4% of the house’s purchase value.

It would be best if you approached your mortgage provider for a Closing Disclosure. It’s the document with the closing cost details together with the final loan conditions. Your mortgage lender is under obligation to provide the closing disclosure at least three days before the final settlement occurs on the property.

The information would allow you to prepare your budget accordingly between paying for the property and closing the agreement.

Taking out Credit under an Ongoing Contract

One of the quickest ways to make a home purchase go south is by incurring more credit during the process. It would sabotage your chances of getting financing options or drive up interest rates on your mortgage.

By law, the lending party has to evaluate your creditworthiness at the pre-approval and closing stages of a property purchase. If your credit ratings drop at any point in the ongoing contract, you risk getting rejected for a mortgage.

It is why realtors in Newnan, GA, would advise homebuyers in Georgia against opening a new credit account or taking out a loan during a purchase.

Wrapping Up

Buying a new home almost always feels great, as you get to enjoy the new location and living area. However, things are not always rosy in reality, and some people genuinely regret certain aspects of their homebuying process. More often than not, it’s because of the errors and pitfalls they couldn’t avoid along the way.

The article highlights some of the more common mistakes buyers can make when buying a home, and it’s normal to see realtors across the states give tips and advice on how to avoid them.