It happens every year, home buyers regret their purchase after the house becomes theirs. Regrets are often a result of listening to poor advice from friends, family members and real estate pros, but sometimes buyers get so emotionally attached to a property that they overlook its faults and rush into a purchase. Take a bit of time to learn which mistakes are most common–it will help you make sure that your home buying experience is a good one.
1) Letting Your Emotions Take Over
Keep a cool head during the entire home buying process. Be realistic. No home is perfect. It’s not unusual for new owners to take care of some repairs themselves. Don’t let the seller’s refusal to do a small repair kill the deal on a home you truly love.
On the other hand, don’t fall so much in love with the house that you’ll buy it no matter what needs to be done–unless you’re sure you can handle it emotionally and financially. Decide what type of repairs you can realistically tackle, and then stick with the decision.
2) Neglecting to Plan for the Future
Will you live in the house for the rest of your life? Probably not, so you’ll want the property to appeal to potential buyers. Buying a home with good resale value sometimes takes a little patience and research, but you’ll love the payback when it sells quickly and puts extra money in your bank account. A low price isn’t a “deal” if it buys a house you’ll be stuck with for a very long time.
3) Assuming the Estate Agent Would get them “the Best Deal”
The Estate Agent was hired by the home seller to obtain the best possible price and terms for the property. That doesn’t mean the estate agent can’t work with you in a fair and ethical manner, but it does mean that you should have a full understanding of where the agent’s loyalties are before you dial his phone number.
4) Neglecting to Get All Agreements in Writing
Hand-shake agreements sometimes work out just fine, but it’s risky to depend on verbal agreements for any portion of your home buying contract. Verbal agreements cannot be enforced and unless terms are in writing there’s no guarantee that you and the person you are working with will have the same memory and interpretation of what was agreed to. Put every aspect of your contact in writing and make sure that everyone involved signs the agreement.
5) Don’t Become Best Friends with the Seller
I’ll get some flack on this one. It’s great to be friendly, but don’t get into too many long discussions with the sellers, because personality conflicts often cloud judgments.
Remember, this is their home. You’re no doubt excited about moving in, and if you didn’t like the house you wouldn’t have offered to buy it. But you’ll make changes–everyone does. A casual statement about “ripping up that ugly carpet” might be hurtful enough to keep the seller from negotiating with you about repairs or other issues that crop up
6) Taking on Too Much Debt
Some buyers are using loans to purchase homes. But an unexpected move could force you to find extra money to pay off the loan when you sell. An example of this was the RBZ’s home loan which some people took and have found it increseangly hard to keep repayments on.

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