Avoid These Top 3 Home Buying Mistakes

Hi friends, Maria Hoffman here today to help you avoid three of the top home shopping mistakes:

1. Wasting hours of your precious time trolling online trying to hunt down your home. It is very common for Zillow and other popular websites to include listings that are under contract, off-market, or even already sold. Why do they do this to you? Dear viewer, it has to do with the way most sites work, which is to capture your information, then sell it to agents who hope to get to work with you.

The more homes those websites put out there for you to click on, the more chances they have to sell “leads” to agents. This can be frustrating for buyers searching on their own. Let's be clear: The best source of actual up to date listings in real-time is the MLS. It's what professional agents use. Have your agent set up a custom search based on your criteria, and get your life back! Time is precious!

2. Asking for closing costs when it's not an absolute necessity (other than in new construction, in which case you should ask). Asking the seller to pay your closing costs makes your offer less attractive, and can hurt your chances of winning in a multiple-offer situation. In reality, when the seller pays your closings costs, you are borrowing the money, and those closing costs become part of your mortgage balance—which you do eventually have to pay back with interest.

Of course, if you do need them to purchase, or if you need to keep your cash available, there are times when it is appropriate. An experienced agent who knows the market can advise you on how asking for closing costs will affect your purchase

3. Settling for a part-time agent, or a "friend in the business" who brings you no market knowledge, or worse yet, doesn't understand real estate contracts. Don't cheat yourself, or put yourself in jeopardy within a purchase this important. You owe it to yourself to have an accomplished agent by your side, one who cares about looking out for you even after the sale has closed.

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