7 Costly Mistakes Home Buyers Make

Buying a home is a major investment for most homeowners it's the most costly investment they will ever make. It is even more costly for some because they fall into the traps and mistakes such as; paying more than they should for a home, missing out on the home of their dreams, buying a home that doesn't fit their needs. By watching out for the 7 costly mistakes you can take proper action to avoid them.

1. Real Estate Agent - your Buyer Agent should have in place a "VIP Buyer program", "house-hunting service" or "buyer profile system". These systems will match your criteria with all the available homes on the market and send you daily or weekly emails with complete descriptions and photos. This system can save weeks and months of home searching. If your Buyer Agent is not internet savvy and not incorporating one of these into their business you should move on to another agent who works in this century.

How to Get the First Time House Buyer Grant?

As the name itself suggests, these grants are provided only to those people who are buying themselves a house for the first time in their life. The best thing with grants is that we are not supposed to worry about paying them back to the government of the foundation that has provided us with it. This is what we call free money. This is the best way to get some extra help while you are buying your own home sweet home.
Yes sir, those are true words that I just said. You do not have to care about returning it in the future. There are no interests to pay and no mortgages involved. This proves to be a very great help for those who are having a tuff time managing their financial affairs, while trying to buy their first house. These grants are provided by the governments and also some by of the private foundations.

The application process for the first time house buyer grant is slightly different from the rest of the grants.

First Time House Buyer Tips

First time house buyer tips can help people make educated decisions about real estate purchases. Surveys suggest people are beginning to think about purchasing houses.

Many buyers are developing their purchase strategies now because they realize housing prices will eventually increase.

It is important to obtain first time house buyer tips from reputable sources. One of the most credible sources is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The HUD website offers valuable information and resources including assistance programs, approved housing counseling agencies, homeownership vouchers and incentives for buying HUD properties.

The first thing buyers should do is determine how much they can afford. It is important to factor in the down payment, loan origination fee, closing costs, realtor commissions and homeowners insurance. A quick way to determine how much you can afford is by multiplying your gross annual income by three. If your annual income is $60,000 and you can provide a 20-percent down payment, housing prices should be no higher than $180,000.

First time home buyers should obtain pre-qualified mortgage loan approval before scouting out houses. Prequalification lets you know exactly how much money can be borrowed and what the monthly payment will be. Obtaining approval beforehand provides additional negotiation leverage with sellers.