Top house hunting mistakes made by house buyers
Buying a home in Savannah, GA can be a very emotional process, so it's hard to always think straight when searching for a home. If you allow yourself to be carried away by emotional whims, you might fall prey to a number of common house buyer mistakes. That's why we've created this outline of the two biggest mistakes made my house buyers, so you can avoid them.
- Not having a set budget!
Once you've fallen in love with a Savannah, GA property, it can be pretty hard to go back. You'll start dreaming about what life could look like in that particular home, and all ideas of what you can ACTUALLY afford go out the window! By setting a budget before you start shopping around, you can restrict your house-hunting to properties within your means, and avoid hurting yourself by yearning for something you just can't afford. House buyers should start searching at the lower end of their price range. If you love a property you find in the lower price range, there's no need to spend more! Remember: when you spend an extra $20,000 on a property, you'll also be paying additional interest - that money could be better used elsewhere!
It's also important to keep in mind that, just because the bank says you can afford a house, that doesn't necessarily mean you actually can afford it. You should only be looking at houses within a price range that you are ACTUALLY comfortable with - don't inflate your budget just because the bank is willing to lend you more money than you expected.
Conversely, what you think you can afford and what the bank is willing to lend you may not match up, especially if you have poor credit or unstable income. However, mortgage lending discrimination against house buyers in Savannah, GA is illegal. If you think you've been discriminated against based on race, religion, sex, marital status, use of public assistance, national origin, disability, or age, file a report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
- Skipping Mortgage Pre-Approval
As a Savannah, GA house buyer, before you place any bids on a home, or even before you start seriously house-hunting, you should make sure that you have been pre-approved for a loan. If you don't, there's a chance you may be rejected for the loan amount that you requested, or that the bank is only willing to lend you the money on terms which you find unacceptable. If this happens, you'll be wasting not just your own time, but also the seller's time, the seller's agent's time, and your agent's time. The pre-approval process will also help you decide what your budget is, which will be crucial in your house-hunting adventures.
You should also be aware that, even if you have been pre-approved for a mortage, anything which alters your credit score - for instance, buying a car on finance - could cause your loan to fall through at the last minute. If this happens, you may have to forfeit any deposit or earnest money that you offered when you entered into the contract.
If you're looking to buy a house any time soon, you might want to look into a "we buy houses" company!
Here at Cash 4 Keys Home Buyers, we buy houses in Savannah, Georgia for cash, so there's no need to worry about finding a buyer on short notice! Our business model is to help homeowners who need to sell a house fast (especially houses that need work) by buying your house for cash… then we and our local partners fix up the property, beautify the neighborhood, and sell it "move-in" ready to a happy new homeowner.
We pay for all of the repairs.
We pay for the closing costs.
We do all of the work, so you don't have to.
Our goal is to make the whole process no hassle for you, so you can move on with your life and put this house behind you.