Be Wary of these Home Hunting Mistakes

Smith Top Team Realtors, an award-winning, 5-star rated father/son real estate team, stands as the #1 small Real Estate team with Coldwell Banker across all of central Pennsylvania for the past 4 years. Our reputation is further solidified by our recognition as “Best of Zillow” and “Top Agents on Zillow” for the past 5 years, highlighting our unwavering commitment to excellence and client satisfaction in every transaction we undertake.

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You’ve been waiting for years to make a down payment on a house, and now’s the time. For many, home hunting can be an exhilarating experience. The excitement of getting your own home is both thrilling and scary at the same time. But before you jump on the home hunting bandwagon, here are a couple of mistakes that you should avoid to land the home of your dreams!

1. Walking In Without A Mortgage Pre-Approval

Just wanting to buy a home isn’t enough. You can’t just walk into home shopping without a pre-approval document in your hands. Pre-approval should be your first step when you set out to buy your dream home.

This document will not only let you know the specific amount your lender is willing to lend to you, but will also create a good impression on sellers. Having pre-approval for a mortgage when home shopping shows sellers that you’re serious about buying a home and aren’t just wasting their time.

Walking In Without A Mortgage Pre-Approval

2. Not Setting Your Own Budget

So your application for a mortgage got approved, and the bank is willing to lend you $500,000. But, getting the pre-approval isn’t enough. You can’t walk into every open house without having a budget. This is because a mortgage pre-approval and your personal budget are two different things. Just because your bank is willing to lend you $500,000 doesn’t mean that you can actually meet that number without stretching yourself thin financially.

So before you go home hunting, you should take out some time to list down your major financial expenses and goals.

3. Not Knowing Your Home Preferences

Before you set the date to go home hunting, it’s advisable that you take out some time to browse through properties on the internet or a magazine. Do you find yourself leaning more toward vintage condos or split-level homes? Browsing beforehand and making a wish list will help you be clear on your home preferences. This way, you won’t be walking in without a clue.

4. Involving A lot Of People 

Home hunting can be thrilling. You might even be tempted to invite all of your extended family or close friends on your home shopping expedition. So even though you might get some useful advice from them, all of the different opinions can also you leave you feeling confused. Therefore, it’s best to only invite people you’d actually be living with.

5. Trying To Do Everything On Your Own

When home hunting, you might feel like you need to do everything on your own. If you can look up listings for homes yourself, then why do you need to hire an agent, right? After all, hiring an agent will only be an added expense.

But no matter how attractive of an option this might seem, it’s better that you don’t take this route. This is because an experienced agent will help you navigate the precarious waters of real estate better.

For top real estate agents in camp hill area, reach out Smith Top Team. We are a father-son duo with 40 years of experience in navigating the real estate industry.

To get only the top listing agents in camp hill, contact us today.