The 5 Biggest Buyer Mistakes
and How You Can Avoid Them!
by Kathy Schmidt, Broker/Owner | Schmidt Realty Group Inc.
Thinking of buying your first home? Or maybe you’ve bought a home before but you’d like it to go a
lot smoother this time! Either way, it can feel overwhelming! Good news! You can take charge of
the process and avoid these five costly mistakes!
In 2014 approximately 18,000 people bought properties in the Edmonton area. Sadly, many of them
made these avoidable mistakes and now are living in homes that don’t match their “wish list” or
their budget as well as they could have! I don’t want this to happen to you and that’s why I’ve
written this report.
Buying a home can feel scary, but once you understand these five common mistakes and how to
avoid them, you’ll be well on your way to finding the right home and keeping yourself safe along
the way!
MISTAKE #1: Waiting too long to buy!
MISTAKE #2: Not setting an achievable goal.
MISTAKE #3: Deciding purely on emotion!
MISTAKE #4: Being unrealistic about all the costs.
MISTAKE #5: Thinking you don’t need any help.
Let’s look at each of these in a bit more detail…
Compliments of Schmidt Realty Group Inc.
Copyright Schmidt Realty Group Inc 2014
MISTAKE #1: Waiting too long to buy!
Believe it or not, waiting and saving up a bigger down
payment could actually end up costing you thousands of
dollars! It all depends on what’s happening in the
market. Sure, if prices are falling then waiting to buy
could be the smart choice… depending of course on how
much you’re putting in your landlord’s pocket in rent
each month! But when prices are rising, even modestly,
you’re generally best off to buy as soon as you’re able!
Let’s say you want to buy a house for $400,000 and
prices rise modestly by 2.5% over the year. That’s
$10,000! You’d have to save $833 a month just to keep
up with the rise in house prices! On the other hand, if
you were the owner of that same property, the rise of
$10,000 would be yours! Now that’s food for thought,
isn’t it?
MISTAKE #2: Not setting an achievable goal.
It’s great to know what you want and what you need, but it’s even more important to understand what you
can actually accomplish. For instance, if you’ve got your heart set on a newer home and you also want to be
close to the downtown core, and you have a defined budget, it’s important to check in and see if all those
things line up! Newer homes are most often located further out, unless they’re custom built in-fill
properties in which case the price goes up substantially.
By working with your Realtor to look at examples of homes that have actually SOLD recently you can find
out if you’ve got an achievable goal before you start looking. This will save you days and weeks (or even
months) of house hunting and the resulting frustration when it seems that what you want just isn’t out
there. Many buyers make the mistake of waiting and waiting …and waiting for their dream home to come up
for sale, when the truth is their search is unrealistic for the current market. And meanwhile, prices could
be rising! Starting out with an achievable goal puts you in the driver’s seat!
WHAT you want,
WHERE you want it
and HOW MUCH you have
to spend must all line up!
Copyright Schmidt Realty Group Inc 2014
MISTAKE #3: Deciding purely on emotion!
Buying (or not buying) purely on emotion is risky! Your Realtor can help you stay focused on what you
decided was most important when you started the process. It should be fun and exciting to search for your
new home, and it’s also a huge financial investment. Make sure your emotions aren’t running the entire
show!
You might love this one of a kind house, but
will the next buyer? And what if life changes
and you need to move for work? Will you be
able to find a buyer with the same quirky
tastes?
Don’t write off a whole house because of one ugly
bathroom! Sure it’s a bit of work to remove the
wallpaper but what if the rest of the house fits your
needs and the location is ideal?
MISTAKE #4: Being unrealistic about all the costs.
An expensive financial surprise is the last thing you want to experience! Have you realistically considered
all the costs involved? Do you know what it will cost to heat the home you’re considering? And what kind of
ongoing maintenance is it likely to need?
Uh oh!
I didn’t budget
for this!
What about the purchase itself – do you understand all the costs involved? Legal fees, inspections,
appraisals, moving costs and more! Being honest with yourself before you buy will save you from countless
headaches afterwards.
Copyright Schmidt Realty Group Inc 2014
MISTAKE #5: Thinking you don’t need any help.
Being a do-it-yourselfer might be fine for painting your guest room, but I don’t recommend it when you’re
spending hundreds of thousands of dollars! No matter how real estate savvy you think you are, the odds are
you’ll come out much further ahead by getting some professional assistance. After all, you wouldn’t do your
own dentistry would you?
The truth is you don’t know what you don’t know! Unless you’re an expert in land titles, real property
reports, condominium documents and estoppel certificates, easements, encroachments, conditional and
additional terms, waivers and non-waivers and more, you really need a pro to watch your back! What you
don’t know about what you’re buying could end up costing you thousands!
When you’re ready to take the next step, whether you call on one of the Realtors at Schmidt or
another office, do yourself a huge favour and make sure you choose a Realtor who will commit to
making you a priority. Then, armed with the info you need, create a strategy to get the absolute
best home you can for your budget. Want to know more about how SCHMIDT can help you find
your ideal home? We’d be honoured to chat with you.
Contact us today for a free consultation. Never any pressure, and no obligation!
We promise to treat you like family!
Kathy
PS You’ll flip over our “Love It or Leave It Guarantee!”
Kathy Schmidt, Broker/Owner
Schmidt@WeSellEdmonton.com
www.WeSellEdmonton.com
780-437-2030
Copyright Schmidt Realty Group Inc 2014