Biggest Mistakes People Make When Buying a Home

Are you looking at homes for sale in Lexington, KY and want to make sure you  get the best fit for you and your family? Well, there are certain very common mistakes buyers -- even experienced buyers -- make when it comes to buying a home. The following list will point out which mistakes are, in my opinion, some of the most common mistakes you can make when buying a home.

Being Impressed With the Decor

Those of you who know me know that one of the things I specialize in is helping sellers 'stage' their homes for sale, that is, decorate their homes so the decor will be pleasing to a wide array of buyers. Does it work? You betcha. Studies show that homes that are staged sell in as little as a third of the time, on average, as non-staged homes and for up to 15% more.

Why does it work? Because most buyers lack imagination and get caught up in the current furnishings in home. If the current furniture/accessories look hip and luxurious, buyers assume that's the kind of lifestyle they'll lead when they move into the home. The problem with this line of thinking is that when the current owner moves, all of their stuff is going with them and unless your own possessions are also hip and luxurious (and fit well within the space) you'll end up with just a slightly different version of your current home/apartment because that's the 'stuff' you'll be bringing to your new home.

When you're trying to decide if a home will work for you and your family, pay the most attention to the location, floor plan and square footage. Decor choices are very personal and can easily be changed, so try not to let the seller's decor influence your decision. Imagine what your current sofa will look like in the living room and whether your current bedroom suite will fit in the bedroom. If the paint and/or appliances are not your taste, try to imagine what the house would look like with new colors and new appliances. You can't change the location of a house and changing the layout is a major undertaking, but changing relatively small things like paint, fixtures and appliances can do a lot to update a home on a modest budget and may enable you to get a really good deal on a house that other buyers who aren't using their imaginations will pass over.

Ignoring the Neighborhood

There's an old maxim in real estate that the 3 most important things are location, location and location, and there's a lot of truth to that old saying. But sometimes buyers get so wowed by a house (especially if it's well staged) that they're tempted to skip one of the most important aspects that will determine whether you'll be happy in your new home -- assessing whether the neighborhood fits your needs.

If you're seriously considering making an offer on a home, you not only need to see the house a couple of times, but you also want to visit the neighborhood at different times to get a feel for whether it will be a good fit for you. Visit around 6pm in the evening to see how crowded the street gets once everyone's home from work. Drive through at 9pm on a Saturday night to see if it's a "party" neighborhood that will keep you up until 3am every weekend. And, if you can, go to one of the neighborhood's association meetings (if the area has one) to get an idea of any major problems that may be facing the neighborhood and also to get a better feel for what your neighbors would be like.

If you have children, you'll also want to make sure the schools are the ones you're expecting them to be. In some houses for sale in Lexington, KY, one elementary or middle school may be geographically closest to the house you're considering but the zoning for that house specifies that your children would actually attend a different school. Of course, redistricting does sometime happen, but you want to do your best to help ensure your children are attending a school you're comfortable with, so check with your agent to find out the current school district before you put in that offer.

Buying the Nicest House on the Block

Some people get a kick out of knowing they have the nicest home on the block, but the truth is, if the home you're considering is the biggest/nicest on the block, you may be getting a bad deal.

When an appraiser or real estate agent works to assess the market value of a home, the most significant factor affecting the home's assessed value will be the selling prices of other houses in the neighborhood and if other houses aren't selling for nearly what your prospective house is selling for, you may want to rethink that purchase.

Homes are more than just homes -- they're also one of the most significant investments people will make in their lifetimes, so you need to think of your new home from an investment standpoint as well. If you buy a $200,000 house in a neighborhood full of $150,000 houses, the lower value of the surrounding houses will likely drag down the value of your home over time whereas if you bought the one $150,000 house in a neighborhood full of $200,000 houses, the more expensive houses would pull the value of your home up.

These are some of the most common mistakes I see when working with buyers out there and I hope by reading this post, I've helped some of my readers avoid an expensive mistake.

If you have any questions about buying homes in Lexington, KY or the surrounding area or if you'd like to know more about the home-buying process in general, don't hesitate to call or email me (click on the contact link at the top of the page or call the number right below my picture.)