When you’re looking for a home for sale in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Anthem or Cave Creek – or anywhere else, for that matter – there are five huge mistakes you could make that could end up costing you your dream home. Here’s what you need to know.
5 Big Mistakes That Could Cost You Your Dream Home
Your Phoenix REALTOR® will be there with you every step of the way, steering you clear of major mistakes – but in the meantime, watch out for these five big ones:
- Worrying too much about aesthetics
- Being careless about negotiations
- Thinking things over for too long
- Ignoring the seller’s motivation
- Lowballing the seller
Here’s a closer look at each.
Homebuyer Mistake #1: Worrying too much about aesthetics
We’ll just say it: There’s no such thing as a perfect house. There’s always going to be something that you’d love – if only it were a little bit different. But check this out: You can change nearly anything about a house if you’re willing to do so. Don’t become so caught up in the paint color, for example, that it puts you off when the home has everything else you want.
Homebuyer Mistake #2: Being careless about negotiations
The seller’s agent isn’t the enemy – but he or she does work for the seller, and that agent’s job is to help the seller make as high a profit as possible. That means you shouldn’t discuss the sale directly with the seller’s agent; let your REALTOR do the talking. You could tip your hand, which will work against you during negotiations.
Homebuyer Mistake #3: Thinking things over for too long
When you fall in love with a house, there’s a good chance that someone else has fallen in love with it, too – and that means you don’t have a lot of time to spare if you want to put in an offer and have it accepted by the seller. We’ve seen people tour a home, fall in love, and called the listing agent to find out that they’ve just gotten off the phone with someone else making an offer, so if you really love a home, make an offer quickly.
One of the reasons REALTORs advise homebuyers to get mortgage preapproval before house-hunting is that with preapproval, you can pounce on your dream home. Your preapproval shows the seller that you’re a pretty safe bet when it comes to buying the home – and the seller is more likely to accept an offer from a preapproved buyer than one from a buyer who’s simply “prequalified” or hasn’t dealt with a lender at all.
Homebuyer Mistake #4: Ignoring the seller’s motivation
Sellers definitely want to make a profit when selling a home, but for some sellers, that’s not what the whole thing is about. Some sellers want to see their home go to someone who will love it as much as they did; some want to deal with the fewest number of headaches possible; and some want to sell it quickly rather than at maximum profit. You can’t ignore what the seller wants – you need them to choose your offer, so the best way to do that is to talk to your REALTOR about putting together an offer with a great chance at acceptance.
Homebuyer Mistake #5: Lowballing the seller
It can be tempting to offer much less than the seller is asking in hopes that it’ll open up negotiations – but doing so can backfire badly. Instead, your REALTOR will encourage you to make a reasonably fair offer, which may be below asking price (but not dramatically so). If there are multiple bids on the house and you really want to win it, your agent might also suggest that you offer more than list price.
Are You Thinking About Buying or Selling a Home in Phoenix?
If you’re selling a home in Phoenix, Cave Creek, Anthem or Scottsdale, we can market it to all the right buyers so you can sell quickly (and at the right price). Call us at 602-332-6188 to learn more.
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