It’s an exciting time when you’re dreaming and planning of purchasing your new (and maybe first) home!! And in all that excitement both before and after signing the contract, buyers get caught up on the frenzy and make some big mistakes - that often impact their home purchase. As I sat across the table from one of our preferred mortgage vendors today, a few of the items below came up in our conversation. While this is certainly not an exhaustive list, these are some of my top reminders.

1. AVOID REPRESENTING YOURSELF - For one of life’s most complicated and financially significant transactions, why would you represent yourself when you can be represented by a licensed, knowledgeable and experienced Realtor (for FREE)?

2. DON’T GET EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO A HOUSE YOU WANT TO BUY. Let’s face it, we are human and buyers often find a home and immediately fall in love. BUT . . . to make rationale, logical, and financially sound decisions in the process, buyers must do their best to keep emotions in check. For example, my clients were considering a corner lot and a lake front lot. Of course, the lake front lot would add a tremendous amount to the overall cost of the home. Fortunately, they went home and “came to their senses” and realized that the lake front lot was not a wise choice for them.

3. FAILING TO GET A HOME INSPECTION - Yes, there is an up front cost, but wouldn’t you want to know what you’re potentially buying? For a small option fee, you can have the home inspected and then decide whether you want to proceed OR walk away and receive a refund of your earnest money (remember I’m always referring to Texas real estate law).

4. FAILING TO ASK QUESTIONS! The real estate buying process has many steps. If you haven’t purchased a home before or it’s been more than a few years, be sure to ask your Realtor questions when you don’t understand a process, document, or issue that arises. That’s part of their job and they are happy to help.

5. FAILING TO READ/UNDERSTAND THE HOA RESTRICTIONS BEFORE YOU BUY! - While I realize that the HOA documents are full of a lot of legalese and verbiage, it’s worth scanning the important sections like restrictions on parking, signs, decorations, etc. For example, I just visited a friend and commented on her beautiful circle driveway in the front of her house (I’ve always wanted a house with one). She said, “thanks, we put that in because we aren’t allow to park cars overnight in our neighborhood.” Wow!! That’s pretty significant, especially when you have a household with more cars than garage spaces, etc.

6. OPENING A NEW CREDIT CARD - Don’t open any new accounts for at least 6 months before (or longer if you are repairing your credit) or during any period before you close on your new home.

7. GOING ON A VACATION (THAT IMPACTS YOUR SAVINGS/CASH ON HAND/CREDIT CARD DEBT)

8. BUYING A CAR/TRUCK

9. BUYING FURNITURE OR APPLIANCES OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR YOUR NEW HOME

10. TRANSFERRING LARGE AMOUNT OF FUNDS