Millennials – they’re the generation between 18 and 35; the new young professionals; the recent graduates, and they’re also coming into the housing market in droves. Usually, they’re also first-time homebuyers, which means that they have the potential to make mistakes in the home-purchasing process. Here are the top seven mistakes millennials make when they purchase a new home. Whether you consider yourself part of the generation or you’re just looking to ensure your home search goes as smoothly as possible, these tips should help any potential homebuyer.
1: Not Getting Pre-Approved
Buying a home should never start with searching for listings online. If you’re serious about buying, start by meeting with a lender. Although that seems backwards to many first-time homebuyers (“Why would I talk to someone about getting money for a home I haven’t found yet?!”) it’s going to help you in the long run. When you get pre-approved for a mortgage, it means you have met with a lender and showed them your credit report, debt, income, and assets in order to provide a picture of your finances. With that information, they will draft a pre-approval letter – something that tells you how much money you’re potentially qualified for, but isn’t a guarantee of money. Realtors look for a pre-approval letter when working with you because it shows you’ve done your homework and you know your price range. Sellers expect a pre-approval letter with every offer because they know there’s a better chance of you actually getting the mortgage to buy the home.
2: Not Hiring A Realtor
In the age where you can buy virtually anything online, many millennials believe that they can purchase a home through an online listing service. They look at Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia, find the perfect home, and contact the listing agent. Let’s stop there. This isn’t to say that looking online isn’t a great idea to see what kinds of homes are in your price range. In fact, it’s an excellent way to be prepared to look for the type of home that’s in your budget, including size and location. However, if you think you can do all of your home shopping by yourself through the internet, think again. When shopping for homes on online listing services, you’re not really getting the full picture or price. The home might have smells, sounds, or sights that you’re not seeing while looking at the photos on the listing. Not only that, if you’re interested in a home and reach out to the listing agent, they’re not going to have your best interests at heart. They’re legally bound to the seller, so you may not get the best deal. That’s why it’s extremely important to first talk to a mortgage lender to see how much you could afford, and then work with a realtor who can help you avoid paying extravagant amounts of money and walk you through different options of homes that are within your price range.
3: Buying More House Than You Can Afford
While looking online for a home, another mistake millennials make is looking at the estimated mortgage payment and thinking, “Hey, I can afford that!” Many times, the monthly mortgage price on the listing doesn’t account for insurance, taxes, HOA fees, Personal Mortgage Insurance if your down payment is less than 20%, or other utilities and maintenance costs. Purchasing a home costs much more than the dollar amount listed there – it’s expensive and if you end up buying more house than you can afford, you risk becoming “house poor” quickly. That means you pay more money monthly for a house than you can reasonably afford. Many mortgage lenders will pre-approve you for a mortgage that’s much more than you actually could afford on a month-to-month basis. You can’t rely on them to provide you with an accurate amount of money that you’ll be spending each month on your home. You have to do that on your own. Look at how much money you spend on food and transportation. Then, look at how much you’d be spending on insurance, taxes, closing costs, and maintenance. Add a little bit for savings, just in case, and you have a better picture of your budget each month. If you can afford everything that goes into a home, you’re set to buy. If not, you may need to start looking at homes in a lower price range.
4: Not Shopping For A Mortgage
Once you find a home, make an offer, and start the closing process, you need to shop around for a mortgage. Many first-time homebuyers assume that they have to go with the lender that provided them their pre-approval letter. Not so! You can shop around for the best interest rates and terms that fit with you and your budget. In fact, not shopping around for a mortgage can end up costing you tens of thousands of dollars in interest.
5: Not Attending A Home Inspection
This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when purchasing a home. If there’s one thing you take away from this article, let it be this: attend the home inspection. Do not let your realtor go without you to look over the inspection. Do not send your mother or brother or second cousin on the home inspection. Take off work and walk through the home with the home inspector. In fact, make sure you’re involved with the entire process, including hiring your own personally vetted inspector (or two or three, depending on the first report), walking through the home with the inspector, asking them questions about the state of the home, and finally reading the inspection report.