I’m sharing with you the 3 common mistakes I often see first-home buyers make

Mistakes are part of life, but ideally, when it comes to property we want to avoid (or at least minimise) mistakes, because they can be costly – both financially and emotionally 

Mistake 1 – Not having the right property ‘squad’ 

The professionals I recommend having in your property ‘squad’ (as a minimum) include a mortgage broker, conveyancer/solicitor and building inspector. You might also decide to add a financial planner, accountant and perhaps a buyers agent if you’d like some extra support in the purchase process. 

As a first home buyer, you’re going to have a LOT of questions, so it’s vital to surround yourself with professionals who you feel completely comfortable with. 

If at any point you feel: 

• Like you’re not being listened to 
• Like your questions aren’t being answered properly 
• Like you need to be constantly chasing them up 
• Like you’re not a priority 
• Like you’re being patronised 

You should probably consider finding a different professional, even if they’ve been recommended by someone you know who had a good experience. The home-buying journey can be an emotional roller coaster, so you need to make sure you feel completely supported along the way. 

Mistake 2 – Being unrealistic

One of the most common mistakes I see is aspiring first-home buyers being unrealistic about what they can afford and becoming disheartened. 

A vital step of the pre-buying process is to create your property brief (aka your wishlist) and then check out the suburbs you’d like to live in and see what’s sold or been available in the last 6 months. 

If you can’t find at least 6-8 properties that match your criteria and have sold within budget, it means you might need to make some adjustments to your brief. 

Being realistic at the beginning will give you a better chance of finding a property faster, save you from feeling hopeless when you see your dream properties sell over budget, and ensure real estate agents take you seriously. 

Mistake 3 – Procrastination

I often see first-home buyers procrastinate and put off their home-buying goals when the real reason for their inaction is a lack of self-confidence  

Procrastination often happens when you feel:

• Overwhelmed
• Like you don’t have enough information 
• Clueless about the process 
• Insecure about making big decisions 

These feelings are completely normal when it comes to buying a home – the important thing is to recognise them so you can then focus on overcoming them. 

Procrastination can usually be fixed by education. The more you know about something, the more confident you’ll be and the easier it’ll become to put an action plan in place to achieve your goals. 

Listen to podcasts, read property books, head to a bunch of open for inspections and auctions, speak to agents, and spend hours and hours in the ‘sold’ section of realestate.com.au. Do whatever you can to empower and educate yourself, and you’ll start to feel more prepared.