Five Topmost Mistakes Made By Buyers in a Hot Market
It’s difficult to correctly time house-hunting. This makes it seemingly impossible to avoid purchasing property in a hot market. However, you shouldn’t let the fear of competition to prevent you from buying your dream home. These are some of the pitfalls to avoid when shopping in a hot property market.
Acting Out of Desperation
Undoubtedly, you will feel disappointed when someone snaps up a home that you were eyeing even before you get the opportunity to take a look at it. However, desperation should never creep in. If it sets in, you may end up making impulsive and irrational decisions.
Hesitation
Nothing is worse than seeing attractive properties getting placed under contract before you make your offer. Always ensure that your paperwork is in order before you attend an open house. This puts you in a position to make an offer there and then.
Ignoring the Market Altogether
It is almost impossible to time the property market and make decisions that are based on current trends. A good plan is to make purchasing decisions based on events occurring in your life, and career, and envision how things will be in five or ten years. Even so, you should still pay attention to the property market before making a decision.
Financial Fogginess
Never run the numbers in your head when buying a property. Likewise, avoid ball-parking your income, bills, and loan payments. Financially speaking, you should be crystal clear on what you can afford. You will be faced with decisions such as the appropriateness of increasing your price range or offer price on short notice.
In case you need assistance, consult your financial planner or tax advisor. They can help you understand the tax breaks that you can take advantage of, and how you can free up some money when buying a property.
Overpaying
In a hot market, multiple offers will be made on the same property. Often, this results in a bidding war. Avoid the temptation of paying more than what you budgeted. If a home has multiple bids that eclipse yours, ask your agent to find similar properties that are attracting less attention.
Bonus Tip: In case your agent includes pending and active sales in their pool of comparative sets, you may find useful info such as whether similar properties have been listed.