The 5 most common mistakes when buying a house (and ways to avoid them)

An article that looks at the most common mistakes made by people who want to buy a house, and some tips on how not to fall into them...

When you make the decision to buy a house, it's one of the most significant moments in your life, whether it's your first home or a change of address. This process can be quite complex, as it involves long-term financial decisions and therefore compromises life savings. There are always mistakes that can be avoided when buying a house. In this article, we'll mention the 5 most common mistakes and some ways to avoid them.

Let's start by mentioning that the more knowledge and planning you have, the better. A good way to start gaining knowledge is to do some research into the property market in the area where you want to buy a house. Check the prices of houses in the locality, see if there is easy access to facilities such as schools, shops, public transport, if you have good access to your job, for example. Depending on your needs, be aware of what you need and see if you're really determined to buy a house in that location.

After this brief research, which will help you decide on the ideal location for your home, it's also important to consider the inhabitants and even your neighbourhood, if possible. With that, we'll tell you what the 5 most common mistakes are when buying a house, and how to avoid them:

First mistake: don't do a full financial appraisal. You should do a complete and detailed financial appraisal. Include not only the purchase price of the house, but also some additional costs, such as insurance, maintenance and condominium fees, if applicable. This will help you to know how much you really need to spend and avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Second mistake: wanting to build a house on your own versus buying from developers, who have the experience and expertise to develop better projects, build with higher quality and at a more competitive price. Sometimes the idea that you can build a house on your own, without the experience or knowledge to do so, can be a big mistake and may not go as planned, which is why turning to a developer for the construction and purchase of a house is always the best option.

Third mistake: not considering the year the house was built. It's common for older homes to be sold at lower prices than usual. But why? Because they usually need renovation and repairs, which can be very expensive. That's why it's important to take into account not only the price of the house, but also all the costs of renovating/repairing it...

Fourth mistake: visiting houses you know you can't afford. It may seem like something nobody does, but make a mistake, it's quite common. You shouldn't do it, for various reasons. For example, if you know that you have a maximum budget of 200,000 euros to buy a house, what's the point of going to see one worth 300,000 euros? This will lead you to create expectations and delude yourself with a house that you won't be able to afford. So it only leads to problems, which should be avoided...

Last but not least: getting carried away by emotion. This is also common, especially when buying your first home... If this is the case, try not to think only on an emotional level, try to be realistic, do the maths on what you might have to spend, see if your salary/credit is enough to pay for the house and the costs, and seek further advice, preferably from real estate professionals.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to avoid the most common mistakes when buying a home! Urbibarra - Promotor Imobiliário is always available to help you and we are there for you throughout the entire home-buying process, from start to finish.

Last but not least: getting carried away by emotion. This is also common, especially when buying your first home... If this is the case, try not to think only on an emotional level, try to be realistic, do the maths on what you might have to spend, see if your salary/credit is enough to pay for the house and the costs, and seek further advice, preferably from real estate professionals.