House-buying mistakes can be costly, whether they lead to delays in completion, expensive repair work, or cause the transaction to fall through entirely. If you don’t want to make some of the most common mistakes buying a house, it’s handy to have a mental checklist.
In this guide, we’ve compiled eight of the most common property mistakes to watch out for. In the heat of the moment, when a particular property has caught your eye – and your heart – this shortlist should give you pause to think.
Buying a house as a home or an investment should always be a logical process, as it’s among the biggest purchases you’ll make in your life. With our help, you can make sure your property purchase goes without a hitch.
Choosing the right legal advisor, also known as a conveyancing lawyer or real estate lawyer, is a good way to keep the whole transaction on course.
As with all things, there are lawyers and there are lawyers – meaning that there are cheap online lawyers who could cost you the deal, and professionals who can keep an eye on the small details.
Choosing a reputable real estate lawyer (preferably one of Black Brick’s recommended panel firms) is essential and instructing a poor lawyer could cost you the property.
Remember, you’re not obliged to use an estate agent’s lawyer. Unlike an estate agent, Black Brick’s panel firms have been carefully chosen to give you the best legal advice on your next property search.
Ditto as above with choosing the right surveyor. A comprehensive survey can highlight any causes for concern, but a single, general survey might not be right for every property.
Consider if the property needs something more specific – for example if the property has mechanical and electrical items such as a lift, complicated AV equipment, air conditioning units, a swimming pool and other services.
Each of these will need to be checked by specialists before proceeding with the purchase, if you want to be confident before you buy.
A lot of people start viewing properties before having a firm mortgage offer in place, especially when the banks and other lenders want to know what you’re buying before they’ll lend.
It’s helpful to have your ducks lined up. By this we mean be ready and able to transact with your mortgage in place, proof and source of funds, lawyer engaged etc.
It’s no good finding the perfect property and then not being ready and able to transact. This could mean you tarnish your reputation as a good buyer with agents and sellers alike.
One of the biggest mistakes buying a house is underestimating how much it will cost to refurbish.
If you are considering buying a property that requires work, then ensuring you understand the costs and time involved, along with what planning permissions are required for any works you want to do, is essential before you buy.
And it’s not just refurbishment costs which can be overlooked when budgeting, as explained by Black Brick’s Camilla Dell: “With high stamp duty costs, many homeowners now move far less. There are fewer “steps” in the property ladder, with buyers now waiting longer in between moving up (or down) the property ladder and making bigger jumps. It’s therefore important to think about whether the property you are buying today will suit you in 5 or even 10 years from now.”
We work with a panel of tried and tested planning consultants, architects and contractors to assist clients with this before we submit offers on properties.
Another of the most common house-buying mistakes is thinking that any survey will be fully comprehensive. In fact, this is not the case at all.
Many property surveys are quite basic, barely giving the building a visual inspection to look for obvious faults, and a building condition survey is not the same thing as a mortgage valuation survey.
If you want to be sure that you’re buying a house in good condition, consider getting the most in-depth survey you can, such as a RICS Home Survey Level 3, or one of the four types of RPSA property survey.
Speeding through the viewings without paying attention is a good way to clock up some more property mistakes, especially if you’re thinking with your heart instead of your head.
This is one of the absolute most common mistakes buying a house. People see a beautiful veneer and fall in love with it, without stopping to investigate what’s hiding behind that new coat of paint.
Estate agents are used to dealing with experienced, meticulous buyers, and shouldn’t try to rush you while you are checking over a property – unless they’re trying to hide something wrong with it.
For even more respect from estate agents during a viewing, remember our 7 clever questions to ask the agent when buying a property.
The right property in the wrong location can be one of the biggest property mistakes you’ll ever make.
As a prime London buying agent, Black Brick understand the importance of truly local location – with amenities, transport, schools and other essentials on your doorstep.
For some tips on what to look out for when viewing properties, read our guide to London Location Essentials.
Of course, this depends on you – you won’t care about schools if you don’t have school-aged children, and you might not worry too much about public transport if you always drive or take a taxi – but everyone has some essentials and the amenities that exist outside of your house aren’t something you can change after you’ve made the purchase.
We’ve touched on this already, but it’s one of the most common mistakes buying a house, and that’s buying based on emotion instead of on judgement.
Remember all of the points we’ve listed above, and then apply them with a cool head. It’s good practice to arrange a second viewing, where you can double check the fine details you missed on your first visit to a dream property.
“Using a buying agent can help give you perspective and be a good conduit between you and the selling agent. If the selling agent knows that you have fallen in love with the property it may hinder your chances of negotiating a good price”.
Good conveyancing solicitors, in-depth property condition surveys, and trustworthy buying agents like Black Brick can all help you to feel more confident about your judgement when putting in an offer.
To avoid these common house-buying mistakes and get the help of a buying agent you can trust, contact Black Brick for more information.
We would be delighted to hear from you to discuss your own property requirements. For a non-obligatory consultation, please contact us.
