There are several mistakes that new home buyers or repeat home buyers can make, but below are the three most common that we see:

Number One Mistake: Refusing to Confide in a Trusted Advisor

This advisor could be your real estate lawyer or real estate agent. Experienced real estate professionals handle such a multitude of transactions and personality mixes, there's little they haven't heard before. Your advisors are representing your best interests and have a fiduciary responsibility to do so.
They can't help you if they don't know what you are doing behind their backs. Plus, they will likely have a better idea for what to do with your situation than you. Buyers withhold information for a variety of reasons such as:

* Fear of how they will be perceived
* Irrational belief they have all the answers
* Don't feel it is important enough
* Lack confidence in their advisor

If your problem is that you suddenly have cold feet and are thinking about backing out of the transaction, talk to your agent about those feelings. He/she can help walk you through the anxieties. A real estate professional will help
you to determine if you really need to cancel, and if so, manage the transaction so you can get your earnest money deposit back.

Number Two Mistake: Altering Financial Pictures Prior to Closing

When some people buy their first home, they easily qualify because they have no car payment nor revolving debt. This is great, but sometimes we find that a week before closing, the buyers bought a new car and financed the purchase. That purchase now means new ratios. New ratios mean the buyers no longer qualify. This could lead to a frantic phone call to a family member, begging him/her to lend them the money to pay off the new car loan, in order to save them losing the house. Today's home buyers make the same mistake. Do not buy anything on credit and / or with a credit card once you have completed a
loan application. Do NOT buy:

* Automobiles
* Washers, dryers, refrigerators
* Lawnmowers or garden equipment
* Expensive electronics or computers
* Furniture for your new home

Slight alterations in your credit ratios could cause an underwriter to throw out your loan and deny it. If your loan contingency has expired or been removed, you could forfeit your earnest money deposit in addition to losing the home.

Number Three Mistake: Buying the Wrong House

The very first thing home buyers should do is make a list of priorities and define home purchase objectives. Figure out what features and benefits are most important and which you can live without. Before you close escrow, review this list. It's easy to overlook a major factor that could come back to haunt you later.

Keep in mind while looking at houses that it is easy to be swept up in the excitement of buying a home and that can lead you to buying a home that is a bit less than you actually need. Don't convince yourself that having one bathroom is suitable, for example, only to discover shortly after closing that sharing a bath with two teenage sons or one teenage daughter is impossible. This type of problem can cause so much tension and strain that you can end up selling the house less than a year later. That can cost you money to sell and more money to buy a two-bathroom home in another neighborhood. And if the market is depressed or a buyer's market, you can loose everything.

Another problem first time buyers discover is falling in love with a home that might cost, for example, about $100,000 more than the buyer is comfortable spending. It is easy to fall in love with, for example, the Victorian character: the high ceilings, sparkling chandeliers and wide-planked floors. However, if you succumb to your feelings and purchase the home, you may find that a year later, you can no longer afford to make the mortgage payment. The house becomes too expensive for you to maintain. So remember, if you do see a house you love that is more than you can really afford, you will be better off financially buying a smaller home in a more modest neighborhood. Letting your soaring emotions cloud your good judgment can result in a major financial loss. You can't predict when the market will soften, leaving you unable to sell the house you can no longer afford, and eventually losing your home to a short sale.