The most common homebuyer mistakes

Recommendation points

• The first mistake – haste
• The second mistake – the wrong time to buy
• The third mistake – choosing an apartment because of a magnificent view from the window
• Mistake four – underestimating the importance of redevelopment registration
• Fifth mistake – the project of electrical supply of the apartment
• Mistake six – inspect housing only in the dark
• Mistake seven – succumbing to emotions
• Mistake eight – overconfidence
• Mistake # 9 – district infrastructure
• Mistake ten – inability to bargain

A lot has already been said about the fact that buying a home is an extremely important and responsible matter, and the buyers themselves are well aware of how seriously it is necessary to approach the choice of a future place of residence. And yet, very often the future owners of an apartment or house, choosing the most attractive among the many offers, make a lot of mistakes.

This article does not talk about the danger of “black realtors” and cases of fraud – this is a topic for a separate study. Indeed, in addition to the risk of falling for the bait of scammers, there is also the danger of making several mistakes, which in the near future can lead to the fact that the new owner will be completely disappointed in the purchase and everyone will start to visit all the thoughts about how to get rid of the bad home and the need for another move more often.

So, the most common mistakes that real estate buyers often make, experts consider the following points.

The first mistake – haste

The choice of an apartment in which the family will live after the completion of the transaction for many more years does not tolerate haste, fuss and ill-considered decisions. It is impossible, having examined only 2-3 apartments located in the same area, immediately make a decision and assume that other offers will not differ for the better..

Even if the buyer is sure that he would like to live in this particular apartment building, it is still better to consider other apartments, compare the layout in one or another new building.

And there is no need to listen to a realtor who can escalate the situation with stories that tomorrow this apartment will cost several thousand more and it is necessary to urgently agree – it is simply profitable for the seller to conclude a deal as soon as possible, but the buyer should follow the well-known saying “Measure seven times and cut once. ” Again, if the seller rushes the buyer too quickly, this should be a reason for reflection – is everything in order with this living space?.

The second mistake – the wrong time to buy

Many experts advise buying housing in the autumn-winter period. During the heating season, you can find out exactly how things are with heating in a house or apartment, in addition, in the summer, when many city residents leave for their dacha, it is difficult to assess the situation with parking in the yard and the congestion of the nearest highways. In the fall, when schoolchildren, students and vacationers return home, the seemingly quiet courtyard can turn out to be a very noisy place, and it will be simply impossible to park a car at the entrance at night..

The third mistake – choosing an apartment because of a magnificent view from the window

Vincent van Gogh. View from Vincent’s room in the Rue Lepic. 1887

Choosing a place, not an apartment, can turn out to be another mistake. Of course, it is very nice to see from the window a pond, a forest park area or the golden domes of a church. However, given the scale and speed of construction in large cities (and even more so in the capital), one cannot be sure that in a couple of years a new skyscraper will not grow in a spacious courtyard, and another highway will not pass through the park, and instead of a green garden from the windows of the apartment it will be possible to “admire” only the blank wall of the neighboring house or the stream of cars on the highway. So, if the view from the window is the main advantage of the apartment, you should consider other options..

Mistake four – underestimating the importance of redevelopment registration

Some buyers, having found an apartment with an excellent renovation and a good arrangement of rooms at a very reasonable price, are ready to close their eyes to the fact that the redevelopment carried out by the previous owners has not been legalized. Meanwhile, even such seemingly insignificant changes as a broken air duct, in the place of which the owners decided to make another built-in kitchen cabinet, could become a source of big problems in the future. And not only with neighbors, but primarily with state authorities – the BTI, the Housing Inspectorate and even the court, where the Association of Home Owners can apply in order to force the new owners to restore the broken or changed engineering networks of an apartment building. And in the future, selling an apartment with illegal redevelopment, inheriting or exchanging it simply will not work. It is not worth hoping that new customers will be just as inattentive and will not notice inconsistencies in the documents. So the owners will have a long process of reconciliation of redevelopment in numerous institutions or the expensive return of the apartment to its original appearance.

The most important thing is to compare the plan approved by the BTI with the actual state of the apartment even during the first inspection of the housing, in order to immediately find out whether the redevelopment was made and whether it was legalized. By the way, it is worth comparing the address of the apartment indicated in the documents with the actual address of the housing, which the sellers showed to the buyer. Yes, yes, it is better to play it safe once again than to buy the wrong apartment that you liked so much when visiting.

Fifth mistake – the project of electrical supply of the apartment

Of course, housing with just made, “fresh” major repairs cannot but please the eye and attract buyers. The attentive future owner of the apartment will certainly inspect and evaluate the presence of new sockets, vending machines brought out for household appliances and the presence of an automatic box right in the apartment. But to ask about the documentation, which should be executed such an arrangement, not all buyers of real estate guess. Meanwhile, according to the requirements of the legislation, the transfer of sockets, switches and the installation of machines must be coordinated with energy supervision, so that in addition to the design project for the arrangement of furniture and wall decoration, a project for the energy supply of the apartment must be drawn up..

According to the requirements of the legislation, the transfer of sockets, switches and the installation of machines must be coordinated with the energy supervision.

This document will help the new owner find out exactly where the electric wires pass, how much the power consumption corresponds to the electricity supplier originally allocated for this apartment. Depending on the series of the house, this value can vary from 7 to 15 kW, and if such figures are indicated in the project, the buyer is very lucky. Otherwise, the new owner is threatened with repeated visits to the energy supervision in order to agree on the supply of additional power, replace the meter and recalculate the tariffs. It is possible that you will have to pay a rather large fine..

Mistake six – inspect housing only in the dark

Edward Hopper. Conference At Night. 1949

Having visited the apartment in the evening, with electric lighting, you may not notice some of the shortcomings. But under the bright rays of the sun, spots on the wallpaper and uneven slopes are simply striking, so if you see a house once in the evening, it is better to spend a day off to evaluate the apartment again in daylight.

Mistake seven – succumbing to emotions

Most often, under the influence of emotions, representatives of the fair sex decide to conclude a deal: a clean, well-groomed balcony, designer curtains on the windows and attractive wallpapers can appeal to a woman so much that she will forget to ask about the state of the wiring, cranes, roofing and infrastructure of the area. But these are much more important factors that will have a primary impact on the convenience of living in this apartment. Of course, it’s nice that the apartment was immediately liked and the apartment seems impeccable, but enthusiastic emotions should be reserved for the celebration of housewarming, and when choosing housing, pay attention to all the nuances.

Mistake eight – overconfidence

Of course, you can find a suitable apartment without the help of realtors, negotiate directly with the owner and be confident in your choice. However, it is still not worth signing documents without a professional lawyer – only a specialist will assess the correctness of the purchase and sale agreement and the legal cleanliness of housing. Saving on the help of such a professional is not the best way to save money, because the saying “The miser pays twice” has proved its fairness more than once.

Mistake # 9 – district infrastructure

It’s good if the area in which the apartment you like is located is perfectly familiar to the buyer. If not, then going to inspect the future housing, it is better to use public transport, because when traveling in your own car or the car of a realtor, you cannot accurately estimate how long it will take to get to work, especially during rush hour. It will also not be superfluous to just walk around the area, find out if there is a grocery store, cafe, clinic, kindergarten, school, and so on nearby. According to experts, families with children pay much more attention to the presence of a developed infrastructure than young buyers who may find themselves in a difficult situation trying to get to the office from a new place of residence, moving in crowded minibuses or firmly “stuck” in a traffic jam.

Mistake ten – inability to bargain

Not all property buyers can boast of their ability to bring down the price. But often homeowners immediately increase the price for which they are ready to sell their property by 10-15% in order to be able to drop the cost if necessary. So the buyer can safely point out the shortcomings found and bargain (of course, within reasonable limits). Before traveling to the proposed object of the transaction, you need to look through several thematic sites and find out the average cost of similar housing in the area..

As you can see, there are quite a few common mistakes that can cause disappointment in buying in the future. Many experts in the real estate market attribute to such mistakes both the purchase of an apartment with a free layout and the unwillingness to spend money on paying for the services of an independent appraiser. And such legal and financial aspects as checking the developer’s bona fides and renting a safe deposit box, which will become a way of transferring money from the buyer to the seller, and can even become a real problem for an ordinary person. And yet, taking such an important step as buying your own home, the main thing is not to rush, not to get nervous and carefully study all the features of an apartment or house. It is better to provide legal nuances to a specialist with an impeccable reputation and work experience (although sometimes it is not easier to find such a person than a suitable apartment).