Everybody loves a bargain. While it’s possible to find a bargain on a house, it’s not likely to be served to you on a silver platter. In today’s market, it’s rare to see buyers score a fabulous house in their desired neighborhood for thousands under asking price.
To save some money, you may want to make some compromises, but here are 5 times that it can backfire.
- Working alone – It’s important to know that skipping out on a buyer’s agent won’t actually save you any money. Typically, the seller pays the commission of both agents involved in the transaction.
- Making big compromises – If you buy a home that doesn’t have enough bedrooms, is too far from your work, or needs a lot of money to be livable, you aren’t actually getting that great of a deal.
- Foregoing the inspection – In older homes, it’s imperative to hire a professional inspector to come out to the house. Otherwise, you’ll discover a leaky roof or crumbling foundation AFTER you close on the house.
- Insisting on unreasonable repairs – If the home inspection turns up a major issue, buyers should ask that the repair be done. However, if you don’t like the color of the newly painted walls, that isn’t the seller’s issue.
- Lowballing the offer – Buyers may assume that behind any house that’s been sitting on the market is a desperate seller. But sending in a lowball offer is the perfect way to offend a seller and make sure your offer is ignored.