Are you just throwing offers out there and hoping one of them will stick? That's one of the five most common home buying mistakes you can make in today's market. Tune in as Randal and Erik reveal the other top mistakes home buyers should avoid. 

Erik:
Are you just throwing things out there and hoping they'll stick?

Randal:
Welcome back to Stay Focused, Focus Real Estate's weekly video series and this week we're talking about the five most common mistakes that buyers make in their purchase of their home.

Erik:
First thing, just throwing things out there, just making offers. It's a tough environment right now for buyers and a lot of buyers are out there just putting offers in on as many properties as they can and hoping something's going to stick, hoping that they get one.

Randal:
Can I tell you why this is dangerous? Because all you're doing is driving the price up of real estate for your own good. If I'm talking to my sellers, hey, great. Throw those offers in.

Erik:
But, if you're a buyer, get focused.

Randal:
Yeah and so buyers are putting a lot of these offers in just to see what sticks. I would suggest wait until that property really speaks to you and that's really where you want to be.

Erik:
The number two mistake buyers often make.

Randal:
Using dated information on negotiation. Drop the book Negotiating Real Estate for Dummies and really work with somebody that knows what they're doing that can help you get that home. Sometimes it doesn't feel like your buyer's agent is negotiating on your behalf because we're looking for all of the things the seller wants out of that offer, but your goal is to get the property. The agent will help you get it using the right tactics for today.

Erik:
And the market changes fast.

Randal:
Not yesterday's tactics.

Erik:
Number three, not getting your team together before you're ready.

Randal:
Need a pre inspection? Well, I hope you already talked to an inspector that's already your best buddy and they're ready to go to the property for you at a minute's notice because you want to do pre inspection before offers are due. Your mortgage broker, they should call the listing agent and say, hey, listen, I want you to know this buyer is good to go, pre approved, ready to underwrite. We just need a signed offer. so those are the kinds of things your team can do for you. Don't wait until you find the right home.

Erik:
Before you find the house.

Randal:
Number four.

Erik:
They're buying for now and not for the future. Not thinking forward, not thinking of their future needs.

Randal:
I think I've mentioned this before. It was a very close friend of ours, bought a house a number of years ago and her aunt came in and said to her, "Oh my God, you're buying a house with all these little teeny tiny rooms. Your kids are this big right now. Guess what? They're going to get this big."

Erik:
And you know what? Their son is six foot three or four.

Randal:
Jeepers creepers. So 10 years, it's been a few years. But buy the house for your future needs. Of course, a real estate agent, we would love it if you bought the house that's only going to suit you for the next few years and then we can move you again. But really we're thinking about what you need, and what you need is a house you can grow into. So buy the home that's not only going to suit you today, but suit you tomorrow.

Erik:
And number five.

Randal:
Looking for discounts. Looking to discount commissions, looking to discount attorney's fees, looking for a cheap inspector, looking for discounts on ...

Erik:
Negotiating price when it's a seller's market. What you're going to do is you're just going to discount yourself out of the market.

Randal:
Indeed.

Erik:
Or get substandard service.

Randal:
And not get to your goals.

Erik:
And not get to your goals.

Randal:
So the most important thing is getting to those goals, working with people that understand what you need, want, and will need in the future and moving you directly and confidently towards those goals.

Erik:
So avoid those mistakes. We can help you out.

Randal:
Thanks for watching. Until next time, stay tuned and stay focused.

Erik:
Stay tuned and stay focused.

Erik:
And then you can come back.