Posted on February 27, 2010 by Carole Somer

Buying a home, especially your first home, is an exciting and joyful experience. With care, you will find a home where you can be happy without financial damage.

One warning: Home ownership is seldom right for people who move frequently. If your job requires relocation every few years you are probably better off renting. That way you don’t have to sell when transferred. Repeated buying and selling costs money, and you may not be able to sell when you need to move.

Home-buying mistakes you should avoid are:

It is a temptation to get a big house all the nice features you want. Realtor or sellers will enhance this temptation since they get paid according to how much you spend. However if you go overboard and get a house you cannot really afford, you will set yourself up for problems later. Don’t get a house larger than you really need, or one with fancy add-on like spas etc.

Lenders today have many creative ways to help you get in trouble. These include Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs), interest only loans, variable payment loans etc. All are designed to allow people to borrow more than they could with a standard 30 year fixed rate mortgage.

You will have to pay off that mortgage eventually, so be certain you can do it. ARMs for example get buyers to borrow at a low interest rate. That rate, and your payment, can go up after a few years. If you are confident you will sell within 5 years, an ARM might make sense. Otherwise avoid them. Likewise avoid interest only loans and similar traps.

Failure to fully investigate the house. Unless you are buying a new house with a guarantee, it is usually best to hire a professional home inspector to check for problems. Be certain the inspector provides a guarantee. And check the references of inspectors or builders, some can be slippery. If the roof needs repair you want to know that before you buy.