Five mistakes that make buying your home so much harder

For most of us, buying a home to live in is something we only do a handful of times in our lives. It’s usually triggered by a big life event, it’s emotional, and it’s almost always the most expensive thing we’ll ever own. Which is exactly why I see the same five mistakes trip buyers up again and again.

People rarely buy a home on a whim. It’s a relocation for work, a growing family, a lifestyle move, or wanting a place that needs less maintenance. Combine that with feeling financially secure enough to make the move, and you’re ready to buy. But even when it’s a home and not an investment property, it’s still a huge financial decision. The home you live in is an investment in your financial future.

1. Letting emotion make the decision

Of course buying a home is emotional. You’re picturing your life there. The problem is when that feeling starts overriding the red flags. I see buyers fall for an apartment and then talk themselves around a strata scheme that is in serious litigation with the builder. That is a huge red flag, and no amount of loving the floorplan changes it.

It shows up in negotiations and at auction too. Buyers throw money at a property because they’re convinced they’ll miss out, or that the owner won’t sell to them otherwise. That’s exactly what selling agents play on. The strongest position you can take is to step back, take the emotion out of it, and be genuinely prepared to walk away.

2. Waiting for perfect

Waiting for the perfect time or the perfect home is one of the most reliable ways to never buy at all.

On timing, I often hear “there’s uncertainty at work” or “I might change jobs”. Your income matters, you need it to pay the mortgage. But think about it this way. If you’d bought three months ago and were then made redundant, you wouldn’t instantly sell the house. You never control everything about your employment, and at some point, if you want to buy, you have to accept a level of risk.

On the home itself, some buyers refuse to trade off anything. Twelve or 24 months later they still haven’t bought, despite passing on properties that, when you peel it back, were right for them. If you find a home after three months that ticks every box except the colour of the bathroom tiles, that is not a reason to walk away.

3. Underestimating independent representation

Yes, I’m a little biased here. But there is real value in having an independent professional who buys property for a living help you work out what’s a great property, what isn’t, why a property is worth what it is, and where fair value ends.

Here’s an example. Say you’re looking for a family home and you’re open to blocks between 400 and 600 m². When you look at comparable sales, you’ll naturally compare house size and land size. What’s easy to miss is that at a certain size, a block becomes attractive to a builder who wants to knock down and build a duplex.

Where the minimum lot size for a duplex under complying development is 450 m², a 449 m² block can be worth significantly less than a 451 m² block. Not because of the 2 m² difference, but because a developer can’t use the smaller one. That’s the kind of detail that separates paying a fair price from overpaying.

4. Chasing a bargain

A great property in Sydney will never sell for a bargain price. There are times when a vendor’s circumstances or the method of sale create a genuine buying opportunity, but going out with the mindset of “I’ll only buy when I find a bargain” will almost certainly mean you never buy.

Think about how the process works here. A property is advertised with a price guide, you inspect, you do your due diligence, and you’re heavily invested before you ever learn what it will actually sell for. You can put in ten lowball offers and have all ten rejected. Even this year, with a softer market and some good opportunities around, I haven’t seen great properties selling at bargain prices.

5. Starting without a plan

The last mistake is starting the search with no plan. Next thing you know, every Saturday is spent driving across three regions of Sydney looking at eight very different properties, trying to work out what you actually want.

Do the research from your computer or phone before you set foot in an open home. Know the type of property and the area you want, and have your pre-approval in place. Then decide how you’ll use your weekends. Are you inspecting broadly as research, or narrowing in on one price point in one location because you already know that’s where you’ll end up buying?

Ready to buy with a plan?

Buying a home will always involve some emotion and some risk. The aim isn’t to remove either, it’s to make clear decisions with good information. If you’d like an independent professional in your corner, book a 15 minute call with me here