The 5 Biggest Mistakes Home Buyers Make

Mistake number one.

It's the fella from the phone call.

Skipping the inspection to save a few hundred dollars.

So I went out to his place.

Lovely home from the street.

But when I got under the floor, the story changed.

Several piles had dropped and the bearers had moved with them.

And someone years ago, by the looks of it, had packed the gaps with whatever was lying around and called it a day.

The floors above had a lean you could feel in your feet once you knew to look for it.

Now here's the thing.

That's a repairable problem.

Houses get repiled all the time.

But it's a real cost, proper money, not a weekend job.

If he'd known before settlement, he had options.

Negotiate the price, ask the vendor to remedy it, or walk away and buy a different house.

After settlement, he had exactly one option.

Pay for it himself.

The inspection he was trying to save on cost a few hundred dollars.

The lesson cost a lot more.

And I want to be fair on him.

He's not silly.

He's been through a few open homes, the place looked tidy, the market was moving fast, and the money was tight after scraping a deposit together.

That's exactly the situation where skipping feels sensible.

It's also exactly the situation where you can least afford a surprise.

One more thing under the heading, the vendor supplied report.

Mistake number one.

It's the fella from the phone call.

Skipping the inspection to save a few hundred dollars.

So I went out to his place.

Lovely home from the street.

But when I got under the floor, the story changed.

Several piles had dropped and the bearers had moved with them.

And someone years ago, by the looks of it, had packed the gaps with whatever was lying around and called it a day.

The floors above had a lean you could feel in your feet once you knew to look for it.

Now here's the thing.

That's a repairable problem.

Houses get repiled all the time.

But it's a real cost, proper money, not a weekend job.

If he'd known before settlement, he had options.

Negotiate the price, ask the vendor to remedy it, or walk away and buy a different house.

After settlement, he had exactly one option.

Pay for it himself.

The inspection he was trying to save on cost a few hundred dollars.

The lesson cost a lot more.

And I want to be fair on him.

He's not silly.

He's been through a few open homes, the place looked tidy, the market was moving fast, and the money was tight after scraping a deposit together.

That's exactly the situation where skipping feels sensible.

It's also exactly the situation where you can least afford a surprise.

One more thing under the heading, the vendor supplied report.