1. Failing to get preapproved. Before you start your home search, please sit down with a loan officer and discuss your financing options. There may be some issues with your credit that you might not be aware of. It is a good idea to know how much you qualify for and what to expect in monthly payments and how much cash you will need.
2. Not working with a Real Estate Agent. Real Estate Agents have knowledge of the homes for sale and homes that sold. If you just look at the open houses and sale by owners you will be wasting a lot of time and may not get to see many homes that are listed.
3.Working with many Real Estate agents. You may not want to be stuck with an inefficient agent so you should ask your friends for referrals or go to a few open houses and see if you are comfortable with an agent. But if you call different agents from the sale signs and look at those houses, you should remember that the listing agent represents the seller. You could ofcourse ask the agent to be a dual agent . You should check out your state laws on agency. Some do not allow dual agency. If you work with many agents, they may sense it, and they may not want to waste time with you and you might miss out on some good opportunities.
4. Not working with a Buyers Agent. A Buyers agent can help you by showing you homes that suit your criteria, the agent will save you time by emailing you listings, by making appointments and coordinating the showings. Once you find a house you like, the agent will do a market evaluation to determine a price and help with negotiations. The agent will help you every step of the way .
5. Not searching for homes online. You can save a lot of time and gas by narrowing your search online. the agent may recommend the site, you may go on www.Realtor.com or some other sites .Many companies like ReMax, Prudential,Century 21, etc show all listings on web site through cooperation with other Brokerages.
If you are a home buyer in Pa, go to www.parealtor.org and read the consumer notice to read about agency relationships in Pa .
If you are looking for homes in Philadelphia and suburbs look up listings on my web site www.gitabantwal.com
