Most common mistakes that DFW buyers make (Plano, Richardson: insurance, buying a home)

[Bombaykid007]

Tell me here what mistakes to avoid?

[mSooner]

Not understanding how competitive some markets are right now before they lose a home or two (Richardson, Plano, Coppell, Park Cities, Flower Mound, and Grapevine come to mind)

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

1. Not understanding the traffic and buying too far away from the job - or before finding a job.
2. Going crazy and buying a huge house b/c it's "so cheap". Those big houses have big taxes and big utility bills and big homeowner's insurance payments.

[Doubletrouble]

Buying a home cause it's a "deal" from a crummy builder. If you buy a New home get to know the builders and realize Quality costs money.

Houses are not built on a Toyota assembly line but individually by hand.

Learn how to properly maintain a house. (Most importantly)

[aggieplaya]

Not having a realtor (first time buyers)
Thinking they can low ball in a hot market (they lose the house to a higher bid)
Not getting a good inspection
Picking a house that would have horrible resale value

[bencronin04]

This goes along with resale value but.....realizing that the schools in your area directly effect the ease of resale. Whether you have children or not, it matters. Also, Land Value > House Value.

[Krantor]

Originally Posted by aggieplaya

Picking a house that would have horrible resale value

What causes low resale value? Buying old construction in an area where people buy for land value and tear down and build palace? Or buying in neighborhood with awful school? I guess that is what a newcomer gets the realtor for.

[bencronin04]

Originally Posted by Krantor

What causes low resale value? Buying old construction in an area where people buy for land value and tear down and build palace? Or buying in neighborhood with awful school? I guess that is what a newcomer gets the realtor for.

The later. Buying where land is high and the house is cheap is always a better alternative then the other way around when it comes to resale. And yes buying in a neighborhood with an awful school is a bad decision as well whether you have children or not.

[GripeWater]

Location and commute is often neglected due to the new bling.Land value is another thing that most buyers don't understand, 4 acres in bonnies is same as 1/4 acre in a desireable location. Schools are important, not only when you have kids but for having nice neighborhood and for resale. Distance from basic needs like schools, grocery, park, library, highway, hospital, shopping, dinning, airport is often underestimated.

Another thing is to not consider your lifestyle when picking a floor plan, my cousin sold a house after 7 years and hardly used upstairs, babies slept in downstairs "study" and parents hardly used " to die for" media room they bought the house for. Another thing is to have an extra bedroom downstairs is a must feature, for guests, older parents, babies, spouses have a fight, in case older kids are sick or have fracture or something, it always comes in handy. Last but not least, greenery is priceless and certainly has more value than color of the cabinets.

[aggieplaya]

Originally Posted by Krantor

What causes low resale value? Buying old construction in an area where people buy for land value and tear down and build palace? Or buying in neighborhood with awful school? I guess that is what a newcomer gets the realtor for.

One example would be buying a house that backs up to a busy street or some other detrimental factor like that...

Or a house with a bad floorplan - basically any factor that is a turnoff for a large chunk of potential buyers. These are just a couple of examples of course