Title: Valuable Lessons I Learned During My First Buying Experience
Introduction:
Buying a product for the first time is an exciting yet daunting process. It serves as a learning opportunity, allowing us to gain firsthand experience and acquire knowledge that can be applied in future purchases. In this article, I will share some valuable lessons I learned during my inaugural buying experience. These lessons encompass various aspects such as research, budgeting, decision-making, customer service, and product quality. Special emphasis will be given to the importance of thorough research and evaluation, as well as the significance of understanding one’s needs and expectations.
Section 1: The Importance of Research and Evaluation
One of the most important lessons I learned during my first buying experience is the significance of conducting thorough research and evaluation. Prior to making any purchase, it is crucial to gather relevant information about the product or service. This includes reading reviews, comparing prices, checking customer ratings, and reviewing technical specifications. A well-informed buyer is more likely to make a wise purchasing decision and avoid potential pitfalls.
Section 2: Budgeting and Financial Considerations
Another essential lesson I learned during my first buying experience is the importance of budgeting and financial considerations. It is crucial to establish a realistic budget before starting the buying process. By doing so, one can avoid overspending and ensure that all necessary expenses are accounted for. Additionally, it is vital to consider the long-term costs associated with the product or service, such as maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. Developing good budgeting habits during the first buying experience sets a strong foundation for future purchases.
Section 3: Understanding Needs and Expectations
Understanding one’s needs and expectations is yet another valuable lesson I learned during my initial buying experience. Before making a purchase, it is vital to assess what exactly you hope to achieve with the product or service. This includes considering specific features, functionalities, and performance requirements. By articulating your needs and expectations clearly, you can narrow down the options and find a product that aligns perfectly with your requirements.
Section 4: The Significance of Decision-Making Process
Navigating through the decision-making process was undoubtedly an enlightening experience during my first buying endeavor. Careful decision-making involves weighing the pros and cons of each option, considering the long-term benefits, and evaluating potential risks. It is crucial to make rational decisions instead of being influenced solely by impulse or emotional factors. Moreover, conducting a cost-benefit analysis can provide a clearer picture and aid in making informed choices.
Section 5: The Role of Customer Service
Customer service is a crucial aspect to consider during the buying process. The level of support and assistance provided by the seller can significantly impact the overall buying experience. It is vital to choose a reputable seller known for their excellent customer service policies. Friendly and responsive customer service representatives can assist with inquiries, provide post-purchase support, and address any potential issues that may arise. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the reputation of the seller and their commitment to customer satisfaction before making a purchase.
Section 6: Assessing Product Quality and Durability
One of the key lessons I learned during my first buying experience is the significance of assessing product quality and durability. The durability of a product often determines its longevity and performance. It is essential to consider the materials used, manufacturing processes, and certifications to ensure that the product meets the desired standard of quality. Moreover, reading customer reviews and seeking expert opinions can provide valuable insights into the durability of the product.
Section 7: Post-Purchase Evaluation and Feedback
Post-purchase evaluation and providing feedback is a crucial step often overlooked by buyers, but one that I learned to be vital during my first buying experience. Reflecting on the experience can help identify areas for improvement, both from the buyer’s and the seller’s perspective. Sharing feedback, whether positive or negative, can also benefit potential buyers and assist the seller in enhancing their products or services. Engaging in this feedback loop contributes to a better buying experience for both current and future customers.
Conclusion:
The lessons learned during a first buying experience are invaluable and lay the foundation for future successful purchases. Thorough research, budgeting, understanding one’s needs and expectations, effective decision-making, evaluating customer service and product quality, and providing feedback are all critical steps in the buying process. Armed with this knowledge, buyers can approach future purchases with confidence, making informed decisions and enjoying a seamless buying experience.
I would read up a lot more than i did and trust my own judgement vs asking others. I would certainly go with a bigger space, and one that had a basement and my own yard vs a townhouse with a shared yard if you ever plan on having children.
if i wasn’t budgeting, i’d start asap and estimate my monthly mortgage payments and take my current rent + additional cost in mortgage + estimated amount for utilities/maintainence, and put that in a savings account each month the same time i pay my rent to see what it would feel like having less dollars in my take home pay and how that looks.
I would start looking at houses right away. Even that early because it will give you a good sense of what kind of houses are going for what price so you know if it’s a good deal when a house you like pops up for sale. For me I started looking when I was ready to buy and I passed up on a really nice house because I didn’t know it was a good opportunity. I thought, oh there will be more of those.
Just make sure your credit is as good as it can be and all credit cards are paid off
Keep saving as much as you can. Don’t dump all your savings into the down payment but put down as much as you comfortably can because you’ll save more in the long run with interest.
You can wait until you know the market a little better to get a realtor so you know when they’re BSing you with, “this is a great price” when its actually 30% too high. And if they pressure you into anything at all ignore them, if they keep doing it then dump them
I wish I would of known about deferred maintenance and paid attention to all the maintenance that needed to be done in the next 5-10 years on my first home. I never ever would buy a home that had windows, siding, a roof, driveway etc that needed to be replaced ” in the next 10 years” per the home inspection. One or two of those, sure, but not all of it. I went in young and dumb thinking I’d just do stuff over time. Well, those “5-10 years” come up quicker than you think and I was house poor all the time.
I sold that home after fixing as much as I could and built new. It’s such a relief to start with a fresh slate and be able to plan better.
I’d plan to put at least 20% down if you can, no PPI insurance that way, unless you qualify for a VA loan etc. But, I’d still put down as much as you can.
Have your home emergency fund established **before** you purchase a home. I can’t tell you how many times I see ” we just purchased a home and it needs $20K of work but we have no money now, HALP!!”. Have $10-20K saved up.
For a realtor I usually ask around, friends, family etc. Usually someone knows a good realtor and can vouch for them. If not google is your friend for reviews. Don’t be afraid to change realtors/lenders too if you’re just not feeling them. We’ve done that.
I would put more down.
First of all, we bought our home 30 years ago and credit scores weren’t the big deal they are today.
Aim to put down 20%. We only put down 10% — we could have put down more (20% would’ve been a real stretch), but I let Wifey talk me into 10% — she wanted one last big vacation before we started having kids. It turns out we could’ve put down 20% and saved for the vacation, but we didn’t know that then.
putting down less than 20% will result in you paying PMI — private mortgage insurance. That’s insurance that benefits the ***lender*** if ***you*** default.
Work backwards from you mythical move-in date. I think 6 months from when you want to move in is the time to formally engage with a realtor. I forget how we found our realtor — I don’t know if she was a credit-union engaged realtor or an employer-benefits realtor…but we were not impressed. She showed us a few places, but ultimately we ended up buying into a new development we’d found on our own. Because we walked in, toured the models, and walked out without signing anything, she could represent us (and take her cut).
Most of all, decide what’s important to you. I rejected one home because it backed up to a major street. But now our house has direct line of sight (and sound) of a major industrial facility. Wife wanted two stories with bedroom upstairs. She likes the separation between “public” and “private” that the staircase offers.
Looking back with 15 years of 20/20 visions to our first house bought about the same age.
We
A) ignored what the banks said we could afford
B) ignored what ‘the world’ said we should have based on income
C) bought a very modest and simple house (and very modest for what was ‘normal’ for our dual income
Those things enabled us to be very financially secure, save a ton of money, and eventually when kid #3 had us outgrowing that house put us in a position to build our permanent dream home roughly 10 years later in a financial secure way we could have if we’d listened to anybody else.
It’s hard to tune the world out but we set a budget at <25% all in of take home (not gross and after retirement and insurance).
Incredibly glad we took this approach and resisted our urges that we ‘deserved’ more.
Escrow your taxes and insurance! We were 21 and 24 when we got married and bought our 1st house. No one explained escrow to us. We closed at the end of October, so we were hit with both being due the next year at the same time. Thank God for my in-laws.
Look at houses when you don’t plan to buy. No pressure and you get an idea is things you like and don’t like
My #1 piece of advice would be do not stretch your budget for the mortgage. Make sure you can comfortably afford mortgage (including property taxes and homeowners insurance) AND at least an additional 50% of that mortgage each month for increases in taxes and insurance, repairs, and maintenance. The mortgage is the absolute minimum you will pay each month and there are maintenance costs you can’t even foresee before you are a homeowner. Leave plenty of padding in your monthly budget.
>How would you prepare your credit?
I stopped opening credit cards a bit before applying for loans. I normally open 5-6 a year per SSN so it felt pretty weird stopping for a while.
>How would you change your savings?
I stopped daytrading and started keeping more cash that wasn’t subject to market fluctuations. Just in case I needed it for a down payment.
>When would you start looking?
For my first house we looked at 1 open house and met a realtor & lender there. Next weekend we had hired her to show us houses & we looked at 4 with her assistant. 3 weeks later we had closed on one of those 4. So I would start looking when ready to buy, or like a month away from being ready.
>We have a plan to save a substantial down payment—what’s your experience with down payments?
I don’t have any experience with down payments really but also not sure what you’re asking?
>When would you start looking for a realtor? How did you choose the one you used?
Met her at an open house. Find one when you’re ready to buy a house. Don’t waste their time.
>What questions would you be asking yourself?
I would not use the lender recommended by the realtor & I would shop around more if I had to do it again. The only questions I asked myself with that first house was what the cost would be & if I would mind the commute.
>What questions would you be asking each other?
My wife cared about the small kitchen in that house more than she thought so I would ask her what her needs/wants are in a house. Mine is always just good internet & a room for my computer, everything else is pretty negotiable.
Start looking, imagining. You’re starting early, well done.
Can’t stress this enough: location, location, location. I would take an inferior house in a great location rather than a great house in a poor location. What location means to you will vary between: walkability, noise, commute, views, close amenities, parks etc. Over a period of time, you can change the house (mostly), but not the location
Layout/expandability: Depending on your willingness and ability to change things, you can add/edit the house as you go. Some layouts lend themselves well to expansion, modification. Some don’t. As you tour houses, you will get an idea of what you like v/s not
Budget: Understand what your budget is. What is comfortable, what is a stretch. How can the stretch become comfortable (since most mortgages are long-term that outlast jobs). Get a sense for how much repairs cost. Which ones are more expensive than others.
Enjoy the process.
Your house will have a lot of big out of pocket expenses. If you don’t think a $10,000 or $20,000 out of pocket bill is in the cards for your finances, you might not be suited for buying a house.
And expensive issues can compound if you don’t fix them. Humidity means nightmares.
You need to buy wholistically. School systems if you want kids, commutes, property, time you want to devote to property and maintenance, your neighbors, if you even want neighbors, HOAs, how DIY savvy you are or how gullible/confrontation fearful you are, how settled you are. You can’t change houses like you change apartments without being very upside down.
Also, the market is really bad right now. I wish you the best.
Take your time to really think about what you want. Open concept, basement, big yard, etc. Be aware of how old the appliances, HVAC, roof, fences, decks are and keep that in mind for how soon they could need replaced. Don’t let the realtor make you feel pressured and start looking early so you’re not putting any pressure on yourself.
Similar situation! Following this 😅
I would def do a hard credit check on yourselves asap- I had a surprise on my report! I’d recommend looking at houses asap to get feel for the market and work on your budget / living below your means.
Now is the time to have LOTS of conversations and take advantage of the time you have before making a commitment. What do you want in a home, what do they want, and where you are you divided and how can you overcome different wants? Start looking at houses (in person) now, envision living there, you will come up with so many more things to talk about (some seemingly inane stuff will bring out differences of opinions, like master bathroom sink types, deck size and shape, morning or afternoon sun preferred in the living room, kitchen window above the sink). Also, bring homeowners you know along with you on some of these as they can point out certain things that you might not EVER think about. For example, I will forever look at the slope of land and where water can collect because mosquitoes. It’s really helpful to bring along someone who has intimate knowledge of your area, traffic, weather, development, etc.
What do the next 5 years/7 years/10 years look like for you and what you both want? Beyond what you want, take the time to consider the realities of life and how the house will play into future decisions. Jobs/commute, kids, entertainment/activities, pets, health/lifestyle needs, etc. should all be considered into where and what kind of property you buy.
Where do you both stand on house projects? Look beyond the landscaping, paint colors, vanities, hardware, even flooring and see the house for it’s potential. BUT only if you are absolutely willing to either spend the money or have the know-how and desire to do those projects. Or have people in your life that can greatly assist (like we got flooring way cheaper because a family friend owned a flooring store). Get an idea of how much it costs to change these things. What may be a make-or-break on a house could open more options for you depending on projects you are willing to tackle. Also, the reality is that projects will always take much longer to complete than you expect if you do them yourself.
Get your credit scores up (no late payments, pay down debt, variety is good). Get your debt-to-income ratio down. Don’t job hop; lenders want to see stable income.
Realtors will often promote their specialty in a particular category, like specific parts of town, or first-time home-buyers. Look at what types of houses they are selling. Reach out to a few that appeal to you and get the conversation started. Don’t think of it as wasting their time, you are interviewing them to see if you feel they are a good match. But be fair and try to quickly choose one. And know that you can always end the relationship if you don’t like how it is going. Ask all the questions, get acquainted with the process, it will give you confidence the more knowledge you have. You don’t have to wait for them to find you homes, you can be more in charge of this process. Don’t let them pressure you if you’re really uncomfortable, but understand that realtors know the pulse of the market.
Always get a home inspection.
I thankfully didn’t learn this the hard way, but you need to look at geomaps of the house to identify if it’s in a flood zone or near it. At least in my state it’s not required for seller to disclose.
We put in a bid and I learned of this map after. I immediately called our agent and requested to withdraw bid. Apparently we and another highest buyer both bid the same and the seller was about to ask us to up our bid. We told our agent why we wanted out before even hearing if we got it.
Their entire back yard was a flood zone and though their basement was dry I know what even a decade will lead to.
Don’t get hosed OP
1)Rent in the area before you buy- each city has micro specifics – for example this neighborhood floods when it rains, that neighborhood roads get choked at school rush times etc. that when you buy it’s a better informed choice
2)find a realtor via personal references- a bad one will not be shared easily.
3)negotiate -people often overlook that you can negotiate for a better price, time frame, amenities etc.
4)be prepared to walk away- after all this if you think that the deal is not worth it, walk away there will be another and you don’t want to regret it for many years.
Good luck 🍀
Location, how old is the roof/furnace/ac and kitchen appliances. A tile roof in fl, where my dad is, on a one story 2k sq foot home, is about 35k or more.
Do NOT move money around while you’re in the mortgage loan process. Nobody told me this and I moved a few thousand from one bank account to another, just to amass the down payment in one account. The loaners freaked and it took a bit to untangle. Don’t change jobs or move money or close accounts or open a bunch of credit cards. Just chill.
Think about styling and buying something not very contemporary. Think about what the average homeowner wants and don’t deviate too much. Our first hole was cool, but the exterior was contemporary, and it really stifled interest when we went to sell.
If you live somewhere with harsh winters, think about how snow will sit on the roof, the driveway, and the walkway.
If you live somewhere with hot summers, think about how much shade is in your yard and how much you may have to spend on watering the grass.
If you live in the Midwest, you probably have to think about both.
Look closely at all major appliances, and budget that into your costs. AC, Furnace, Water heater, fridge, stove, dishwasher. I wish I had known more about their expected lifespans and considered that with our offer.
Look at things like the roof, decks, retaining walls, siding. Consider the cost to replace and maintain those. Will they need repair, replaced, painted, etc? Even painting can be THOUSANDS of dollars.
Start looking as soon as you have the means to put an offer down. The more you look, the more you’ll learn about what you want.
We chose a family friend as our realtor. Wasn’t necessarily a good or bad choice. They put up with us seeing a shit ton of places and driving all over. Consider this person literally just a bridge between you and the buyer, don’t take their advice on anything.
Try not to buy an old fixer upper unless it’s an amazing deal and you will have the time, energy, knowledge and cash to do the work. Or pay someone to do it.
We are very handy people. My husband in particular is mr. fixit. However, after working all week the last thing we found ourselves wanting to do was house things every weekend. We thought it’d be fun lol we were wrong. Did what was absolutely necessary and sold in 3 years. Did ok because it was a desirable location. Wouldn’t do again though.
i would have preferred an attached garage, but the only places that had them were in worse neighborhoods. maybe i should have looked more but 20 years later its moot. moving would triple my property taxes so im not going anywhere.
Get multiple loan estimates from different lenders. Doing that got me a better interest rate because they kept trying to one up each other
Don’t live at the bottom of a hill where everyone’s yard drains into yours.
If your yard backs on to a road, be very sure they aren’t going to build a Costco a mile away and that quiet road turns into a main thoroughfare.
Don’t fall in love with half the house and overlook the rest of it.
We looked many months in advance and with each house listed being $50k more than the last we finally had to pounce. Don’t use all or even the majority of your savings on a down payment. You’ll still have lots of stuff to do once you close. Also, do 20% down so you don’t have the dumb PMI payments and stuff. Obviously don’t make any large purchases like a car or anything 6 months beforehand I believe. Research neighborhoods – look at how they sold, how long houses stayed on the market, etc. during 2008 and other economic downturns. Even if you don’t have kids consider school districts for resale. Go to lots of open houses to figure out what you want!
I bought an old home. Spent well under budget. I wish I’d had the 100+ year old hardwood floors refinished. Once you’re moved in it’s a lot harder to do that.
Have the house inspected by a licensed inspector. And use the report. Be tberewhen it’s inspected.
Consider operating costs in addition to purchase cost. Is the HVAC efficient? Are the toiliets dual flush/water efficient? Does the house have ceiling fans throughout? Are appliances energy star? How well insulated?
There is more than one house that you will enjoy. Walk away if needed.
Get familiar with neighborhoods in general and near any house in particular. Visit lots of times at different times of day.
Talk to neighbors about the house, the neighborhood, etc.
If in the city, consider public transportation.
Avoid a long commute, if possible.
Look at neighborhood crime statistics.
Consider schools – public and private.
Unless you sign a buyer’s agreement, the realtor represents the seller not the buyer.
Go to open houses.
Set aside money for maintenance every month.
Flat yards and streets are great.