Having never gone through the process before, first-time home buyers are at greater risk of falling in love too soon with real estate. But whether we’re first time buyers or we’ve done this before – it’s important to remember NOT to fall in love too quickly.It may be the first house you’ve looked at. It’s perfect. You’re already imagining your new wall colors and figuring out where to place your couch and TV. Your heart is already set on it. This is the one.Woah! Back up for a minute! That’s dangerous thinking. You never want to jump in too fast.. it could lead to a hasty decision, you may end up paying more than the market value supports, making resale difficult, and down the road buyer’s remorse could set in. All of this just from falling in love too fast.So what should you do?You want to be aware of what’s out there. In order to make a wise decision that you won’t regret later, make sure that you look at at least a handful of other properties to compare to the one you love. How do they compare? Maybe some have features that are actually better. You may find that the one you originally loved is priced quite a bit higher than the others without any discernible reason. You want to make your decision with confidence and not look back later wishing you hadn’t rushed in. Buying a house is a big commitment – so make the right decision!Besides avoiding buyer’s remorse, you’ll also avoid blinding yourself to the negative aspects and potential problems with the property. When we’re so excited, and our hearts have already jumped into the idea of this being “the one”, it’s very easy not to look at things realistically. How is the foundation? The plumbing? Are there any major issues that you may not see? Are there any minor issues that you may be overlooking? You should have a realistic view of the home you’re interested in, maintenance issues, and any problems that may need your attention and will require money to fix. How does all of this compare to the other properties? Will it be worth it? (If you put an offer on a house, it’s always a good idea to get it inspected.)If after looking at more properties, you are confident that this is the home for you, than you can look forward to making the offer. This is another area that will need your caution. If you’re already attached to this house, be careful that you don’t make an offer based on how badly you want it – but rather, make sure you’ve studied up on what comparable properties have sold for and only be willing to offer what it’s worth in the current market. This will save you troubles down the road.When you can finally call the house your home, congratulations! You can feel good knowing you made a wise decision.

It can be hard to buy real estate when the market is tough, even if you have a lot of money to spare. The thing is, there is a lot of risk when it comes to real estate, whether you are purchasing your first home or you are investing in a rental property.The first step is to make sure that you are selecting the right town. With a house, you can remodel it and add additions to it. You can change it any way you would like, for the most part, but you cannot change the town. Therefore, the location of the property is key. Never purchase something in an area that you absolutely do not love.Once you have found the perfect location, you can then start looking for the perfect property. The thing is though, you should really have a genuine idea as to what you can afford. Do not let someone else such as a real estate broker or a lender tell you that you can afford more than you are comfortable with. You know your finances better than anyone.Go over all of your bills. Figure out what you can afford for your monthly payments to be. You want to make sure that you are getting real estate that fits within your monthly budget. If you get something that you honestly cannot afford, you will eventually find yourself in a lot of financial trouble, possibly even foreclosure. Foreclosure may not be on your mind at the moment, but it is something you should think about when deciding how much to spend.Many times, lenders will tell someone that they are approved for a loan that is double the amount that they should really have. They say that this after taking into consideration the applicants debt to income ratio, but this is not a realistic view of what your debt is. They only look at the basic bills and what appears on your credit report.Things such as sports for the kids and your habit of going out to eat twice a week are not taken into consideration. If you want to keep up with the life style that you are used to, you will have to be the person that decides just how much of a house or piece of land you can afford. After all, you are the one in the end who has to deal with the monthly payments and the stress that can come along with that.As you can see, there is much more to buying real estate than just calling a Realtor and picking out a house in your town. You really have to be careful with it and you need to make sure that you are carefully thinking through each and every step that you take. If you can do this, you are sure to end up with a real estate deal that cannot be beat.The next time you find yourself looking at real estate, the steps will come much easier to you. With practice, you will find yourself to be a real estate genius in no time at all.