Being a move-up buyer comes with its own set of home buying challenges. Here’s how you can avoid them.Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price EvaluationToday I want to share five mistakes to avoid when you’re moving up into a larger home. Moving into a significantly bigger home is so much more complicated than moving into an apartment or your first home. A lot of move-up buyers are moving into their forever homes, so here are five things you should avoid:

1. Looking at the property with rose-colored glasses. Maybe you’ll drive by a huge home without knowing what the price is. Get real on what prices are today and make sure you know you can afford a home before you fall in love with it.

2. Not getting pre-approved. This will ensure you can afford what you’re looking at. A lot of homebuyers end up disappointed because they realize down the line they can’t afford their dream home.

3. Not selling your home first. You want to make sure that your current home is at least under contract with a buyer when you purchase your new home. If it’s not, you’ll have to offer more money on your new home to compete with sellers who are already under contract. You also may have to lower the price on your current home to ensure that it sells quickly. A better way to do it is by getting your home on the market, getting it sold, having a delayed closing or rent-back, and then purchasing your new home. There are a lot of different things you can do.
“It takes a lot of work to coordinate your closings, but it’s very advantageous to your move.”4. Failing to make necessary improvements to get top dollar. If you’ve ignored something for years, get it fixed. The new buyers will notice that.

5. Not coordinating the closings together. It takes a lot of work to do this, but it’s certainly possible and advantageous to your move.

There you have it. Avoid these five mistakes and you’ll have a smooth process moving up into your new home. If you have any questions for me in the meantime or you’re thinking about moving up to a new home anytime soon, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.