Years ago as I was going through with my first home buying experience, it came with a high level of frustration. While I liked the agent that I was working with personally, she did not seem to listen to me nor was her advice much help!

My agent was not listening to me!

Each time my husband and I went out to look at the homes that she had chosen, we would end up having to ask about the style or area that we were really interested in. She tried to sell us a home that looked like a blue barn and while that may sound a little cool, it wasn't. 

She kept pointing us to the area that she liked instead of where we wanted to go. This became very frustrating for me. I finally got in the car and drove around the neighborhood that I liked and found a home that I wanted to view. After calling my agent to set up the showing, I asked her why we had not seen this home? Her answer: "I didn't think you would like it."

We ended up buying the home!

After becoming a real estate agent, I began to understand just how much we did not understand in the home buying process and the level of risk that was on our shoulders. 

The risk is on you!

Many buyers will jump into the process head first before doing their research. This isn't what I would recommend. Become informed and empowered because you are the one taking the risk.

While we got a general home inspector, we did not get any additional ones because we were not advised to do so. We ended up having carbon monoxide coming into our home due to the gas furnace and structural problems on the corner of our home. These repairs were very expensive. 

While it is impossible to anyone to find every problem that a home may have, added inspections would have revealed these problems and not put our lives at risk while we slept.

The advice that I received while purchasing was definitely not at an expert level! Now that I am on the other side of this coin, I would never want you to take on the level of risk that I did when I bought my first home. It can be avoided!

Before you buy, take a step back and become educated first. After all, it is only several thousand dollars at stake, plus your happiness!