Ready to buy your first home? Avoid these common and costly mistakes

The experience of buying your first home often brings up a lot of emotions. With so many new considerations and complicated processes to navigate, it's easy to get tripped up in details and make costly mistakes.

Here's how to avoid making common first-time buyer missteps.

Don't skip home loan qualification: Once you decide to buy a home, it's tempting to start touring properties right away. Cheryl Grant, Realtor at Keller Williams North in Grand Rapids, Mich., advises you to resist. Instead, make your first stop a lending office. Figure out how much you qualify to borrow before wasting your own time and that of a seller, she said. You don't want to sign a contract only to discover the bank won't lend you the necessary funds.

Know what you can afford: Many first-time buyers fail to budget properly, often confusing what they can afford with what lenders tell them they qualify to borrow. If you haven't yet, make a list of your monthly expenses before settling on a house budget.

"You absolutely should not be looking at homes out of your price range," said Brian Pakulla, a Realtor at Pakulla Professionals Re/Max Advantage Realty in Ellicott City, Md. Doing so could cause you to stretch your finances too thin or make you feel dissatisfied when you do budget and then start to look at homes in your price range, he said.

Don't focus too much on the flaws: It's fun to dream about the items on your wish list, but some first-time buyers have a hard time compromising to meet their budgets. Don't let outdated features steer you away from a house that otherwise meets your criteria. On the other hand, don't compromise on your must-haves.

"You can always change the cosmetics of a house, but you can't change the view, location or floor plan easily," Pakulla said.

Don't skip the home inspection: Once a seller accepts your offer, you may be tempted to fast-forward the process and skip the home inspection, but it's important to know if the house is in solid shape.

Aside from helping to identify any major structural flaws, a home inspection can help you budget for future maintenance issues. Consider it a "new home" orientation, Pakulla said.

"Go through the inspection to understand how your future home operates mechanically," he said. "It'll have some blemishes, but you'll learn and make sure nothing will be a major pitfall."

Keep resale in mind: It might seem preposterous to think about selling a house you haven't yet purchased, but experts recommend planning ahead. Many buyers don't factor in features that could affect a home's resale value, like number of bedrooms or whether it has a garage or basement, or if the home will suit their future needs, which is a common mistake.

"So many first-time buyers say they aren't thinking of children now, so school districts aren't a consideration for them," Grant said.