The Ten most common mistakes homebuyers make are:
According to Robert Bruss

1. Rush to buy a home without researching the local home sale market.

2. Don't bother to get pre-approved for a mortgage.

3. Don't bother to check school quality and the crime rate to help decide on location.

4. Don't look at your personal residence as also being your major lifetime investment.

5. Don't bother hiring your own Buyer's agent.

6. Let the realty agent and home seller know you have fallen in love with a home and absolutely must buy it.

7. To avoid overpaying for a home, don't bother asking your buyer's agent to prepare a written comparative purchase offer.

8. Neglect to include a mortgage finance contingency and professional inspection contingency in your purchase offer.

9. Buy the best home in the neighborhood.

10. Invest as much cash into your home purchase as possible.

Bob Bruss writes the popular syndicated newspaper colum "Real Estate Mailbag"

We highly recommend working with an experienced buyer's agent to avoid these and other common mistakes.   Whether you are a first time home buyer or an experienced investor, the Outer Banks' market is unlike any other, and you deserve to have strong, knowledgeable representation on your side of this exciting and important transaction.