7 First-Time Buyer Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Buying your first home is one of life's most exciting moments, and one of the most stressful. I meet a lot of first-time buyers, and the mistakes that cost them are almost never bad luck. They're mistakes that a little order and planning would have prevented. Here are the seven most common ones, and how to avoid them.

1. House-hunting before checking your financing

Many buyers start with viewings and only go to the bank after falling for a place. That's backwards. The Bank of Israel caps how much a bank can lend: up to 75% of the property value for a sole home, 70% for a replacement home, and 50% for an investment property. On top of that, a bank won't approve a mortgage whose monthly repayment exceeds 50% of income (Bank of Israel Directive 329).

Put simply, you need equity of at least a quarter of the price, plus money for the extra costs. So step one is a mortgage pre-approval. It tells you your real budget and strengthens your hand with the seller.

2. Forgetting the hidden costs

The price isn't the final number. There are legal fees, agent's commission, appraiser and home inspection, mortgage file and insurance fees, moving, and often some renovation or furniture. Then there's purchase tax: a buyer of a sole home pays nothing up to a certain amount but does pay above it, and someone who already owns a home pays from the first shekel. Check in advance; the purchase-tax calculator on this site does it in a minute.

My tip: build a table of every cost before you make an offer, and keep a cushion for surprises.

3. Skipping your own real-estate lawyer

"The seller's lawyer is already drafting the contract" isn't enough. The seller's lawyer represents the seller. You need a lawyer who specializes in real estate and represents only you: checking the rights in the property, making sure there are no liens or attachments, drafting payment terms that protect you and registering a caution note in your name. Bring them in before you sign anything, including an innocent-looking memorandum of understanding.

4. Skipping the home inspection

An apartment can look perfect in a twenty-minute visit and still hide damp, cracks, plumbing or electrical problems. A qualified engineer or inspector finds what the eye misses, and sometimes the findings are worth a price reduction or a repair at the seller's expense. Even with a new home from a developer, inspect before handover and document every defect.

5. Not checking the property's planning and legal status

An enclosed balcony, an added room, a storeroom turned into a unit: built without a permit, these can become a problem with the municipality, the bank, or when you sell. Before signing, get a land registry extract, check the building file at the municipality for what was approved, and look into planned changes nearby such as new construction or roads. My article "What to check before you sign" has the full list.

6. Falling in love and overpaying

It happens to everyone: you walk in, see the light in the living room and start picturing your life there. Then it's easy to skip negotiating. To keep a cool head, look at prices of deals that actually closed for similar homes in the area, not just listings. And remember there are always other apartments. A good home at a fair price beats a perfect one at a price that strangles you.

7. Choosing a mortgage by the lowest rate alone

A low starting rate doesn't always mean a cheap mortgage. Understand the mix: how much is fixed and how much variable, whether it's linked to the CPI, and what happens to the monthly payment if rates or inflation rise. The Bank of Israel, for example, limits the variable-rate portion to two-thirds of the loan (Directive 329). Compare offers from several banks and consider professional mortgage advice; a small rate difference adds up over twenty or thirty years.

In short

A good first purchase follows the right order: financing and a full budget first, then the search, then thorough checks before any signature. That way you get to the moment you receive the keys with joy, not worry.

Want to talk it through? I'm Chaya Kraus of RE/MAX Together Ashdod. Message me on WhatsApp at 055-970-4745 and we'll go over it together, with no obligation.