Buying a home is one of the most important and largest financial decisions that are likely to make. Getting it right will result in years of security and happiness from your home. As happy as the right purchase makes you, the wrong purchase can become a painful purchase – both emotionally and financially.

Given the expenses involved in buying and selling, and then buying again, it pays to get it right. To avoid the errors of others, it pays to be aware of the errors first.

Many home buyers unwittingly (but commonly) make one of two errors when selecting a property – they are too slow to move on the right property or they buy the wrong property out of frustration.

To find the right property early in the search can create complacency when buying. You can be lulled into thinking that another one will come onto the market soon. If you have a particular or unique criteria for your new home, it can be a real process to find another suitable property - should you let the right one pass you by. Alternatively, the more generic the property, such as apartments in high rises, the more chance there is that another one will become available.

Unique is an overused description in real estate marketing. It is worth being decisive if the right property with unique characteristics does become available though.

It can be surprising to find the right home in the first week or two of your property search. But if you intend to buy and it’s the right price that’s fits your needs, why risk missing it? There is no guarantee that the right home will become available when you are 100% ready to buy. If you pass up the right property and then struggle to find another home over the ensuing months, indifference can quickly turn to frustration.

Frustrated and fed up

Buyers that have missed out securing the right property overtime, can then become frustrated, inpatient and ultimately buy the wrong property. Having invested so much time, there is a desire to complete a purchase that over rides the need to find the right home. Aspects of the property that don’t work for you can be overlooked if you are in a frustrated and fed up frame of mind.

If you find yourself just wanting to buy something and so you can stop looking every weekend, you may be better off to not look at all. This is preferable to buying an unsuitable home just because the owner is willing to accept your offer.

People that have sold first and need somewhere to live within a certain time frame are prone to a fed up purchase. You are better off temporarily leasing than buying the wrong home. If you do buy the wrong home, it will be a temporary one, albeit more an expensive option than a short term lease.

If a property has been slashed in price, its imperative to not overlook the real reason the price has been reduced. Where a property is priced lower than the rest of the market and the price seems too good to be true, then it probably is to good to be true. Properties that are drastically marked down in price are often compensating for a flaw. Sometimes the flaw is obvious other times it may not be. The more research and independent advice you seek, the more likely that you will find the reason for the reduced price.

If you know the flaw and still decide to buy, at least you are buying fully informed.

The key to buying right is to be fully informed, decisive and patient. Decisiveness and patience are a rare, but complimentary combination when buying real estate.

WRITTEN BY PETER O'MALLEY