Things That First-Time Buyers Should Not Do

While there are dozens of things that first-time buyers should do, there are also many that they shouldn’t.

“Don’t go out and buy a car or some other big-ticket item because the more you owe, the less you can borrow,” said Linda Orr, president of the Irvine-based brokerage Real Estate Marketeers.

“Don’t change jobs unless you’d get a decent-sized pay increase because you want to show the lender job stability.”

Also, don’t get surprised by any long-forgotten blemishes on your credit record.

“Run a credit report on yourself through TRW (or some other major credit-reporting agency) to see if there are any black marks on your record, and clear them up now, so there won’t be any surprises when you are trying to get your loan,” Orr said.

“Remember, smart buyers start getting their ducks in a row ahead of time.”