Avoid These 5 Traps When Buying Your First Home

Buying your first home in India is a monumental moment. Personally, I recall how excited yet anxious I felt making my first offer. That’s why I want to help you avoid home buying mistakes—especially as a first-time buyer—so your journey is rewarding, not regretful.

Key Stats You Should Know

• Only about 24 percent of buyers in 2025 are first-time buyers—making competition stronger.
• Most Indian first-time buyers put down around 10–15 percent, not the 20 percent seen in some markets.

Let us look at some of the common mistakes that take place while purchasing a house. This is essential home buying advice for negotiating effectively in 2025.

1. Skipping the Budgeting Step

• Mistake: Going house hunting before understanding total costs.
• Why it matters: Beyond down payment and EMI, you'll pay stamp duty, registration, GST (if under-construction), maintenance, insurance, and legal fees. Ignoring these is among the most serious common homebuyer errors.
• Expert Tip: “The biggest mistake potential homebuyers make is not having a specific home purchase plan in place. If you don’t know how much you can afford, you’ll be in big trouble later.”— Anurag Goel, Director, Goel Ganga Developments
• Smart Move: Use a budgeting checklist and account for every rupee. Know your ceiling.

Budgeting for a new home is the most crucial step. Adding to it, a first-time homebuyer checklist will be helpful to track all costs will come-in handy on the long run.