Regrets? I've had a few: Three mistakes I made as a first home buyer

Regrets? I've had a few. And some of them involve buying my first home.

There's no doubt buying a property is an overwhelming task. The first step is often going to see a mortgage broker. They will go over your finances with a fine tooth comb, which can feel as invasive as a particular medical procedure (you can guess which one).

This will have you questioning every single financial decision you've ever made: was that looming HECS debt worth it? Why am I always transferring Jess money for 'dinner', and how on earth did I order so much UberEats?

Once this bit is over, and you know how much you can borrow, it's time to see how many suburbs you're priced out of and what types of properties are left for you to choose from.

Now, I didn't know much, but I did know I wanted a house and I wanted it in the inner west of Melbourne. Luckily for me I got both of those things, but did I go wrong along the way? Most definitely!

With first home buyers about to flood the market as a result of changes to the national scheme, I thought I'd share a few mistakes I made with my first purchase in the hope that you won't make the same ones.

Mistake 1 - Not doing a building and pest inspection

Now I know this is a contentious one. You're looking at multiple properties, which are all soaring over reserves come auction time and a building and pest inspection seems like an extra cost you can't afford. Surely you can just jump on the floorboards, have a peer at the ceiling cracks and stick your fingers in a few damp weatherboards yourself? I hear you, I was you!

We were house hunting in 2017 and 2018, this was a bullish time for the property market filled with competitive auctions with prices soaring above reserves. We had recently missed out on a property where I was the first bidder, but was then quickly knocked out of the running by two property advocates. After going to multiple auctions and watching properties go way over our budget, we eventually gave up on the idea of a building and pest inspection.

The house we eventually purchased was a 100-year-old weatherboard with a slap-dash renovation. Although we didn't know this when we bought it because we didn't do a building inspection!

Not long after we moved in, we discovered the back doors had been installed incorrectly with no flashing (a word I previously thought had a very different meaning), which led to wood rot, which led to us replacing the doors.

Another issue was in the bathroom. And let me tell you, this is one area where you really don't want an issue. Long story short, we ended up having to do a major bathroom renovation to stop water coming up through the floor tiles after each shower.

But guess what? No pests!

Mistake 2 - Buying a property we outgrew too quickly

We were purchasing our house as a couple so a two-bedder would be fine, right? Well in just under two years we went from two to three, and then three to four. All of a sudden our two-bedroom house with a tiny kitchen and minimal storage was feeling very tight.

We knew starting a family was on the near horizon and should have considered this when looking to buy. As soon as we added an additional family member, we felt like we'd outgrown our home.

Now that we're looking to buy our next property, purchasing something with room to grow is at the top of our list.

Mistake 3 - Not buying a property where value could be added

When we bought our cute single-fronted cottage, the lovely big block that it was previously on had been subdivided like many others in the area. This meant we were left with a house that had the back chopped off and redone, and a very small courtyard.

At the time, this was all that we needed. However, when it came time to sell we quickly realised we hadn't been able to add much value to the house. Sure we had painted, added lovely plantation shutters, done a simple bathroom reno and built-in wardrobes, but these were only surface upgrades and we were now selling in a tougher market. Without adding significant upgrades, we had to rely on the market alone to make a profit.

When it comes to purchasing our next home, I'm on the look out for a 'fixer upper'. Not a dump, not a knock-down-rebuild/in desperate need of a major extension, but something that needs a bit of love and some much-needed improvements.

I'm not naive enough to think this is a fool-proof plan to make money, and I'm also not going to moonlight as a property flipper, but when it comes to sell next time I want to be able to point to significant changes and upgrades that we've made.