Unless you’re incredibly wealthy and paying all cash for you next house, there are certain things you should never do before buying a house. Avoid these 7 mistakes to make your next home purchase go as smoothly as possible.

1. Don’t make any major purchases with credit. I’ve seen this happen much too often. Someone is about to buy a house, and they get excited about starting their new life, so they go out and make some major purchases like a new car or new furniture for the new home. Don’t do it. The new purchase will increase your debt-to-income ratio and jeopardize your loan. If you’re going to make some major purchases, wait until after you close escrow.

2. Don’t open a new line of credit. You might think that increasing your lines of credit may help your credit score, but the opposite may happen. Looking for new credit in a short period of time translates into increased risk for lenders, and may ding your credit score in the short term.

3. Don’t co-sign a loan for someone else. Although you may not be the person making those monthly payments, it will still increase your debt-to-income ratio which can lower your credit sore.

4. Don’t look for a home without a loan pre-approval. Looking for a house before getting pre-approved for a loan will only lead to disappointment. You may see the home of your dreams, but without a loan pre-approval it’s highly unlikely that any seller will accept your offer. Getting pre-approved will help you determine exactly how much home you an afford, and will streamline the home-buying process.

5. Don’t buy a more expensive house than you an afford. Just because you’re pre-approved for a $500,000 loan doesn’t mean that you should max out your loan. Take into consideration that homeownership comes with additional expenses that you don’t have to pay as a renter. Maintenance, repairs, property taxes, and insurance are just a few of things that you have to budget for, otherwise you may find yourself house poor.

6. Don’t waive your inspection contingency. In a hot seller’s market, where there might be multiple offers, it might be tempting waive the home inspection contingency in order to get your offer accepted. The home inspection contingency is in place to protect the buyer, and waiving the contingency can be a very costly mistake. If a major problem is discovered, the home inspection contingency will allow you exit the deal, and recover your earnest money deposit without penalty.

7. Don’t buy a house without a buyer’s agent. Everyone knows that REALTORS® make their money from commissions, but in most cases buyers don’t pay the commission. The sellers pay the commission. When navigating a major purchase such as a home, a trusted REALTOR can help you negotiate the best price and terms, and ensure that your best interests are protected. Some people mistakenly believe that they will save money by using the listing agent (the agent representing the seller), however the listing agent is trying to get the best price and terms for the seller, and it’s impossible to properly negotiate both sides of the transaction when the seller is looking to get the highest price for his home and the buyer is looking to pay the lowest price for a home.

Avoid these seven mistakes and you should be well on your way to successful home ownership.

(About the author: Lou Serrano is a licensed REALTOR® in Southern CA specializing in residential real estate. He is the local real estate expert in Glendora, San Dimas, and La Verne)