3 Home-Buying Mistakes New Parents Can't Afford to Make

You need to read this if you're a parent buying a new home.

Many people opt to purchase a home when they're first starting a family. After all, having kids makes you think about the future and may prompt you to decide to set down roots so your kids can grow up in a family home throughout their childhood.

Unfortunately, with so many life changes going on at one time, it's easy for parents to make mistakes during the home-buying process. You don't want this to happen to you, so be sure to avoid these three common errors.

1. Ignoring the school district

As a new parent, it may seem like the day your child starts school is light-years in the future. But, the reality is, this milestone will creep up on you faster than you can imagine. And when your child is ready to get an education, you want to make sure you're in a school district you feel comfortable with.

Unfortunately, some parents assume they can purchase a starter home and not worry about the school district, then move when their kids get old enough to attend school. This won't always work out, though. You may fall in love with the neighborhood or not be able to move for financial reasons and then find yourself facing a serious problem if you aren't comfortable with your kids attending school where you live.

You also want to be sure you're in a good school district because many people look at this as a key criteria when shopping for a home. You'll limit your pool of potential buyers down the road if you don't consider this issue.

2. Thinking short term

When you have little kids, it's easy to imagine they'll be small forever. But, as mentioned above, they grow up faster than you think. So you don't just want to find a house that works well for babies and toddlers -- you want a property that will be a good fit for teens too.

If all the bedrooms are very close together, for example, that might be great when you're running into your toddler's room three times a night. But will you still be OK with the arrangement when they have their friends over until all hours as they move into high school?

Be sure to think about how the home will work both now and in the future in case you end up staying there for your kids' entire childhood.

3. Spending too much on a property

Between birth and age 18, you'll spend around $310,605 on raising your child. That's a huge sum of money. You absolutely cannot afford to overcommit yourself to a home when you're also taking on the costs of raising a human into adulthood.

While you may try to justify the purchase of a too-expensive house if it seems like the perfect family home, you will regret your decision if you stretch to buy a property and then cannot afford to cover both your mortgage and all of the other costs of parenthood.

Be sure to keep your housing costs to around 25% of your take-home pay, or less so you can accomplish other financial goals and buy all that stuff your growing kids need.