Things you need to know before buying a home
BY Lamudi 13 September 2016 Advice and Tips
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If you are reading this blog post, you are probably either about to embark upon a house hunt or you are already a house hunter. Perhaps you have spotted your dream home already but you’re not quite sure whether you want to make the commitment of putting in an offer. Not sure what to decide? Fear not; you are in the right place.
Whether you are a first time buyer or you have made this step before, the decision to purchase a house takes a lot of deep consideration, a lot of web searches, and lots of time is spent weighing up pros and cons. There are a lot of decisions to be made. This is mainly because purchasing a house is one of the most important financial decisions that you will probably make in your entire life. Here are a few questions to consider when deciding whether or not to purchase a property:
Does this house fit in with your long term goals?
Making a decision to purchase or even rent a property involves a number of major financial commitments. You shouldn’t make hasty decisions. It is extremely important that you consider your long term goals before you spend a large sum of money on a house. If you’re planning on starting a family, does the house have enough bedrooms? Would you like to have a garden in the future? It is important that as well as matching your current situation, your prospective house fits in with your future plans. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Will you be changing your job?
Are you planning on getting married?
Will you be migrating to another country any time soon?
Are you planning to start a family/grow your family?
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How much can you afford?
No matter how beautiful and perfect your dream house could be with some renovations, if purchasing this house puts you into financial difficulty, it’s best to avoid it. There’s no point in living in a beautiful home if you are struggling with financial issues every month. You need to be able to keep up with monthly expenses comfortably. In order to determine whether you are financially stable enough to invest in property, the first step should be to analyse your current expenses, taking into account loans, family expenses, your child’s education fund etc. Make sure that you also have enough savings to cover your mortgage and expenses should an emergency happen.
Have you spent enough time learning about your prospective home?
Once you find the house that you have been dreaming about, don’t forget to invest some time into getting to know more about the house. Find out the answers to questions such as:
Who were the previous owners and how long did they live at the property?
What were the previous selling prices?
Are there copies of utility and insurance documents for the house?
What is the neighbourhood like?
How much will tax bills be?
Are there any hidden pets that might have been forgotten?
Will there be any odours to get rid of?
Are there any cracked walls? Is there any damp?
Always get a proper professional survey done and do your own independent research through talking to people and searching online. You won’t regret it.
Have you got a reliable agent?
How do you select the best agent for you when there is so much choice out there? You need to be extra careful when hiring an agent. Make sure they are reliable by considering the agent’s level of experience. How satisfied were recent clients? Find out the number of buyers your agent has dealt with and go on a personal recommendation if you can.
There are so many variables to consider when purchasing property, but if you keep the above in mind, the process should be considerably easier.