Buying a property is a big move, whether you are buying your first one or you’ve done this before. For many first time buyers, the property market is a place that they’re not familiar with and so navigating it is going to be a brand new experience. For those who own property, there is definitely something that they could have done differently that could have helped them in their experience. So with that in mind, here are some things to consider before buying a property.
Do You Have Any Savings?
What do your savings look like currently? Buying a property isn’t cheap, and for the most part, the sale of the property is going to be covered by a mortgage or some type of loan. However, it’s worth having a deposit for your home, and this is something that should come from savings, rather than borrowing additional funds from other lenders. So how much do you have to play with?
It might be that you need around 10% of your property’s value for a deposit, but again it all depends on the mortgage provider you pick and what their terms of. Regardless, you are going to need some kind of savings available to you. If that’s not something that you have, then it’s likely you’ll need to keep saving more funds until you have a significant amount. It’s worth knowing how much you’d need to save depending on the price of properties that you can afford to take on.
Mortgage & Loan Availabilities
Mortgage and loan availabilities are something that you’ll certainly need to be aware of. It’s important that you have knowledge of these areas because if you don’t, then it can hinder what opportunities you have when it comes to property prices. Speaking to multiple lenders is going to be crucial because you want to be able to get the best deal when borrowing money.
Some lenders might approve you and some might not, and so it’s obviously important to do your research. A mortgage calculator can be handy in working out how much of a deposit you’ll need and what you can ideally afford when it comes to your income and that of a partner’s if you’re buying with someone else.
You could also approach a mortgage lender that will have access to more than just one mortgage option, just like joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage, where two borrowers use their combined income figures to apply for a mortgage.
It can be like a comparison opportunity to see which offer from a lender is going to be better than others. When you’re taking out a loan of any kind, you don’t want to be tied into it forever. That’s why picking the number of years you plan to pay back your mortgage is essential.
Most will often have between 24-40 years but be wary the longer you pick, the older you’ll be when you finally pay it off. The benefit of picking a shorter mortgage term is you pay it off quicker, but it’ll likely be a more costly, monthly expense.
What Do You Want From The Area?
When it comes to buying a property, the area is important. It’s good to know what you’re after for the area around it. Some potential homeowners will have different requirements, and that can change over time. There are things to consider depending on your lifestyle, like the time it will take you to drive or commute into work.
You may be looking at a home for having children in, and therefore you want to scope out the local schools to see what they’re like. Regardless of where you buy, you need to ensure that the location is suited to your needs and that’s not always something that can be catered to. It could influence where you decide to move, so definitely do some research in this area.
Property Requirements
Property requirements, again, will vary from person to person. If you’re a first-time buyer, you might be flexible with what you want, and for those moving from their first home, you probably don’t want to sacrifice too much of what you want from a property.
What type of property would you like to own? Are you after something modern or are you someone who loves a more old-style design? Perhaps the rustic element is what you’re looking for, or you are after a home that’s going to be easy to make smarter with technology. It all depends on what you need from your home as you’re the one who is going to be living in it at the end of the day.
Are You In The Right Stage Of Your Life?
When it comes to buying a house, it’s not a small decision. It’s a big move, whether you’re doing it with a partner or on your own. That’s why it’s good to assess whether you’re in the right stage of your life to be doing this. For some, buying a property might not be the responsibility they want or need at the age they’re at now. It might be that you want to think about doing this further down the line when you are ready to settle down and invest in your future. If you’re someone who wants to travel or wants to purchase a property with a partner, but you’re single, don’t rush into buying a property. Your time will come, so it’s not worth putting yourself into a lot of debt when you could be stopping yourself from doing more in life.
Do Your Research On Realtors
There are lots of realtors out there who can give you helpful advice on what the best option is for you. Some realtors are going to have varied options of properties, but some might be more exclusive to certain models. That could be exclusive to rustic properties or for the more expensive ones. It’s good to find the right agency as a buyer because you want to make good value of your time when it comes to looking around the properties themselves. Do your research and read the customer reviews to find out how they’ve dealt with clients in the past. When you look for customer testimonials, look on review websites rather than their own website because they might control the reviews they put up.
Your First Property Might Not Be Your Forever Home
If you’re a first-time buyer, it’s important to know that the first property you have might not necessarily be your forever home. With that being said, you might want to consider what you want from a home and whether you could sacrifice some elements of it or not. When you do buy your forever home, you’re likely to do more things to it when it comes to decor and DIY. Whereas when you have a first-time home, you might not do much to it because you have plans to move on in the next few years or so. It’s good to remember this so that when you’re investing your money into property changes, you are investing that money in a forever home.
Be Ready For Rejection
Rejection is hard to handle, wherever it comes from. However, when you’re in the buying process for a house, it can certainly be stressful. The last thing you want is to lose out on the opportunity of securing a sale for your first property or letting a property you really want, slip through your fingers. It’s important to remember though, that you are likely to get rejected for something, whether it’s a mortgage or the offer on a property. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a seamless process so you want to go into this, having an expectation that you could be disappointed or things don’t go your way the first time around.
Ask Questions When Property Hunting
When you’re property hunting, it’s important to ask questions. There are lots of questions that you’ll likely want answers to when you are property hunting after buying your first home. But when you are buying your first home, you don’t know what the experience is of property hunting and therefore you might it uncomfortable to ask too many questions. However, it’s necessary to ask the questions, and you should be encouraged to question anything that you don’t understand. If there’s an issue with the property you’re looking at, ask the questions so that you can come out with a clear yes or no to the property itself.
It’s also worth noting that when it comes to the point where you put in an offer, always haggle on the price. Never go in for the asking price unless it’s being listed as a steal and you want to claim it before anybody else does. Haggling is important when the property might be on for more than you can afford or is perhaps valued too high for the asking price given.
Buying a property is a life-changing experience, whether you’ve bought before or not. Use these tips to help guide yourself through the process so that you end up with your perfect home.
