Thinking of buying a house? Congratulations. Buying a house especially for the first time is a major move. You are about to achieve what most people can only dream about. This is one of the most significant financial decisions you’ll make in your lifetime. It is important that you take your time and get the decision right at your first attempt.
Buying a house nowadays is more complicated than you think. However, it is not impossible. Even if you have more than enough money to buy a house of your dream, you still need to do your homework to ensure that everything is perfect the way you want it. Besides, there are so many paperwork and legal stuff to take care of. All these can make buying a house for the first time very challenging.
Nevertheless, once you overcome this stage, you will find it very easy the next time you want to invest in another house. To make this process easy for you, we have rounded up everything you need to know about buying a house for the first time. This guide will help you overcome some challenges. Keep on reading to find out more.
Top 7 Things You Need To Know Before Buying a House For the First Time
- Determine How Much You Are Willing To Spend
The type of house you will end up buying will depend majorly on your personal finances unless money is no problem for you. Your first task is to determine how much you can spend on a house. Once you have a figure in mind, you will need to come up with a strategy to finance your purchase. You must determine whether you want to finance your home from personal savings, bank loan or credit facilities. Alternatively, you can research online for available financing options.
- Research Your Targeted Real Estate Market
Most times, you will discover that the real cost of a house in your targeted real estate market is more than your budget. Nowadays, rents and cost of homes are increasing in almost all the major cities around the world. You must have it in mind that there is a potential for your targeted real estate cost to increase. The cost of real estate rarely come down nowadays. If you have money to invest now, don’t wait too much for prices to come down, it is very unlikely to happen anytime soon.
- Make a List of Features You Want In Your House
Whether you want to rent out the house or you want to live in it, there are some features that will make it appealing to you or to potential renters. A good way to know where to invest your money is to ask friends and families about what features they wish they had or didn’t have. This will help you determine good features to have in your potential house. Make a list of features you want. This way, you can easily narrow down your search.
- Hire a Trusted Real Estate Agent
Working with a certified and trusted real estate agent can save you a lot of troubles. Most real estate agent knows about houses that are not listed online. They can help you negotiate deals you could have missed. However, don’t just hire any real estate agent, make your research and hire a reliable agent with expert knowledge of the market you are interested in.
- Inspect the House
Don’t pay for a house you have not inspected. You need to manually inspect a house before you consider paying for it. Make out at least one full day to check the house. Check the walls for cracks, the roof for leaking, and even check the sewages and water supply. Most homes have hydrogen sulfide problems which cause the water supply to smell like rotten eggs. This is the reason why you see many homeowners on some online forums making statements such as “my cold water smells like rotten eggs“. Ensure that your potential home does not have this problem and everything is in order before you consider paying for the home.
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