The Six Essential Steps For Buying Your First House
Buying your first home is always going to be an incredibly thrilling moment. The chances are that you will have gone through years of renting by this point, being subject to landlords of varying quality in properties that will have been very far from the dream. If you have finally reached the point where you are ready to look for your first house, then it will feel as though you have finally reached the summit of a large and often incredibly aggravating mountain.
However, anyone who has ever bought a property before will tell you that the peak of the mountain has a habit of moving. You’ll have to keep your head on a swivel to stay focused. You will need to stay on top of your to-do list, and you will need to be able to move decisively if owners finally come down in price after weeks of haggling. Here are some tips to help remove a little bit of all that stress.
Know What You Are Looking For
There are so many different properties on the market and if you are not careful, you could waste a horrific amount of time simply scrolling through listings. So, start by making an itemised list of what exactly you want in your home. Figure out what your wants and needs are, and if any deal-breakers will make you look elsewhere. Oh, and remember to talk to your partner about what they want too just in case they have a completely different idea!
Come Up With A Budget
No one likes talking about budgets. Budgets aren’t fun. But if you want to avoid waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because you’ve realised that you have spent money that you don’t have on a house, you need to budget. The rising cost of living has hit everyone, and the chances are that you are feeling the pinch already when it comes to your energy bills and your supermarket shops. So, sit down with your partner and your financial advisor if you have one to get some numbers together. This way, you won’t have any unpleasant surprises when you get your pen out and start signing papers.
Look For The Best Mortgage For You
You are almost definitely going to need a mortgage to buy your first home. Finding the right mortgage can be tough if this is your first time jumping into this. There are a lot of lenders and all of them will have their own long, long lists of terms and conditions. There are also a lot of different types of mortgages that you’ll be shown. The perfect mortgage for you will depend on several factors including (deep breath) how much you want to borrow, the value of the property, and how you want to pay the money back. Some people prefer to set a fixed rate, where they know exactly how much they will be paying every month, while others want the flexibility to be able to change their mortgage rate if their financial situation improves. If you are finding mortgages tricky, get in touch with the team at Loan Corp. They have access to more than 400 UK mortgage lenders and can help you find the best rates for what you need.
Give Yourself Plenty Of Time
It is a cliché but buying a house is a marathon, not a sprint. Finding the perfect property takes a long time. If you rush into things, then you run a number of different risks. First, you may end up settling for a home that actually doesn’t suit you at all. Secondly, you could end up paying far more than you needed to, not to mention signing yourself up for a mortgage that could be all wrong for you. Perhaps most importantly, you might end up in a situation where you need to move urgently but you don’t have anywhere to live. So, do your absolute best to give yourself as much time as possible before you start your hunt for real. Think about how you can create more time, such as dividing tasks between you and your partner.
Keep A Close Eye On The Property Market
The property market in the United Kingdom has been making people tear their hair out consistently over the last few years. From 2020 onwards, there was a massive boom in prices because everyone suddenly wanted to move somewhere with more space and a garden. Having that city centre location was suddenly not as important as it once was. But with the rise in the cost of living, the price of property has gone down as fewer people are looking to buy an expensive house. That could mean good news for you, but don’t uncork the champagne just yet. You need to keep an eagle eye on what the property prices are doing both nationally and locally in the area that you are looking at. Remember that if something looks like it is too good to be true, start running. So, be very wary of any slippery property agents who seem like they are trying to sell you on a low price but glossing over everything else.
Double Check Everything
Once you find the perfect property, you are going to want to move as quickly as possible to lock it down. It is important to be decisive, but you need to make sure that you are not signing up for more than you bargained for. Visit the house as many times as you can at different times of the day so you can hear how noisy the traffic (or the neighbours!) are. Visit the neighbourhood to get a proper feel of what it would be like to spend entire days there. If you do like the look of it, you will need to arrange a proper inspection. A good surveyor will be able to answer questions about the house, but you may also want to think about paying for a plumber to look at the pipes and the boiler.
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