5 Home Buying Tips: What You Need To Look For
If you’re thinking of buying a home, read below for 5 tips to get you started.
1. Know your prices
For many of us price will be a determining factor in where we purchase a home, so doing your homework before you concentrate your search will be beneficial. Although average house prices can be a helpful guide, a more in depth look at the prices that certain properties fetch will provide better insight. After all, a high end, luxury three bedroom home will vary in price to an older 3 bedroom townhouse on a main road in the same area. For this reason, you could find certain areas are in fact on your radar depending on what you want in terms of accommodation. Regardless of where you want to buy a home, it’ll be helpful to read up on things like How to buy a home in Florida to get you started.
2. Research the area
While you’re shortlisting suburbs, decide what type of access to facilities you want. Being able to walk everywhere on foot may dramatically reduce the pool of homes you have to choose from, but if you are willing to wait until you find the right place, it will be a good time saver. Consider access to shopping, health facilities, transport and school. You might also want access to freeways, airports, beaches or restaurants depending on your lifestyle.
3. Real estate agents
Many people have love/hate relationships with real estate agents. But even as a buyer, there are some ways to make the relationship work in your favour. If you have a particular type of property in mind, making this known to a real estate agent can mean you are one of the first called in an off market situation or one where a vendor wants a quick sale. Even when a property would most likely be heading to auction, many people have success with pre auction bids. This strategy is best suited to those who are good at sticking to their budget, otherwise an experienced agent can use this knowledge in favour of the vendor to drive up the likely reserve price.
4. Get there in person
It may sound obvious, but actually getting to open houses as early as possible is a good strategy. Most properties will look a lot more spacious, for example, in the online photos and many will be styled for open house inspections. Sometime a pre-inspection drive-by can save you the hassle of stopping by on a busy Saturday morning. If you are considering heading down the house and land route, be sure to get to several display homes across Melbourne to get a feel of what designs you prefer most.
5. Finance
Getting all the paperwork in order is the least fun part about buying. But knowing your budget and gaining loan pre-approval is highly advisable. Even if you have a steady job and decent deposit, pre-approval will reduce the chance for any delays when it comes to the conveyancing and settlement process. On most purchases, every day you are late to settle fees will be incurred, even if it’s your bank that is holding up the process.
