10 Secrets You Need to Know When You’re Buying a New House
House buying can be a hassle, especially when you’re a
first-time home buyer. There are a lot of questions and expectations in your
mind that you want to address all the way.
While you may have so much planned for yourself, it’s high
time that you realize your expectations will not always be fulfilled.
Here are the top 10 secrets that you should know when buying
a house for the first time:
1 – Real estate agents know the neighborhood better than you
Even though you’ve been living in a certain area for a
number of years, when you plan on buying a home in that area, there’s no one
better person to chat with than a real estate agent who’s operational in that
area!
Why? For starters, real estate agents have been working in
the neighborhood for a good amount of time (years/decades). In addition, they
are constantly aware of what has sold, is on the market and what’s about to
come onto the market house-wise.
They are very knowledgeable about the condition of the houses
(inside/outside). Moreover, they are also called by clients that want to sell
their houses.
Thus, compared to you, their expertise is way more skilled,
and although you might not necessarily be keen to, hiring a real estate agent
is a good option.
2 – You can end up paying more
As mentioned earlier, even though you anticipate everything
to go smoothly, reality is that it won’t go all as planned. You have to be
prepared for changing situations, which is why it’s a good idea to keep
additional cash on hand in case you end up spending more than you initially had
in mind.
There are many cases where a residential real estate company
that you’ve hired finds you a house that suits your requirements. However, the
owner might be somewhat reluctant to sell at the price you’re offering. In this
case, you’d have to either look for another house or agree to the price that
the owner is asking.
Hence, always plan for the worst, and keep an additional
buffer in place in the event you are left with no option but to buy the one you
liked the most (and spend money in doing so).
3 – Consider long-term
You might purchase a house which slightly exceeds your
forecasted budget. However, you should always consider the future while buying:
are you able to pay off the mortgage? Can your employment afford the current
rent if it continues long term?
In addition, you also need to ensure that your sources of
income are sufficient to support these costs since there are going to be other
expenditures as well, such as groceries, upgrades, etc.
It’s fair to say that these questions should be addressed
beforehand.
4 – Your relationship status
Another important will be your relationship status. Most of
the homeowners are couples that vow to stay together, and then, due to
unfortunate events, split up a number of years down the line. Whoever’s
responsible for the monthly bond payments might be seriously affected by the
split-up.
Hence, sit down with your partner, discuss everything in
detail, work out your differences by becoming the strengths of each other, and
most importantly, communicate!
5 – Keep your credit score efficient
When it comes to getting your loan approved, you need to
show a decent credit score to the financial institution. Your credit score will
have an impact on your financial future, and in order to borrow (and keep your
interest rate low), you’ll need to make sure your score remains a healthy one!
6 – Consider upgrades
We all ignore the mistakes and flaws of those we love. And
that can be the case as well for the house you’re planning to buy. In other
words, you may ignore the structure, flooring, kitchen design or other factors
just because you like the place overall.
However, keep in mind that all those factors you’ve looked
over are now added onto your upgrade list. Not only are you paying for the
monthly bond, but you also need to start putting monies aside for those desired
upgrades.
Remember that upgrades are not only wall paint, basic
flooring change, etc. It can be rising damp, a leaking roof, or other factors.
Hence, definitely something to keep in mind when buying your house!
7 – Get inspections
Why try to skimp on ensuring one of your most important
investments is a proper deal?
Getting a home inspection will give you a clear insight into
what the real condition of the house is.
As recommended by many of the top real estate agents, home
inspections definitely prove to be advantageous in determining the condition
and the ultimate selling price of the house.
8 – Age of the house
All that glitters is not gold. No matter how appealing the
architecture may look, never drool over it or hesitate to ask about its age.
The older the house, the more likely it is to experience
issues such as roof problems, sewerage, flooring issues, paint peeling, etc.
9 – Up your negotiation game
This one can be tough but you really need to improve your
negotiation game in order to get any closer to your budgeted amount. Even if
the owner places a final tag on it, try to negotiate.
If it works, you’re in luck, if not, there are other houses
on the market to look at. Never settle immediately just because you’re too lazy
to find a home for you and your family.
10 – Keep renovation costs in mind
There are some cases where the owner decides to settle at
your price.
However, you might have to pay for the renovations, which
cost way more than you might have imagined in the first place. Assess them, and
negotiate based on the costs that would suit you the best.
Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.
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