Buying your first home is a huge commitment. You will be signing a mortgage agreement for the first time ever, agreeing to make repayments for the foreseeable future. You also need to commit to a house, to be sure that the property you choose will hold its value and that it is the right home for you. Read through our top tips on buying your first home and mistakes to avoid and see if we can help you face this huge decision with confidence.
Hire an Agent
If you hire a local estate agent, they will have knowledge of what is happening in the area. They will know where the best houses are and can help you match your needs with the right property. They can also be extremely useful when it comes to making an offer on a property because they have a better idea of what homes are actually worth. Make sure that you hire an agent with a current license so that you can have confidence in their abilities.
Get a Loan
You often need to organise a mortgage in principle before you even start to view properties. Estate agents and buyers don’t really want to spend their time showing those who aren’t serious around properties. Having an offer of a mortgage already agreed shows them that you have the means to purchase a home and that you fully intend to purchase a property. You should head to a mortgage broker in order to find the best deal for you.
Negotiate the Offer
Once you have found the right home, remember that you don’t have to make an offer of the asking price. If you think that the home isn’t perfect or that it requires some work you can always make an offer to try and get the price reduced. Your mortgage company will offer a loan based on what they believe is the value of the home so always bear this in mind when making offers. Read our post on getting a mortgage if you need any guidance with this part of the process.
Stick to your budget
There is no point going to look at homes that are drastically over your budget, especially if you don’t believe the seller will come down in price. You are unlikely to secure more funding that the mortgage company have already offered and you also need to think carefully about what payments you can afford to make towards your mortgage each month. Make sure you look at your budget so that you know how much you can afford to pay towards your new home.
Do a Home Inspection
It is important that you don’t forget to carry out a home inspection. We know that you are excited and don’t want anything to go wrong but if you do miss out on something you will only regret it further down the line. You need to be sure that the property you are hoping to buy is problem-free so that you can be sure you won’t lose value in the future.
Agree that you should talk to a broker, but, you should talk to a broker that educate you with the pros and cons of buying a house, not someone just looking for their commission cut.
Something that we’ve learnt after we bought our first house was buying or building your first home shouldn’t be an emotional decision. Some brokers help you to go with the emotions which happened with us.
In Australia, you can purchase a house with 5% down and it’s cost us thousands of extra money to date and will cost more until we pay the loan off.
Had we waited another 9-15 month, we would have easily saved 20% of down payment and wouldn’t have to pay this extra money.
Thanks, awesome post! How long on average does it take to buy a house?
Thank you for sharing these great tips! I do agree with the point that home inspection is an important step that should not be missed. However, I would like to add that hiring home inspecting service is a great help as they have relevant experience in the field and can look into areas that might be missed by us. Fast Florida Inspections has been in the home inspection business since the past 17 years and they also provide exceptional services.