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As much as buying a house is an incredibly exciting prospect, it can also be very daunting to a first-time home buyer. There are many things to consider before buying a house, since it is such an important purchase that you might spend years paying off, and that idea alone might be very intimidating.
For those who are about to buy a house, or are planning on doing so in the future, here is what you should know before going ahead with this massive purchase.
Use a real estate agent
For those who are new to buying houses, or if it is your first time buying a house, then the best thing you could do is to use a real estate agent. One of the biggest benefits of using a real estate agent is that you will be saving money in the long run by knowing you’ll be buying the perfect house for yourself.
One of the reasons for this is because a real estate agent, such as the ones that www.top10realestateagent.com.au recommend, will know the market and will be easily able to find houses that meet your preference within minutes, which means you won’t have to spend hours looking. They will also be able to tell you about the neighborhood you will be potentially moving into, such as how noisy it is, the levels of crime, and more importantly, suggest houses that aren’t even listed yet.
Don’t rush to the first lender
When it comes to financing the purchase of a house, many people simply either think that they won’t be able to, or in their excitement, accept the terms and conditions of the first lender that they find. This is probably not the best way to go about it, and just as you would compare different houses, you should absolutely compare different lenders.
The first thing that you should know is that although the down payment cost is usually 20%, most first-time home buyers don’t meet that, and generally only pay around 6%. This is something you should keep in mind when visiting a lender, as you should budget for all of the costs, and knowing exactly what they are will help you to ensure they don’t accept a larger sum of money than you need, because you will have to pay it back.
Buy for utility
If you are buying a house for the first time, you might be overwhelmed and whisked away with all of the fancy features that a house has, such as a decorated bath tub, or smart technology. Unfortunately, as amazing as these extra features are, they will no doubt increase the price drastically.
This is why it is important to keep in mind that you should buy a house for utility; in other words, for an actual purpose. This means that you have to keep in mind how many rooms you will need, if having a shower is better than a bath or if it’s important at all, will you be increasing the size of your family, do you need a garden because you have or want to get a dog? Each of these factors describe the utility of a house, so choose a house that has everything you need.
Consider all of the costs
In addition to all of the considerations mentioned above, one thing that new home buyers fail to do is to consider all of the additional costs that are involved when purchasing a house. These costs are very important as they will only become known of the house has been bought, at which point it is too late.
Things like any additional maintenance that needs to be done, travel costs to the supermarket, work, school, entertainment, restaurants, the central business district should all be considered before buying a house. Other costs could be insurance on the house, a security company, as well as time costs, such as how long will you be in traffic, how long will it take to drop the kids off and then get to work.