Best Home Buying Tips for First Time Buyers

Published on: 14 August 2017 Last Updated on: 19 August 2019
Home Buying

Having a home is the best asset that each family desires because housing is a basic need. The challenge with most people is that they make several mistakes while buying their first home. You need to be keen because this is a long-term investment. Some of the mistakes you make can cost you for the rest of your life. Here are some of the home buying tips for first-time buyers.

Financial Planning

You will rarely come across a person buying a home in cash. Most of us rely on mortgages to finance their home purchase. It means that you need to do a lot of planning before you make the final decision. First, you will be expected to make a monthly payment towards the mortgage. Look at your financial cash flows and make sure you are comfortable with the monthly installments.  You don’t want to buy a house that will be repossessed along the way because of the inability to pay. Assess your future cash flows to make sure that you are on the safe side. It’s good to have an alternative source of income just in case the primary source fails.

Recommended reading: Five Efficient Uses Of Propane In Your Home

So many financial institution advance mortgages to their clients. Look for a financier whose mortgages have the best features. You need a loan that is not very expensive in the long run. Assess both the finance fee and the loan interest rate to get the best deal. Also, look at the lending policy of the borrower. Look at how they handle default because no one can see tomorrow and you need to prepare for the worst. You can also use probate estate loans. Banks offer different mortgage products and you need to do your homework well to get the best product.

Size of the House

Make sure you evaluate your housing needs before you begin shopping for one. A home is not something that you can buy at any time. It is a long-term investment that can take you even 30 years to clear the mortgage. Make sure you evaluate your future and current housing needs. For instance, a single person who is planning to get married should plan for the future needs of his family. Buy a house with the future needs of your family in mind. It is very little you can do when you discover later that your house is too small. Make sure you buy a house that will meet all your needs in the long run.

Location of the House

Location is an important element when buying a house for the first time. First, look at the accessibility of the house. Infrastructure is very important when buying a home. Make sure you are comfortable with the distance of the house from the road. You should be able to access the house with a lot of ease. The house should also be close to social amenities such as schools, hospitals, shopping malls, restaurants, and gyms just to name a few. It can be hard to get an ideal location but you can try to get the best from what the market has to offer. The last thing to look at is the neighborhood. This element is mainly determined by your age and lifestyle. You can decide to go to a neighborhood that has old people or the young generation.

Using Property Agents

Home buying companies have a long list of houses for sale in the region. Using them can save you a lot of effort. They can give you several options and you will be able to choose the best. You will also get an opportunity to compare the prices of different homes for you to get the best value for your money. You can cushion yourself against exploitation from greedy sellers by using property agents. You will pay property agents some fee but it is cost-effective in the long run. It’s always a good option to use the help of North Coast Financial advisers.

 

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Apartment Home

Apartment Home Hunting Like a Pro

A house is not a home, and neither is an apartment home is where the heart is. If your heart is everywhere, then the very outdoors could be your home—but that’s not the case for most people. The point is, even if you’re just going to rent a place for a little bit, you want somewhere you can rest your heart comfortably. Now what makes you comfortable at your core is necessarily going to differ from that which makes someone else comfortable. Everyone has their own deal makers and their own deal-breakers. Following, we’ll examine a few features of apartment home-hunting that, for the most part, are generally agreed to be relevant. Before we get into them, keep in mind: to get a good idea of what’s available, it’s fundamentally essential that you examine multiple units. Try to look at five, minimum, before deciding. If you can see twenty units and closely examine them all, that’s ideal; but for most, five will be a good minimum spread. That said, consider the following tactics. Techniques To Follow For Apartment Home Hunting Set A Price Range, Consider Travel, Know Leases How much are you willing to spend? This number can’t be static, it’s got to have a range. You can get a better apartment home for less if you’re willing to rent from landlords on the outskirts of the city where you work. However, what you pay in wear-and-tear for your vehicle and gasoline may actually end up being more expensive over the long term. If you found an apartment right on top of where you work in Dallas, Texas, and one on the outskirts of town for half the price, it could be that the centrally-located unit saves you money. The commute in and out of the city center will be an hour, minimum; meaning two hours a day. If you work five hours a week, that’s 520 lost hours a year (assuming you work 52 weeks). If your time is worth $10, that’s $5,200 you’re losing. If your time is worth $100 an hour, then that’s $52,000 you lose in time alone. There’s an opportunity cost to a commute, depending on how productive you are when you aren’t working. That doesn’t take into account gas or wear-and-tear, either. At .58 cents a mile, and 40 miles’ round-trip commute five days a week, that’s $6,032. A long commute can collaterally cost you as much as $11,232 a year. That’s $936 a month. If you’ve got an apartment home right on top of where you work, and you can walk, that’s preferable to the commute even considering the increased cost. The difficulty is how long you’re locked into a lease, and how long you’ll be working where you are. Top-Tier Units Have Collateral Advantages It might be worthwhile to check out some of these good looking apartments in Galleria, Dallas. Sites such as that in the link provide you a broad spread of communities that have varying advantages and benefits. You want the broadest spread of potential units to choose from in order to make the best choice. Additionally, those units should be relatively qualitative. While “home is what you make it” may have some validity, it’s a lot easier to get comfortable in new apartment home where all the appliances work and you can trust your neighbors. Certainly, you can make a home of rent-controlled units or low-income housing options, but that’s going to get iffy real quick; especially when your recovering addict neighbor knocks on your door at two in the morning to borrow rice or toilet paper or something. General Quality Of Units Apartments are generally rentals, so you may not need to find something that has any resale value down the line. You’re looking for a right-now solution. Renting doesn’t build equity. Buying does. If you’re buying a condo or an apartment, that’s a different story. The quality of the unit you inhabit will depend on your overall purpose in purchasing it. Making The Best Choice Know your price range, what kind of travel you’ll have to deal with, how much money you’ll be making every month, how long you plan on staying in the apartment, and what sort of quality you can handle. Once you know these things, look at a minimum of five units which fit such qualifications, and do some. Read Also: Buying A House Vs Renting An Apartment: Which Is More Affordable? Brunswick Apartments For Sale: 4 Inspection Tips For Buyers Preparing To Stay In A Luxury Apartment On A Vacation

READ MOREDetails
Build a House on a Tight Budget

7 Ways to Build a House on a Tight Budget

Probably you are busy on the web looking for actual home designs that fall within your budget. Or a way to build your dream house without inflating the cost beyond your savings. You are not alone, and many people planning to build their home on a budget are stuck looking for a solution to find a way to own a home making sure quality is not compromised. Well, the first step for you is to look for a real estate developer to guide you through the process because they know a thing or two more than you do. So, instead of sitting there searching online for solutions that don’t make sense, here are ways to build your home below and still end up with a quality house when everything is complete. 1. Build smaller: The first step of minimizing expenses when building your house is to cut your overall housing needs. You don’t want to end up with unfinished structure after your money diminishes; therefore, plan for a small house because it will need few materials and the same with spending. Also, a small house will require you to install few cooling and healing resources to maintain the house temperature. But before reducing everything, including the size of your house, first, know what your house requires and the family. Planning earlier before you start spending will avoid overspending or going beyond the allocated budget. Never assume that you only need a few items to complete the house just because the house is small. So, try to balance everything, and this is achievable if you work with a professional to guide the items and the required materials. 2. Look for reclaimed materials: Looking for reclaimed materials helps you to stay within your budget and void costly things. It saves you money, and you may end up getting high-quality and stunning building materials similar to new ones. You can even look for old houses that are no longer in use and see whether they can sell some of the valuable materials from the houses. Many people who use this approach save thousands of dollars that would have purchased new materials. If you get a good deal with reclaimed materials, you may end up expanding your house if the budget becomes reasonable. However, compare what you are buying with the market prices for you may spend more than expected. 3. Use natural building techniques: Natural building techniques can save you a great deal of money. For instance, you can use Cordwood in your house to save on purchasing costly materials. It can replace sheathing, studs, insulation, drywall, siding, and finish coverings. For Cordwood, you only need a beam frame built within a post to make your house walls stand. Even choosing natural methods does not mean you escape from spending too much money. And that's why budgeting before starting the building process saves you the headache later. 4. Look for cheap or free materials and services: Going for this option does not mean using used items to build your house. You can look for building materials for low cost or discounts in the market and still get good deals for items that would have cost you a fortune. For services, enquire from family and friends. They can recommend people they know or service providers they have worked with within the past. That means you get a good opportunity to negotiate building services to amount you feel will not press you financially. 5. Keep water usage areas together: Trying to combine water usage areas is a great way to save you money. This may save you excess money on plumbing materials spread all over your house. So, the ideal approach is to clump your bathroom, laundry, and kitchen as close as possible to minimize piping needs. You should include the clumping idea in the plan before the house building begins. 6. Forget the costly finishes: If your budget does not allow you to spend further, you can skip some finishes for a later date. For instance, you can postpone countertops and floor installation until you save money for specifically that work. Your entire focus should be on building a strong foundation that will guarantee your house stability. Building a house is a lifetime affair; therefore, you need something solid that will shelter you for many years to come, even on a budget. 7. Do-it-yourself as much as you can: If you can handle most of the building work, it will save on materials and labor. This is where you have to bring your expertise and at the same time know your limit to avoid shoddy work that may end up costing you more to rectify. Alternatively, rather than hiring many people to handle the project, you can work with architecture and follow their guidelines to save those extra dollars. Some of the task involved does not require a professional to handle them, but observation and application. Conclusion: You don’t have to spend a fortune to own a house. There are many options available that you can apply for and end up with a good-looking house. The idea is to build your dream house without spending much money. Read Also: Utilizing the Strength of Concrete to Protect Your Property Real Estate 101 – 3 Simple Tips to Boost the Value of Your Property Home Maintenance Plans And Cleaning Tips During Covid-19 6 Interior Design Tips to Make Your House a Home

READ MOREDetails
Sell House

Signs That It is Time to Sell Your House Finally

It takes time to decide if you are going to sell your house. You worry that you will not find a better place. You also feel emotionally attached to it. Of course, you spent a lot to pay for that place. You need to sell it at a price that lets you get back what you paid. These signs will tell you that it is time to sell your house finally. You have a plan Before you think about selling the place, you need to have a plan for what to do next. You need to find a house where you are going to stay in. If you think about moving to a new city, you need to have a job there too. Unless you have figured things out, you might have to suspend your plans for selling the property. You found the right buyer You need to ask someone to assess the property first to determine its market value. You will then know the price that you will first offer to potential buyers. Of course, anyone will negotiate with you until they receive a suitable price. You need to be flexible, but you know it is the right time to sell when the final offer is close to the first price that you indicated. There are no issues after the inspection Another reason why you need to ask someone to come over and check the property is that you want to know if there are repair issues and other damage that could turn off potential buyers. You do not want to give anyone a reason to lower the market price of your house drastically. If the inspection report indicates no severe damage to deal with, it is time for you to sell the property. Besides, you do not want anyone who purchases it to complain about those problems later. You have multiple offers When you receive several offers, it is a sign that your property is in demand. It also tells you that you could place a higher price. Make sure though that you do not drag your heels since these potential buyers could change their minds any time. Given the other properties available, they might decide to drop yours and opt for other houses. You already studied the market Market analysis is crucial in deciding if it is time to sell your property. When the general selling prices of the properties in the area are high, it means that it is a wise decision to sell. You know that you are going to get a lot if you sell now. After seeing these signs, you can be confident about selling your property. You can also check out houses for sale in Brentwood to determine the average price and compare them with your property. Look around various neighborhoods and even House consult with real estate agents to give you a clear picture of the market. Read Also: Motivational Tips To Kick Start Your Packing Process For The House Move 5 Tips For Buying A Second Household Best Options Of House Siding And Its Characteristics

READ MOREDetails