Buying your first home can be a truly magical experience as it is likely to be the single biggest asset that you will ever have in your life. However, because it is because that buying a home is such an important experience, you should be as well-informed as possible when purchasing a new home, so here are five things that all home buyers should know.
1. Know your Budget
Before you even start with the process of going out to look at a property, you need to figure out how much you can afford to spend on your new house. Your monthly housing costs should never exceed more than 25% to one-third of your monthly income otherwise, you risk over-extending yourself. Build a solid, safe budget and remain within it so that you remain financially stable.
2. Have an Emergency Fund
One of the advantages of not owning your own home is not having to worry about things such as maintenance and upkeep. Once you become a homeowner though, you are responsible for both upkeep and maintenance, and life can be very unpredictable so you should always have at least enough money in your emergency fund to sustain yourself for up to six months in any unfortunate event that you’re hit with financial difficulty.
3. Research Location
Apart from surveying the property that you intend to acquire, it’s also worthwhile to do some research into the sort of neighborhood it’s located in to decide if it is a good match for you. If you intend to start a family in your new home, you might want to have a look at nearby schools and see how good they are. It is also extremely important to look into local crime rates so that you can get a sense of just how safe your new house is.
4. Find the right agent
The right real estate agent for you will thoroughly search through the market to find the property that is just right for you in every way, guide you over the whole negotiation process and overall, provide you with a deal that’s actually worth taking up. Try to interview several real estate agents, and consult family members or friends for referrals so that you know the agent you’ve hired has your best interests at heart and won’t attempt to convince you to overpay for a property.
5. Use Open Houses to Your Advantage
Although open houses are less practical today due to the pandemic, they are conventionally a very good opportunity to judge real estate. Seeing a living room in person or visiting a kitchen yourself and checking the faucets is a very different experience than viewing pictures online. When you’re actually standing there inside of what could be your future home, it becomes far easier to judge and pick out issues that you couldn’t otherwise notice.
I hope these 5 tips help you with choosing and buying your first home.
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