Buying a home is the most important financial decision that you will make. A home needs to fulfill all your basic requirements, as well as your all of your ‘needs and wants’ in a home. So how do you find the right home for you?
Here are five home hunting tips:
Number One – Get The Right Financial Advise
Since buying a house is not an everyday task, speak to a property financial advisor and let them help you apply for a bond. The property finance advisor will use a home loan repayment calculator to determine the bond amount that you qualify for. This calculator takes into consideration your monthly salary, your current debts, monthly expenses, the current interest rates and the payment period.
Number Two – Pick A Neighborhood
The next step that you need to take in your home hunting is to pick a neighborhood that you would like to live in. Take into consideration the crime statistics and local amenities – hospital, police station, fire station, parks and shopping centers – when making your decision on the neighborhood.
Number Three – Find A House That Matches Your Needs
Once you have picked the neighborhood, look for suitable homes in the area. Your first step is to cross check your needs against the homes available. For instance: if you require four bedrooms, do not waste your time looking at homes with two or three bedrooms.
Number Four – Visit The Prospective Homes
Pick at least three homes that appeal to you and make plans to visit them. Take along a notepad, pen and camera. Therefore, you can take pictures, make notes and refer back to them when at home. Ensure that you visit each home at three different times: morning, noon and night.
The reason for the three visits to each home is that these visits give you a chance to see the neighborhood at different times and home the home looks at different times. Look for how the sun hits the home and any other facts that are important to you.
Number Five – Make The Right Offer
Once you have settled on the home and you are ready to move to the purchasing stage, speak to your property financial advisor. Allow them to value the home and bring external contractors to look for any structural damage to the home. Once the home passed this test, make an offer that is in line with both your financial capabilities and the value of the home.
Use these five tips to help you purchase the right home for your needs. Remember, if you feel unease about anything in the home, walk away and start your search over. The important thing is that you are happy with the home; after all you will be spending the next ten to twenty years of your life there.
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