When looking in to buying your first home, you will likely have a great many questions, and it is important that you do your research thoroughly in to the more specific areas that you are interested in knowing more. However, the overview can get lost in all of that complex investigation, so it can be useful to have a look at a wider view of the whole affair. Whilst going in to detail on all of these points would take pages to write and days to read, it is certainly useful to have a series of pointers in the right direction, to see if you are as clued up as you need to be!
For a start, you need to know what you can spend. Mortgages are getting back in to an easier stride after the slump post 2007. However, do not let this sort of generosity form the banks get you over excited. You need to sit down with a partner or someone that you trust, and look over your finances, in order to set a strict guideline for your budget based on what you earn, whilst also factoring in cushioning for inevitable extras along the way. Should you be made redundant in two years, what sort of a state would you be left in? Whilst not exactly happy thoughts, these are the questions that you need to ask yourself before you take on such a serious responsibility as a mortgage can be.
When you are looking around at houses think carefully and with your head as much as, if not more than, with your heart. It is important that you love the place that you buy, but at the same time, you should be sensible about the pros and cons of every place that you look at. Could the shabby place with the disgusting wall paper be transformed in to your dream home with a few hundred dollars’ worth of work? Is the place that looks perfect in an area that may have stagnated in terms of resale value? Remember that rooms will look bigger without furniture in them as well. It is essential that you are being just as critical as you are enthusiastic, and it can help to have a person with you on the viewings that is not going to be living there, for a different view on things.
When offering, be sure to go in low but do not do anything irritating. If you think the place is undervalued, or that there may be many interested, then you may want to simply hit asking price, but only do so if you are totally sure of the facts and figures. Think about the local area, is it a developing one? Are small businesses setting up locally, or is it a bit of a dead spot? Again, use your head as much as your heart, and by all means do not let your excitement and the thrill of the chase let you go over your budget, as this is a sure fire way to end up in a tight spot!
Estate agents will rarely get you the best deals on mortgages, so be sure to avoid using them for ease, and shop around a bit. Some set up fees will be reduced by higher rate mortgages, whilst others will be raised by lower rates. You need to do the sums beyond the initial dazzle to see if this actually makes sense for you, don’t be lured in by the prospect of paying less in the first place, as it may be much more expensive in the long run.