Buying a house is one of the biggest purchases you’ll make in your life. Committing to buying a house, either with someone else or alone, and committing to a multi-decade mortgage, is a big step that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
And because of this huge responsibility, many people find buying a house a stressful process, especially the first time. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a lot of help and resources out there to help make the process easier, and to give you all the information you need.
Want to make buying your first house as stress-free as possible? Take a look at the following advice to give you a helping hand.
Discuss your expectations in advance
To help you make your property search worthwhile, you should think about all of your requirements and discuss your expectations. Consider things like how much you’d want to spend, the area you want to live in, how many bedrooms you need, etc. Once you have a wishlist in place, you can then start exploring the market to see what types of properties are available.
Using a mortgage borrowing calculator can be a useful way of working out how much you can borrow from lenders, helping you get greater clarity on the deposit you’ll need and how much your monthly costs will be.
Even if you’re not ready to start properly looking at houses, you can get an idea of what you need to aim for when you are ready.
Talk to friends and family
Friends and family are good sources of information about buying property, especially if they’ve bought recently. Talk to them about their experiences and ask them about things they wish they knew before buying. The more you know in advance, the better your own experience will be.
Keep an eye on the housing market
The housing market is constantly changing and is impacted by events such as the pandemic, cost of living increases and others. Keeping an eye on the market is a good idea to help you work out if it’s the right time to buy.
You may decide to wait awhile until things look more favourable, giving you longer to save a deposit. Or you might even decide to build your own house, helping you create your perfect home.
Save more than you need
Buying property is expensive, and the cost of buying is only increasing. The bigger your deposit, the more favourable your mortgage terms could be.
It’s important to bear in mind to save more than what you think you’ll need. This could give you additional funds to cover unexpected costs (like having to put in higher offers on a property), legal fees, moving costs and more. Having that cushion can help ease much of the financial stress that comes with buying a house.
Spend time finding the right solicitor
A good conveyancing solicitor is worth their weight in gold. Spend time searching different solicitors to find one who is a property specialist and someone you feel comfortable with. A good law firm should help you understand the legal buying process and provide you with useful insights. Beyond Law Group have a lot of useful property-related articles on their site to help you during the buying process. Friends and family can also be good sources for solicitor recommendations if needed.
Don’t let the setbacks get you down
Finally, if you can change your mindset about the house-buying process, you can take a more positive approach to different setbacks. While losing out on a property can be disheartening, treat every event as a learning curve that will eventually lead you to the right property.
Buying a house can be challenging, but it’s also an exciting time. If you know what you’re getting into, you can navigate this road and hopefully avoid many of the stresses that can come with buying your first home.
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