Thursday, August 19, 2010

Buying Your First Home

Congratulations on making the decision to buy your first home. This is a big step for all first home buyers to take. So now that you have made the decision, what are some tips that will make sure I go about it the correct way?

- What is your budget? Talking to lenders or a Mortgage broker is a definite must to find out what your budget is. They will take a look at your finances and calculate what your maximum borrowing capacity is and let you know what repayments you will be making on your loan.
- Have a Deposit. You will need at a minimum 5% of the purchase price PLUS costs associated with buying the property. The larger the deposit the better.
– Pre- approved loan or wait till you find a property. You can do either, however it is a lot less stressful to get the loan pre approved. You can then go shopping for a home knowing that the finance is already in place and the only step you need to make once you have found a home is to have the property valued. If you decide to shop around for a home first you will need to move quickly once an offer on the property has been excepted so it would be a good idea to know what broker or lender you will be using. Generally, you will only have approximately 2 weeks to get your finance approved.
- Shop around! Have a really good look at a number of properties. As this is your first home you may not to be sure of what you are really looking for until you look at a number of homes. Think about the layout of the home, what upkeep the home needs, size of the home (do you really need 4 bedrooms???), and any immediate maintenance the property requires.
– Do not overcommit. Remember you will still want to go out for dinner and enjoy your life as well as live in your new home.
- Shop around! Have a really good look at a number of properties. As this is your first home you may not to be sure of what you are really looking for until you look at a number of homes. Think about the layout of the home, what upkeep the home needs, size of the home (do you really need 4 bedrooms???), and any immediate maintenance the property requires.
- Do not pay too much for the property. Don’t let your emotions take over your decision making when in price negotiations.
– Have a building and pest inspection done on the home. Check if the home has any restrictive covenants, council zoning and all extensions and updates on the property have building approval.  
– You will need a solicitor or conveyancer. Ask around to get a referral and also get a couple of quotes.  
– Organise building insurance for your property as soon as your offer is accepted.

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