Mistakes You Should Avoid When Buying Your First Home
Other than graduating, we measure our lives in different milestones – first job, first car, first heartbreak, and first salary increase. These are events in our lives that tell us we’re moving forward in our lives and learning something significant from it. One such milestone is buying our very first house.
As first-time buyers, the idea of owning our own property will sometimes make us too excited to make decisions properly. This opens us up to various home buyer mistakes that may make a mess out of something important. So here, we’ll explore some of the common the mistakes which you must avoid when purchasing your first home.
Not checking your financial status
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is spending money you don’t actually have. There are times when our idea of what we can afford is very different from what our bank account tells us what we can afford.
Before choosing a property, make sure you evaluate your total expenses first. Look at your daily expenditure, payments you make once a year, and the money you put aside as your savings. Subtract all of those in your current take home pay, and that’s the amount you can save each month for your home.
You can always ask the bank for a loan, but again, check if you can make the monthly payments for it.
Look for a house within your price range
This is your first house, don’t worry about buying something elaborate first. If you start looking at houses that are way out of your price range, you will want to buy it more — and that’s dangerous. Yes, you can lessen your expenditure or cut certain indulgences to help you buy a pricier house. But do you really want to sacrifice personal well-being just because you want that loft uptown?
Start small, you’ll get there eventually.
Assuming you’re qualified for a loan
Never assume that the bank will approve your loan at first try. The bank will look into your ability to pay every month through your current take home salary, and they will scrutinise your credit score. If you still have credit card debts or have purchased something expensive before borrowing for a house, that’s going to hurt your chances.
The best way to deal with this is to get pre-approved for a loan. Have them check whether your qualifications are good enough to be granted the money you’ll need.
Additionally, avoid making big purchases during your loan application. They can reject you at the last minute even if you qualified at the pre-approval stage.
Checking your mortgage options
It’s worth making sure that once you know you’re qualified to take a loan and borrow money in the form of a mortgage, that you check what options are available to you. Some mortgage offers are going to be much more appropriate for you than others will be, and so it’s important to check your mortgage options by looking at a mortgage calculator. This is going to give you a more accurate reading of what you can afford, and then when it comes to applying to different lenders, you’ll know which one is best for you and your financial needs.
Forgetting about additional expenses
Buying the house isn’t the last step — you need to make additional purchases to make sure it’s safe and comfortable. These expenses include a disaster insurance, furniture, property taxes, maintenance costs and homeowner’s association fees, etc. Consider all of these things when finalising your budget.
Because a house is such a huge investment on your part, always choose a property that offers the best community, easy accessibility from all important points in your area, and houses that are built to last. So whether choose to buy a Lendlease house and land packages in Calderwood Valley or virtually anywhere in the world, taking care of details in the beginning will pay off in lots of peace of mind.
It’s the perfect starting point for the next milestone in your life.
