Imagine your new house has a great view of spectacular mountains, or a bungalow right on the beach overlooking the ocean. Maybe your dream home is a lake house, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it?
Let’s continue our journey through dreamland. Imagine your dream house on the beach, or at the lake, goes from being a perfect dream and is turning into a nightmare.
What you find now is that the realtor was not entirely honest in their representation of the “perfect” house that you bought.
Buying a house is a big investment and most people won’t be able to buy a house with cash. They’ll go through the painstaking document process to qualify for a home loan. The last thing you want is to be hit with large repair bills (or other negative factors) in your new home.
Fortunately, we’re there to help! In today’s article, we’ll be reviewing the most important things to look out for when buying a house.
Get the house inspected
Doing a house inspection before buying is a wise way to protect your investment.
This is not a free service, but the few hundred dollars you’ll spend to get this done doesn’t compare to the potential thousands that you’ll fork out to fix issues.
The inspector you hire will go through the entire house and give a report of the findings. They’ll look at the electrical systems in the house, check the plumbing, the roof, and advise on other things that you may have overlooked.
Don’t be blinded by price
The honest truth is that the price advertised is the absolute ideal price the seller would like to achieve.
We don’t live in an ideal world, unfortunately. There are a lot of tactics that you can employ to get the seller to sell for a price that you want to pay.
Don’t look at the price and immediately offer the asking price. Using the inspector as mentioned in the first point will also aid your negotiation process.
Do a lot of research
In our 21st century world, there is data for anything under the sun. Use this to your advantage by doing research in your home-purchasing expedition.
Get reports on the houses in the neighborhood and what they sold for. Check the crime statistics in the area you’re buying into, and the metropole surrounding it. Take a look at the schools in the district.
Do as much research as you can, on as many things you can find reports for, before making a decision.
Think with your head and your heart
This will be one of the most difficult things to control!
We don’t blame you – walking into a 19th-century colonial home will do things to your senses that a modern house never will. But the 19th-century colonial house will bombard you with issues you might not be prepared for.
It’s important to fall in love with a house. You need to feel at home the moment you walk in and you need to see yourself living there for the foreseeable future.
During that process, use your head in conjunction with the heart. You need to love a potential home (heart) but also need to know about the financial implications (head) of that home.
Conclusion
We understand that buying a house is a daunting process. The paperwork is intimidating and could seem overwhelming. On top of that, there are so many things that you need to consider as well.
Using an inspector is a wise move that could aid in your price negotiations. Don’t neglect to do research on the surrounding areas, schools, and crime statistics around the neighborhood of your prospective house.
By simply following some of the advice outlined above, you’ll find the perfect home in no time.
Alright, let’s get back to dreaming again…
