Buying a new house can be a nerve-wracking but very exciting time. It’s easy to get carried away by the beautiful homes available and to lose track of the key things you want that will ensure it is the right home for you. If you see the wraparound porch and can picture yourself there, in a comfy chair sipping a glass of wine as the sun sets, that’s wonderful, but if the house only has three bedrooms when you need five, then it is not the right one for you. Focus on the details and don’t get lost in realtor jargon. Here are our top tips to look for when buying a house.
Location
Location, location, location: these are the three most important things to focus on when looking for a new home. Assess what the feel of the neighborhood is, how far it is from your work and your children’s school, whether they will have to move schools, is it near parks, can you walk to the shops, are there local public transport options, is it noisy with a steady flow of traffic outside the property? All these things need to be right before you fall in love with the inside of a property. Remember, you can re-paint a kitchen, but you can’t change the whole neighborhood.
Lifestyle and maintenance
Look at what will realistically suit your lifestyle. Will a high-rise condo be suitable or is a low-level sprawling ranch-style house better suited to your family’s needs? Narrow it down, so you know what you’re looking for. Does the property you’re considering require high maintenance? Is there a beautiful tropical garden that will need gallons of water regularly to maintain? If you go for a condo, then you won’t have to deal with regularly mowing a lawn or cleaning out the gutters. Are you willing to put in the time required to maintain it or would a more laid-back property suit you better? A wooden property requires more upkeep than a brick one, and brick houses are more energy efficient and keep their value more than wooden buildings, so take that into account when deciding which is right for you.
Agent or Online
You could hire a buyers agent or take on the role of looking for properties yourself. If you go with a buyers agent, then their job is to help you find your perfect property and they’ll help negotiate the offer and write up contracts. If you’re going solo, then research the best sites to use so you can find exactly what you’re looking for, such as San Diego homes for sale, without trawling through endless houses at the other end of the state.
Insurance
Once you’ve selected your house and had your offer accepted, always ensure you have insurance. You never know when something will go wrong when you own a house, whether that’s an unexpected bathroom flood or a leaking roof, so get some quotes and get the best deal. It will be worth it should anything go wrong, and gives you peace of mind in the meantime so you can relax and enjoy your new home.
