BUYER’S GUIDE
Buying a home, particularly for the first time can be daunting. The decisions you make along the way could save you many thousands of pounds or dollars. Here’s our step by step guide to buying a home.
Decide if buying a home is right for you
- Although 86% of people in the UK for example want to own their own home, it’s not always right for everybody all the time and some people end up with big regrets.
- There are a number of things you need to think about before setting off on your home hunting quest, not least whether you can actually afford it.
Decide if you should sell first
- If you are already a homeowner, decide whether you want to sell your house or flat before you buy. It can be dangerous in a rising market, but there are upsides. In particular, you will be able to pounce quickly when you do find the home of your dreams, and you won’t be trapped in a housing chain.
Decide on your budget
- How much do you want to spend? This might be dependent on how much of a deposit you can get together.
- Don’t forget the variety of one-off and ongoing hidden costs of buying a home. These can put an extra 15% on the cost of your home; more if you are doing serious building or redecoration work.
Get your finances in place
- First, work out how much of a deposit for the mortgage you can get together. Think about savings, the “bank of Mum and Dad”, the “bank of Granny and Grandpa” and how much you would get if you put your current home on the market and paid off your deposit. If you have any savings on long term deposit that you plan to use, cash them in.
- Decide what sort of mortgage you want.
- While you can’t get a mortgage before you buy, you can get a mortgage in principle, which will put you in a stronger position.
- A mortgage broker can be particularly helpful if you would like advice on mortgages, to scan the full range of mortgages in the market or if you have special circumstances such as being self-employed.
Decide where you want to live
- If you want to move to a new home close to where you already live, there is little to decide.
- If you want to move to a different part of town, or across the country, then deciding the area is more difficult and time consuming.
- This is a very important decision; get it wrong and you will either be unhappy with where you live, or face the costs of moving again. You must do your research thoroughly.