Everyone has priorities when purchasing a house. Since the whole process of house hunting is tedious and time-consuming, it can be so easy to lose track of what your priorities are.
Thus, having these priorities written down ensures you stick to the details you deem important while at the same time making the whole process streamlined, narrowing down options.
Data regarding homeownership in Australia shows that around 70 percent of Australian households own or buy their homes. Recent data shows that the median age for first-time homebuyers in Australia is 36 years old.
Although the main factor in this increased age in first-time homebuyers is housing affordability, many individuals are delaying their entry into the real estate market to focus on other things such as traveling more, studying longer, or waiting for the right time to buy their dream house.
Whatever your reason for buying your first home, there are several crucial factors you need to be aware of. This ensures that somehow, you avoid common pitfalls among first-time homebuyers.
With that said, here are some pointers you need to consider.
1. Financial Standing
First things first. Before you go over listings, shopping for your dream home, you need to consider your finances.
Once you have in mind your motivation for buying a house (i.e., home to start a family or simply buying an investment property while renting), you need to figure out how you can afford the house that you want to buy. Check your savings, credit score, and find out more about the median house prices in your area. As of date, the median house price in Melbourne is $974,397.
If you are considering applying for a home loan, it is advisable to have at least a 20 percent house deposit to do away with paying for lenders’ mortgage insurance. Other than that, your credit score plays a huge role for you to land a lender who could offer you the best mortgage rate.
Nonetheless, you have to take responsibility for yourself to ensure that you borrow what you realistically can afford. Over a million households in Australia suffer from mortgage stress. It happens when a borrower has to spend over 30 percent of disposable income to meet the minimum mortgage repayments.
2. Location, Location, Location
The second consideration you have to take is the location of your future home. Naturally, any homebuyer would prefer to purchase a house that offers easy access to the places they frequent most.
When you are a single professional, you probably prefer to live in an apartment or condo in the city area.
Young couples thinking of raising a family naturally would prefer a nice neighborhood, such as Westbrook Estate (westbrookestate.com.au), that is close to school, shopping and recreation centers, work, and friends and family.
Apart from the amenities and proximity of important establishments, the safety and crime rate of the neighborhood are important. Of course, you would not want to be a victim of burglary or any untoward theft-related incidents.
3. Size of the Property
Most people do not give much thought to the site of the lot where the house sits. After all, most lot sizes in a neighborhood are fairly similar. Nonetheless, if you are planning on raising your family in this new home, you might want to consider the lot size.
There are various lot shapes. Mostly are the typical rectangular shape, some are pie-shaped, and others are simply irregularly shaped. Once you have gone to showings, you will be able to clearly picture how you will use the lawn, the level of privacy you want to have, and how much space the driveway is going to eat up.
The number of bedrooms and bathrooms are other things you need to factor in. Most families prefer to have at least two bedrooms. If there are kids, the number of preferred bedrooms increases. If there are frequent visitors, having a designated guest room is ideal.
As with bathrooms, older houses usually only have one bathroom. But if remodeling is feasible, you can always add one or two more.
4. Age of the House
The age of your new home is not relevant if you are looking for newly constructed houses. But, if you are among those individuals looking for houses close to the price range you can afford, you may have to shop for decade-old homes.
Most older homes have appealing characters. However, repairs and upgrades are surely on the table for these houses.
Before closing the deal, make sure you know the possible repair and upgrade expenses you might be facing. It is better to have it sorted early out rather than wait until you are facing tremendous expenses.
Being mindful when buying a house helps you narrow down your choices, making the whole buying process much easier while ensuring you land the perfect house for you. Hopefully, these pointers help as you navigate the real estate market as first-time homebuyers.
