วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 23 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2560

Buying a House - The Painless Way

Ready to buy a property? Perhaps your first home with the view to growing a property portfolio? You may be wondering - how does it all work? What do I have to do first?

Its not just a matter of doing a drive by and saying yeah that's us, we'll take it!. If that was the case, wouldn't life be so much simpler for everyone?

You need to take the time to do some market research so that you can make an informed decision about what you want in a house, and what area you want to buy in. Another thing you need to consider is the financial side of things, you need to know how much this house will cost not only in purchase price and repayments, but interest over time. Combine that with how much you earn, and what you already have in the bank and you should then have a good idea of what you need.

Always get the finance part sorted out first. There is nothing worse than rushing out and going through home after home, finding the house of your dreams, and then being devastated when you discover that you cannot afford it! Nothing is more deflating than that.

The first thing a lender will want to know is whether you have a deposit saved for this home. These days of tight markets and lending, you need to have some cash of your own to contribute towards the full amount. Often ten percent of the total value of the property is required by banks but it varies from bank to bank - some less, some more.

A great idea is to get a mortgage broker to call into your home and they will sit down with you and go over the figures. Once you know what price bracket you are in and what you could get from the banks, then consider getting a pre approved mortgage from the lenders. This means you can go shopping knowing that you have the finance side sorted. When dealing with financial institutions, don't be scared to negotiate rates. Ask if the advertised rate is the best they can do for you. Don't be scared to let them know you are shopping around for a good deal. You can also ask for a reduction on the application fee - or you could ask for a contribution towards your legal fees. If you don't ask you won't be given, so speak out confidently.

Before talking to the banks ask yourself the following questions.

1. How much do I want to borrow based on earnings and approx repayments?

2. How often do I want to make payments, do I want to do it weekly, fortnightly or monthly?

3. How long do I need the loan for?

4. Do I need the flexibility to draw down additional money on the loan in the future, and would having the ability to make lump sum repayments without penalties be an important consideration?

Once you have all the finance side sorted out and in place, now you can start looking at houses to buy. First of all, what sort of house are you looking for? Make sure that you and your partner are on the same page here. If she is after a new apartment and you're thinking quarter acre, double garage and fixer upper - then you have a problem. I advise getting together and really defining what it is that you both really want - before your go house hunting.

First up, decide where you want to live; do you want a town or country location? Work out your favourite area, followed by a few other choice areas you may consider if the house and the price was right.

Keeping your price range in mind, what style of home do you like - for example is it a villa, an apartment, or even a bungalow etc? Do you want a high-set or single level home ie. do you want stairs or not? You also need to consider how big a yard that you need- do you prefer คอนโด small and easy care or is a large rambling yard more your style.

Other things you may want to consider is whether you want a pool, double garage, patio etc. In other words, what things are important to you and your lifestyle.

Now what about inside the home- how many bedrooms do you want? Some people want two living areas if they have a family, but maybe just the one would be enough if it's just the two of you. Do you want one bathroom or two; perhaps an en-suite is essential to you or maybe it is not high on your priority list.

Other features you may need to think about is whether the home features ceiling fans and air con for warmer climates. In cooler climates a fire or heat pump may be a requirement. And finally consider whether you want to renovate a home or would you prefer to buy new or near new?

There are a lot of things to consider and be aware that you won't get everything on your wish list. It is rare to find a home that ticks every single box. You may need to compromise on something so think about that now, consider the things that you would you be prepared to negotiate on.

An example of this would be to accept three instead of four bedrooms if they were large double rooms, or maybe a single garage instead of two if there was plenty of parking space and a great shed. The more precise an idea of what you want, how much you can afford, where you want to live, and what you would compromise on will make finding a house so much easier and less time consuming for you.

And remember when you do find that home that you love, there is always room for negotiation. If you can't get something off the price, maybe the amount of deposit required could be negotiated, or date of settlement - maybe you can get the home on the day you want in return for the money the owner wants. Perhaps if you have to pay full price ask them to leave the patio furniture as part of the deal. Get creative, buying a house needs to be a win win for all parties.

Use logic and reason when buying a property. Make sure you have your lists about what you want and what you will compromise on firmly in hand and above all- have your maximum price firmly in mind and don't budge from it! When you know what you want, and how much you can pay for it, then house hunting will be a breeze.


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