"There's always a first time for everything" Melissa De La Cruz
This quote applies to almost everything you do. When you go to school, it's the first time you see the classroom, teacher, and so many students around you. When you transition from your educational life to your professional life, it's the first time you understand what it's like to work for a living. When you have kids, it's the first time you become a parent.
Keeping the same momentum going, when you're thinking of your first real estate negotiation and buying a house, it's the first time you'll be doing it.
Now, what's common in all the situations we've mentioned? People make mistakes and they learn from experiences. But is it okay if you use all these situations as experiments?
Well, let's see if you didn't do well in one school exam, there's always another one. If your first day at work didn't go well, you still catch up. If you don't manage to live up to your kids' expectations, you can still cheer them up.
That leaves just one situation, buying a house. If don't know how to buy a house, you can suffer a massive financial blow. But if you look at the glass half full, striking the perfect deal can help you transform your life and social status.
Of course, you'd prefer the second option. That's what we'll tell you how to achieve. Here, you'll get the much need tips and suggestions about how to smartly invest in your next real estate.
Let's talk about it.
Before you ask questions from the lender, you need to ask questions from the most important person in this deal, yourself. Knowing exactly what you currently have and what will help you make the right investment decision.
How to buy a house might not be the real question here. But you don't want just any other house, right? You want one that matches your preferences and the first one is the cost.
Audit your finances before you start to imagine a life in every home on a real estate listing page. Not having enough money, isn't something to be too disheartened by. Most often when faced with this situation, people ask "Can I buy a house," instead of "How to buy a house."
Make a financial plan of how many expenses you can hold back to save more. Can you have a considerable amount of savings to boost your budget for buying a house? You don't only have one-time expenses like closing costs and down payments.
There are other recurring expenses as well, which you can review in our previous blog, expenses of homeowners.
Now that your budget is clear, you'd know how much you want to spend. The next thing is assessing your personal preferences and what kind of home are you comfortable with. Some considering factors might be
Will the space be sufficient for your family members to live in?
Some people prefer a quieter neighborhood, while others want a happening one. You can also ask around and also assess the security of the neighborhood.
There are potential homeowners who prioritize their washrooms being luxurious, while others want spacious bedrooms.
During a real estate investment, people have an eye on the future and the resale proposition.
Remember when we told said to look at your financial health? Well, that doesn't have to be your only source of financing. You can also buy a house on a mortgage, for which you need a loan lender. Before buying a house, we suggest preapproving the loan.
That'll mean the seller knows you can make a massive transaction for buying a house and you're serious about completing the deal.
Some of the factors that dictate how your loan approval process goes are:
You have the finances, and you have decided on the house you want to buy. Can you just walk over there, hand them the money, and own the house?
If only it were that easy. There's a reason why many individuals want the answer to "How to buy a house?" Because it's an extensive process with tons of documentation and other formalities. But the good news is, you can hire professional real estate agents to execute these operations on your own.
You can have a dedicated real estate agent to clear your way and ensure a smooth process of buying a house. The real estate agents are the ones for complicated tasks like
All the preparations of how to buy a house are complete. Now is the time for action. Here, we'll look at the steps involved in the buying process to find your dream home.
Remember we told you to decide your preferences for your new home? Well, this is the step where you'll find a house according to those preferences.
If you can't find a house listing that meets your expectations, you can also visit open house events in your area. We recommend having your real estate agent with you if you're heading into an open house. They can give you insights and help you strike the perfect deal.
Keep in mind that you might not tick all the boxes of preferences when buying a house. You may have to compromise on a few of them if the house gives you a good value and a high resale potential. It's up to you if you're looking for short-term or long-term benefits.
Found the house that interests you? That's good. You can now sit down with your real estate agent and decide on a suitable offer to present. Along with the money, your real estate agent can also help you decide on the payment terms and conditions as well.
After that, your real estate agent presents the offer to the seller's real estate agent. The offer is either accepted or you'll get a counteroffer. This will be too and fro process until both parties agree.
Remember to factor in all the additional expenses that you'll have to deal with. We'll talk about these costs in detail.
Buying a house is a massive investment. That needs you to be cautious at every step, which includes ensuring the house is in good condition. There may be some irregularities that can skip your eyes. Why? Because you're not a professional at this. So, why not hire professional inspectors?
These can be people who look at the existing and potential property issues. From checking the electricity system, and roofing safety, to ensuring all equipment works perfectly, home inspectors can help you cut down on various future maintenance expenses.
If you find issues, have the seller correct them before closing the deal.
Everything seems sorted now and buying a house is just fingertips away. If the home inspectors give you the thumbs up and you manage to negotiate the price, it's time to finalize the deal.
Remember, things can change very fast. For starters, if the property is appreciated, the offer might be revised to a higher one. We suggest you don't waste any time completing the paperwork and gaining property ownership. That can be a major dent in your quest for buying a house.
Perform a title search to check if the seller is the sole owner of the property you're buying
This is where your real estate agent also needs to show urgency in finalizing the deal. There's also a closing fee that goes to your real estate agent. This closing fee can be anything around 3% - 5% of the property cost.
Apart from the closing cost, if you're buying the home on a mortgage loan, the down payment will be paid here.
You've successfully moved into your new property. Some would think their question of How to buy a house is answered. But that's not the case. Here are some things you need to have in mind after you've settled in your new house.
After bearing all those expenses during buying a house, you'd think there won't be any expenses coming your way. Well, remember when we said during the Make an Offer part? That you'll need to factor in a load of additional expenses? Here they are.
Some of the recurring expenses include
You can learn more about these expenses from our blog, the expenses, and responsibilities of homeownership.
From asking How to buy a house, your next potential question would be How to sell the house at a profit?
You don't only have to improve your home just make it look good. Home improvement can appreciate your house value and increase its resale potential as well. So, when the time comes to sell your house, you can sell it at a higher price as you've insured it's now worth more.
To dig deeper into how you can accelerate the property value, check out our blog, the impact of location on home value and resale potential.
There will be times when you look at the economy and say, "I've made a big mistake investing." These can be times of economic instability and unexpected factors that dent industries like real estate.
Instead of worrying about what the world is saying, we suggest contacting real estate experts for advice, before you make a hasty decision.
For all you new property buyers, hope we've answered your question of How to buy a house. You can now make better real estate investments for long-term comfort.
Looking for real estate agents to initiate your process to buy a house? HAR gives you the perfect stepping stone to start your property search and seamlessly close the deal to move into your desired property.
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