An informed choice can rarely be wrong and the way to get informed about buying a house is to do your research! If you’re new to home buying, knowing where to start looking for the information you need can be daunting. But there are plenty of easy-to-follow resources available to you and, if in doubt, you can always ask a First National Real Estate agent for some guidance.
Work out what you want
The first step is to define your main criteria – what kind of property are you looking for? Where do you want to buy? How much can you afford to spend? Once you know these key details, you can start to research your options in a focused way. It’s important to be clear and realistic about what you want. Remember it’s your first home – which is not necessarily your dream family home. Being clear about what you want requires a focus on more than just picket fences and fresh roses on the kitchen table. It means thinking through why you want to buy a property, how long you think you will keep it for and what return you’d like to make on your investment. To avoid distraction and overcommitting yourself, start by outlining the details of your ideal property – number of bedrooms, location, features etc. Don’t think about budget to start with. Just get the basics down on paper first, then you can scale your ideal up or down to fit your budget, as you start to research the market.
Consider the bigger picture
Once you have a clear picture of what you want and how much you can afford, shopping for your first home can be a fun and rewarding experience. Aside from basics such as the suburb and number of bedrooms, there are other important things to consider, depending on your circumstances. For example, is the property within walking distance of a primary school? How far to the train station? Is there off-street parking? Does it have a sunny aspect? Is it on a truck route? How close are the nearest shopping facilities? Some of these questions will be relevant to the life stage you are in now, and others will be important factors in your future so make sure you do some forward thinking beyond just what you want now. You will have different priorities for your home in 5 or 10 years, than you will in the first 12 months you live there.
Do your research
There are many different approaches you can take to research and looking across a variety of sources is sensible as it will give you the most accurate picture possible. In the early stages it’s a good idea to talk to colleagues, friends, and family. If they’ve bought a home before, they may have useful experiences they can share with you, or a great contact they can recommend to you for support or advice. Keeping alert to new ‘For Sale’ signs is useful, and if you make connections with some agents in your area of interest, you can sign up for property alerts for off market opportunities.
The internet is by far the most popular means of finding real estate for sale. Find some property websites that you like such as firstnational.com.au and enter your search criteria in the ‘Buying’ or ‘Properties for Sale’ section. You’ll be asked to provide a price range and your ideal property location. Providing this information helps narrow your search, ensuring you only view properties matching your criteria. Starting with limited search terms then refining them can be useful – see the full range of options then you can do advanced searches that are within your budget and more specific to your preferences. Many such sites have a save function so you can save your search criteria and save or ‘favourite’ the properties you like. You can review your saved searches later and discuss them with your agent, friends or family for alternative perspectives.
Start shopping and make it fun!
Whether you’re ready to buy immediately or not, anytime is a good time to start looking for your ideal property. Buying a home is exciting, so try to make it a fun project rather than a chore. Sitting in a café or a bar and reading over the property sections of various newspapers and magazines is a great way to spend an afternoon and who knows, the people at the next table might have some tips for you as well! It can be really useful to take yourself for a coffee in some neighbourhoods you have in mind, so you can get a feel for the area and a sense of the community that lives there.
What happens when you’ve found ‘the one’?
Once you’ve found the place you want to call home and you’ve considered other comparable nearby properties, you’ve unlocked the next level! Take a deep breath and make an offer! Don’t get overwhelmed – this is what you’ve been working towards. There are two ways to make an offer, assuming the property isn’t going to auction. An unconditional offer is when you offer an amount to buy the house as listed (with or without drapes, fixtures, etc.) without adding or negotiating any other conditions. A conditional offer is when you offer to buy the property only if the vendor accepts certain conditions. These must be listed on the Offer to Purchase. For example, your offer may be conditional on arranging finance. If finance cannot be arranged within a certain period of time, the offer becomes void. For your own protection, you should nominate a specific lender as your source of finance. Leaving out a nominated lender or having open-ended finance conditions on your Offer to Purchase may force you to take up finance at substantially higher rates, perhaps shorter terms, and from a lender you would not prefer to deal with. Another condition might be an extension of the settlement period. If the seller does not accept the conditions, further negotiation may take place, or the offer may simply be declined.
Manage your expectations
The research process will not always deliver good news – sometimes you will discover your goals are not as realistic as you thought, but this just means you can refine your criteria and research a little more. The most important thing is to find the property that will be your new home, without ruining your life in the process. A little bit of knowledge really does go a long way with such an important purchase!