Buying your first home can be daunting and at times overwhelming. Watch to learn 5 TIPS from Linda Gulliver, Licensed Conveyancer with over 15 years experience and loving mother of a recent first home buyer, on how to make this process enjoyable and as smooth as possible.
It is more important than ever in the current market to be prepared and educated when buying your first home. We can assist you in the process and love nothing more then seeing our clients start their real estate journey on a positive note.
5 MUST KNOW TIPS FOR ANY FIRST HOME BUYER
Linda Gulliver is a licensed conveyancer and also the mother of first time buyer. Follow her 5 tips for first time buyers below. In her recent experience with her own daughter, she found it exciting but quite daunting and she realised that in order to position yourself in this current market, you need to be armed with a few key points.
TIP 1 GET PRE-APPROVAL
The first tip is to get pre-approval of your loan. You can go to your broker or to the banker directly and you need to be providing information so that they can ascertain what your lending capacity is. This process can take anywhere from two to three weeks, so the sooner that you get this process underway, the sooner you will be able to buy your dream home.
TIP 2 SAVE ADEQUATE DEPOSIT
Point two is save an adequate deposit. If you can save up to twenty percent, you will avoid paying more with your insurance or you may have parents who will go guarantor. If you can only save five or ten percent of the purchase price, that will still get you into the market but you will have to pay mortgage insurance. My advice is that you save your deposit as quickly as possible and have it available because when you exchange contracts, that money is payable.
TIP 3 DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Tip three is do your homework. You need to know exactly what areas you want to buy in. You need to know what sort of house or unit you want to buy. Do you need a big backyard for the dog or kids? Do some research. See what properties are selling in your area. This will help you gauge the true value of the properties that you’re looking for.
TIP 4 GET PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
Point four is have a professional look at the contract. It’s important that we look a the contract because if there are any hidden nasties contained in the contract and you’ve already signed a contract with the agent and paid you naught point two five percent, you may forfeit that payment to the vendor if you have to rescind the contract. So it’s really important that we look at the contract first before you sign with the agent.
TIP 5 MAKE A REALISTIC OFFER
And my last point is make a realistic offer to the agent. Understand that the price will probably increase but know your limit and work within that limit.
There’s no better feeling for me than to ring and tell a first time buyer that the matter has settled and they can pick up the keys from the agent for their new home. Good luck in the house hunting and if you need our assistance, give us a call because we can certainly guide you along the way.
Linda Gulliver, Licensed Conveyancer
If you need any further assistance on this topic please call us on 02 4350 3333 or contact us here.
