Things you need to know when buying a home
Finance:
- Make an appointment with your financial advisor, mortgage broker or bank to go over your finances and to assess your situation. A critcial mistake in buying is people not knowing how much they are able to spend on a property and can get their hopes up.
- Shop for a home loan, see which one will best suit your needs and one that fits your lifestyle. Remember we have our own LJ Hooker Finance who can help you with finding the right loan for you.
How much is your property worth?
- If you currently own your own home, it's a good idea to get a local area specialist to appraise your property (Ask one of our team members to see if we have a LJ Hooker office local to you). Whether you are thinking or needing to sell your current home, it is worth seeing how much you may be able to get for it as this will impact on your new buy.
- It is usually better to sell before you buy. It is less stressful and saves a lot of heartache, and it gives you time to get the right price for your property, so you don't end up selling in a hurry.
Inspect & Discover:
- These days majority of people have the internet. The internet is a valuable tool when researching for properties. You will be able to find photos, floorplans of properties, location maps, recent sale results etc. You can register for mypropertyalerts with LJ Hooker, so once you put in your criteria, you will be able to recieve email alerts for properties that suit you.
- Attend open houses in the areas you are thinking of moving to. You will be able to get a better idea on price, and the realisation of what you will be buying for your money.
- Scout the areas you are looking for. You may find the perfect house, but is it in the location you really need? At Sutherland a lot of people move here for the quick access to the train line, the shops, schools and being within close vicinity of Cronulla beach, Miranda Westfield and many more.
Research:
- When you have narrowed down to a particular property you like, or more than one, try and obtain as much information as you can about it. Ask the sales agent information, get them to send you a copy of a contract which in turn you can send to your Solicitor/Conveyancer.
- Arrange a pest, building and/or strata report on the property so you are aware if there are any defects. There a things that is not available to the naked eye.
Make your offer:
- Once you are ready to go for a property, it's time to put in an offer. You may be tempted to put in a low offer to try and nab yourself a bargain, but remember, there may be people who are also wanting to buy this property so they could possibly be offering something higher than you. Remember the more attractive you make your offer the more the likelihood it may be accepted.
- Ensure that you speak to your LJ Hooker agent in regards to cooling off contracts, deposits so you know exactly what is required from you.
The finale:
- Prior to settlement, it's advised that you contact your sales agent and organise a 'final inspection'. This is to ensure that the property you bought 'x' weeks ago, is in the same condition as it is ready for you to move in.
- Once the agent has recieved the 'order on the agent' from the Solicitors/Conveyancers, they will notify you to come and pick up the keys to your new home.
