Wednesday 23 October 2019

4 Things To Consider Before Buying A House*

For a long time buying a house didn't seem like something that was going to be achievable for us. No major reasons really, just that we had other priorities like getting a car, finally having a dog of our own, and travelling more, but earlier this year we were at the point where we started to think about how much longer we were going to live in our current flat. We'll have lived here 5 years in November and to be honest, I never expected to stay more than two. Had some circumstances been different, this wouldn't have been our first choice so I was always one foot out of the door! The years have just flown by though and we've accumulated a lot of stuff so we needed to make a decision - look into renting a bigger place, or stick with our current home a bit longer and save as much as possible to buy a house of our own. Money-wise it finally seemed do-able so that's where we've been at since the start of 2019 and now hopefully within the next year or two we'll be buying our forever home. Obviously owning a place of your own is a massive deal and requires so much thought, research and money so it's important to be as clued up as possible. Here are 4 things I think are vital to consider before putting down an offer, and I'd love to know if you have any other advice!
Yellow house
Photo by Thgusstavo Santana from Pexels

Research Different Areas

Choosing to settle in one place possibly for the rest of your life isn't something to take lightly so it's really important you research different areas and are happy with your decision before putting in any offers. One major thing I'll be looking at is the crime rate of a few areas we're considering. Nowhere is going to be perfect and unfortunately things can happen out of the blue but I want to ensure our new area is as crime free as possible and would be a safe place to maybe raise children one day. Something else to consider is how close-by you are to work and family. Maybe you want to move further afield so don't mind the commute but it's definitely worth doing a trial run to a few places to see how long the journey could be.

Have A Clear Idea Of What You Want/Need In A House

When planning to buy a house, and all the saving it requires, it's likely you'll have already had a think about what you want your next home to be like but when it comes down to actually viewing properties, really be clear on what you're looking for. How many bedrooms do you want? Do you want a project or something that's going to require minimal work? How big of a garden would you like? You don't want to fall in love with somewhere and then realise you've actually underestimated how much work and expense the house will need. It could be whilst looking that you change your mind completely and re-think everything you wanted but it's still good to make note of certain things beforehand.

Save As Much Money As Possible - There's More Than Just The Deposit To Pay

This is probably quite an obvious one but SAVE, SAVE, SAVE. We are ploughing any money we can into our help to buy account and extra savings accounts because every little really does help. Our first aim is to save a certain amount which will cover the deposit we think we'll need but before viewing houses and putting offers down, we want to save extra on top of that. There's more than just the deposit to think about, and whilst that itself is a hefty amount, there's also legal fees, estate agent fees and more which can end up being hundreds of pounds. There's then also the cost of any work you'll need doing immediately. Will you need to buy new sofas? Is there a chance you need a new kitchen? All can be big expenses so it's worth saving as much as you can whilst in your current home so when you do move, you don't need to worry about how you're going to afford everything other than the deposit once you're in.

How Much Work Is Going To Need Doing To The House?

So, this kind of goes with some of my previous points but it's so important. Make sure you have an idea on how much work is going to need doing before you move in. When viewing properties, take a notebook with you or make a list on your phone of what you would change and visualise how you would turn it into your home. Once you know the house is yours, make another list of what the priorities are before and after moving in. Make sure you know which room you want to decorate first and as I said just before, check which furniture you need to buy etc. It's also worth checking if any big electrical appliances need replacing before moving in. Things like ovens and washing machines are obviously vital and will need transporting from one place to the other so make note of companies who can help and get in touch! There are also things like oil boilers to consider in some homes, and if in need of repair, it's good to know who to turn to. A quick Google of Boiler Repair Leeds or similar depending on your location, will list people that are available to assist.

So those are 4 things (out of many) that I'll be considering before buying a house, which hopefully won't be too far in the future. It's such a huge thing in anybody's life so it's really important to be as prepared as possible. I hope these tips have helped you if you're currently looking to get on the property ladder, and I'd love to know if you have any other tips or advice if you've been through the process yourself!

*This post is in collaboration with Woolfoot Heating

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7 comments

Heather Nixon said...

Location is definitely so important x

jennyinneverland said...

Goodness, I'm so far from even considering buying my own home (not where I thought I'd be at 27!) but these are fab tips. I'm really focused on my savings at the moment though!

Jenny
http://www.jennyinneverland.com

Tiffany Timms said...

It really is, I definitely need to look into it all a bit more before we start viewing properties xx

Tiffany Timms said...

Honestly I never thought it would be something that would happen anytime soon for us and we're still a bit of a way off. Having savings is always good though isn't it xx

Sophie said...

Definitely not in a position to be buying a house but these are all great things to consider. Location is so important and you always need more money than you first thought because the 'other things' list is soooo long x

Sophie
www.glowsteady.co.uk

Daisy said...

I know I'll never be able to have a house of my own but these tips are so helpful! I'd definitely look at the area and possibly go for a newer build. My flat is pretty old and you can really tell!

Daisy xoxo | TheDeeWhoLived

VioletDaffodils said...

These tips are super helpful! I'm definitely going to start making a list of things I would change and prioritise, so thank you for sharing this :D


www.violetdaffodils.com
xx

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