You need to take your due diligence when buying a house for your family or as an investment to ensure that you get value for your money and that the home you buy is suitable for the needs of your family now and in future.
Take your time to several houses in the market before making a decision lest you fall you fall for the sales pitch of a charming real estate only to later realize that you sold yourself short by buying an overvalued house or one that doesn’t fit your long-term plans.
So, before you commit pen to paper, here’s what you need to look for when buying a house.
Your budget
Your budget should act as a guidance into the kind of property you can acquire in the prevailing market conditions so you don’t waste a lot of time checking houses above what you can afford.
While budgeting for a house, also factor in legal fees and other transaction costs that may be involved in addition to the cost of the house.
More importantly, have your finances ready so you can complete the transaction as soon as you find a suitable house to buy. These saves you the agony of losing a prime property because the mortgage application was taking forever and the agent found someone else to take it up.
House design
Always have practicality in mind when buying a house. Of course, the structural integrity of the house shouldn’t be questionable. Don’t even spend any more time looking at a house that has cracks on the walls and fixtures falling off unless your plan is to renovate it and sell it. Even then you should have an experience professional give you the correct value of the house.
The way a house is designed could save you a lot of money when you move in. For instance, houses with large windows save you a fortune in electricity bills since they let in enough air and light that you don’t have to turn on your lights and air conditioners as you would do with a house squeezed between others.
Features
Ideally, the house you buy should have the features you want so you don’t have to call the home improvement services immediately you move in. However, you should assess the value you get for extra features because sometimes developers use them to inflate the price of a property.
A good house should have basic features like a Garage Door Opener System, water heating and safety features like a fire alarm system.
Location
The location of the house is quite important since it also determines the cost of the property and the security of your neighborhood. Obviously, houses in affluent neighborhoods cost more so it all comes down to what you want and how much you can afford.
The house should be surrounded by good roads and social amenities like schools and hospitals so your kids can easily get an education without enduring a long commute or lacking a place to attend to your medical emergencies.