DO you plan to start shopping for property soon? If so, you probably have a very specific image in your head. There is nothing wrong with visualization, in fact, it’s necessary while starting the property hunting process.
Hence, there are some things you should know before you start shopping. These are price, location and size. Keep in mind shopping for a property is about compromise. Thus, there is a chance you’ll need to compromise among the three.
Moreover, if you are going into the property buying process with unrealistic expectations you’ll be disappointed. For example, you may find a house in your price range and in a nice neighbourhood but smaller than you wanted.
Note there is a gap between what you want, what is available and, often, what you can afford!
Your Want Vs Your Need
When setting out it is useful to make a list of those things which are absolutely non-negotiable ‘must-haves’ and those which are ‘nice-to-have’.
Thinking about this before you have started the process of looking for a home will mean that you are able to consider this carefully and dispassionately and will give you an idea of where you can make compromises.
If you are buying a property with someone else, you can sometimes be dealing with conflicting requirements and different red lines. House hunting when two people are looking for different things may make entertaining television but it is not often much fun in reality. For this reason, it is important to make sure that your ‘must-haves’ are well defined.
Stick to your List
There is no point in looking at properties which don’t match your non-negotiables. You would be surprised at the amount of people who have their head turned by a property which does not fulfil their stated criteria at a basic level. That’s fine if you are sacrificing something which is a nice-to-have, but, your must-haves should remain firm.
It is easy to get carried away and fall in love with a property for very superficial reasons. Considering the amount of money you are spending, house buying decisions are often made on a surprisingly emotional level. Having a list and reminding yourself of the essentials when it comes to your new property means that you are less likely to make an expensive mistake.
Be realistic
If you find you are trawling around, looking at the property after property and none are proving suitable, you are out of step with the market, in which case It is likely that you are either going to have to look at your budget or make some compromises on the property.
Property condition is one area where it is possible to compromise and still get broadly the property you want, in exchange for some hard work, if a garage is one of your red lines, could you add one to property without one? Is an extension possible to give you the extra space you want?
Don’t just rely on one listing website…
Online listing has caused a revolution in real estate since its inception and has brought a number of positives with it. One of the major negatives, in our opinion though, is that it has massively reduced the way buyers/sellers view local estate agents.
You can add your search criteria and search area and be informed, by email, whenever a new property comes on to the market. On the face of it, that seems like a great way of keeping up with what is new to the market and filtering those properties which you wouldn’t be interested in. We would however still urge you to have a checklist of real estate agents requirements.