How to Avoid some of the Common Mistakes First-Time Buyers Make

It is no small thing, purchasing a house. It is usually the biggest purchase you will make in your entire life. At one point you will feel excited and ecstatic, the next minute you are feeling overwhelmed, stress and more than a little anxious. This can be a real back and forth of emotional up and downs.

Anyone who has ever purchased their own home will have felt like this. You aren’t the first, and you definitely won’t be the last. Though it is easy to let the stress and anxiety consume you during this process, you need to make sure that you enjoy it. Right from the beginning, when you start looking for houses for sale to when you are unpacking your belongings, this is a monumental life event, which is why you can get the help of companies like Reali to assist you in the process. And if you have been lucky enough to find your dream home, this may be the one and only time when you get to enjoy this process.

However, if you are a first-time buyer, it’s hard to appreciate all the trickier parts of this process. Many struggle to just make it through all that paperwork, the professional terminology and the legalese. For this reason, it’s not hard seeing why so many first-time property buyers make many of the same mistakes as one another.

In the following post, however, we aim to help you take on the challenge of making that first-time home purchase without falling into the same traps so many people have in the past.

Not Calculating All Costs Involved in the Process

While you may think you all about mortgages and the repayments you need to make on this kind of financial product, there more costs you need to consider when buying a home. Some of the other main outgoings many fail to consider include the repairs and maintenance on the property, their utility bills, council tax, life assurance and property insurance.

Furthermore, expenses like insurance and utilities are the kind that will increase and decrease over time, so this needs to be accounted for too.

Not Making Sure You an Adequate Deposit

Generally, the deposit will be, at the very least, around 5% of the selling price. If you can, it’s always advisable to save up a little more than that number though. Why? Because you will be able to benefit from better interest rates and deals if you have a bigger deposit to use.

Many are tempted to spend all their life savings (up until that point) to pay the deposit on a property. However, this could be a huge mistake. While it makes sense on paper, it’s better in the long run to take a bigger mortgage and still have some savings in the bank for when you need them. Especially in those formative days, weeks and months when you are still learning how to cope with the impact on your finances.

You need to also think about other expenses that may come up, such as blocked drains, leaking roofs, broken boilers and a whole lot more.

Not Really Understanding the Amount of Money You Can Borrow

Avoid overstretching your budget. Although you may have the money in your accounts at the present to afford high level repayments on mortgages, a bigger and more expensive property, think about the affect this may have on the life you can afford to have.

You need to calculate the size of mortgage you can really afford. You will find there’s a variety of different factors lenders think about when assessing your affordability, like:

• Income, including salary
• Normal and regular household bills
• Outgoings, including credit cards, debts and loans
• Childcare costs (if applicable)
• Credit Score
• Living costs
• Size of deposit
• Travel expenses

Not Consulting Experts for Advice Before Buying

It’s never advisable to take it all on yourself when you are buying a house and dealing with the real estate market. Mortgages are not something, unless you have financial expertise, that you want to take on yourself, without professional advice from a mortgage broker liverpool or (anywhere else for that matter) as there are so many different rates, lengths of terms, and fees you need to try and understand.

You need to look to the professionals. When seeking out these individuals though, be careful and do your research, ask your friends and relatives as well as look at reviews and testimonials.

Remember there Are Yet More Costs Involved

There are even more costs you need to consider beyond those we’ve already looked at and covered here. Beyond the mortgage fees, there are also

• Surveys
• Valuation fees
• Stamp duty
• Land Registry
• Legal and Conveyancing fees
• Removals Costs