Ready to buy your first house? Arm yourself with a lot of patience because you will go through a long process. Buying a property involves making a tremendous investment, even if it is just a starter home. Directing a colossal amount of money towards a house that you will later find out that doesn’t suit your needs and preferences could be your life’s biggest regret. You will live for years and years here, so comfortable and feel truly like home are two of the conditions that you can’t ignore. This is why you should pay attention to all the little details that might contribute to making a wise decision. Luckily, you can check out this list of aspects that most homebuyers follow when purchasing a property for the very first time, especially a starter one:
A Fair Price
Starter homes can be considered the homeownership training that a lot of people lack. If you opt for buying a luxurious home from the start, you might get overwhelmed with how difficult maintenance and upkeep get. Instead, you should buy a starter home and focus on what’s truly important in your life at the moment. Buying properties is never the sole purpose of a person, especially at a young age. Starter homes come with a wide range of benefits. The best one is the lower price that it has compared to other properties on the market. Starter homes are usually smaller in size, or they are located away from the regular centers of interest.
Set up a budget and respect it while doing your real estate research. Finding homes that cost just as much as you can reduce the number of search results, thus diminishing the effort that you have to put into choosing a property. Real estate market prices are actively changing so you will have to keep an eye on the trends and choose the best time to invest. Never go all in with a property that has a relatively high price. You might be able to obtain a percent off if you discuss with the seller.
Simply put, try not to invest too much in a starter home, since it’s most likely a temporary acquisition. Respect your budget to avoid creating a bad financial situation for yourself. The price you pay for a mortgage shouldn’t hold other expenses in place.
Follow The Trends
Real estate market trends differ from country to country. Carefully researching the trends in your area and noticing a pattern of when the market became hot and when it cooled should help you select the best moment to purchase a house. Even though it’s hard work to understand housing markets and follow their development, it can save you thousands of dollars on a starter home.
Let’s take Arizona as an example. The real estate market in Arizona is highly developed and is expected to evolve even more in a few years. The large US metropolitan area faced many changes in terms of real estate, and there’s no wonder why the prices fluctuated. If you look for North Scottsdale homes, you will notice that their prices are more affordable now than they were two years ago. The same goes for other parts of the world as well.
Think Five Years From Now On
Your future self may not be happy with the decision you make now. This happens because you don’t have your goals aligned. Buying a starter home without knowing for sure what your plans are can end up badly. Starter homes are great if you need a place that won’t cost you a fortune and that is much more convenient compared to paying rent. Instead of fueling money into another person’s pocket, you can invest all this money into a property that will belong to you in the end.
You can transform this property into a source of income once you’ve decided to make a change in your life and switch houses. You can start your own home-based business in your starter home and require an expansion once the company grows. You may want to start your own family, and you’ll need room for a baby. The reasons are various, but you have to take a moment and picture your life in the future to make sure that a starter home is what you currently need.
Distance From Work
People spend an average of 30-45 minutes to get to work, which adds up to how much time a person spends on the go. Although you might not live your entire life in a starter home or work for more than five years at the same job, being close to your points of interest is one feature you shouldn’t neglect. This might be quite tricky, taking into account that starter homes are usually positioned in areas that are not close to the center of the city. As shown by several studies, people who live closer to the office seem to be happier with their workplace, even though other aspects of it might be harmful. This shows how vital distance from work is when buying a house. By some, this can be considered a benefit, as long as their workplaces are nearby and the area is quiet.
Pay attention to real estate agents who are trying to lure you into purchasing a property that is cheap, move-in ready and respects all the requirements listed by you, except location. Buying a house in a neighborhood that has a bad reputation, that is known for a high criminality rate, or that is located miles away from your points of interest is never a good idea. The time you will lose commuting is going to make you regret your choice in the long run. Give more thought to whether the house fits your lifestyle or not. The way it looks is less important in this situation.
