Home Buyers Guide

The decision to buy a home is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Before purchasing a home consider the following:

You must feel that you are going to remain in the area you purchase your house in for some time. Moving involves selling your house and real estate and legal fees are thousands of dollars wasted if you are likely to move in the near future.

A mortgage is a large amount of money to owe, if you are uncomfortable owing money then buy a less expensive property. Buying a house shouldn’t be a stressful experience for you. You may want to save to acquire a larger down payment, and while this is not a bad idea, keep in mind sometimes the cost of homes will rise faster than your ability to save money.

You want to enjoy your home so be sure that you can comfortably afford the mortgage payments. A pre-approved mortgage will give you the maximum amount that a lender feels you can afford, however you don’t need to borrow the maximum amount offered. In the event you feel that the mortgage payments on the maximum amount will become a burden to you then calculate the lower payment amount you feel comfortable with and borrow a lesser amount.

Real estate prices reflect location more than just about any other factor, with desirable locations selling for more than similar sized houses in less desirable locations. To most people desirable locations depend on several factors such as:

• Your commuting time, a combination of the distance to work and the transportation methods available (public transportation, nearby highways etc.).
• How close you are to schools, stores, parks, hospitals and so on?
• Is the area considered a safe neighborhood?
• Are you close to friends and/or family?

An old bit of advice is that you get better value buying the least expensive house in a better neighborhood, as the more expensive properties tend to accelerate the appreciation of you house.

Your lifestyle and family needs will determine the ideal house for you:

• Like to cook? Then the kitchen area needs to be larger and have more storage space than if you order in a lot or just do minimal cooking.
• Do you have teenagers? If so it is desirable to have two bathrooms in your home.
• Do you have special needs? Perhaps you are unable to climb a lot of stairs, if so you may want a single level home or least one that involves minimal stair climbing.
• Do you need or want a lot of property? Larger lots tend to cost more and require more time and effort to maintain.

You should be looking at living in your home for several years. However at some time you might have to sell the property so think about this before you buy. You may just love a quirky house or a hard to reach location but others may not, and this will affect the ease of selling and the price you will get when selling it.

This is important and there are many things to consider in making this decision.

New homes have less upkeep expenses and are up-to-date as far as insulation, wiring, and other building code requirements go. However, new homes are often further away from work and the area may be under development for years to come.

Existing houses are often in more desirable locations and the area is usually fully developed. However, the building codes under which they were built may mean that such things as wiring and insulation are not as up to date as the current building codes would dictate for a newer house.