Must, Important and Just Nice: What To Do When Buying A Home
Buying a house is the kind of purchase that you can’t afford – on several levels – to take too lightly. It’s such a huge financial and emotional risk, and there’s no wonder you can barely move without falling over advice about how to make the process go as smoothly as possible. It’s all welcome, necessary advice, too – the process is not something we often do, so it’s important to have a refresher every now and again.
The problem comes when you begin to suffer from a severe overload of information. It’s easy to become confused, wondering which steps you should take because they are truly necessary and which are more superfluous.
So, to try and ease some of the burden, let’s strip the process down into three categories. That way, there is a distinct separation, meaning you can focus your time, effort and money into the things you really need – and avoid the things you don’t.
The Things You MUST Do
The category that you can’t skimp on – buying your new family home without following this process is a recipe for disaster.
- Get a building survey. People are tempted to avoid this as it’s an added expense at a time when your finances are stretched – but you have to know what you’re buying. Shop around for building survey quotes to get the best deal you can and protect the investment you’re making.
- Check the land registry. Just because a fence divides your land from the neighbor’s doesn’t mean that’s where the actual boundary is. Not being sure of this could result in a costly dispute further down the line.
- Visit at different times of day. Get an idea of what the house, street and neighbors are like at 10am on a Saturday and 9pm on a Friday – what appears to be a peaceful area might not be when everyone is off work.
The Things It’s IMPORTANT To Do
If you manage to tick off all of the above, then you can move onto this category – the home of important, but not vital, steps.
- Check your broadband coverage. Let’s face it, we do everything online these days, so if you rely on a fast connection than you need to know it’s going to be available.
- See how your insurance premiums may change. They differ greatly with geographical area; you don’t want to be in a situation where your premiums have increased more than you can afford.
- Meet the neighbors. A quick walk around and meet-and-greet can ensure you’re moving into an area you’re comfortable with.
The Things It’s NICE To Do
Doing these things is a good idea, but you can skip them if you’re pressed for time.
- Get an idea of local amenities, such as when the garbage is collected. This can help you feel right at home from the moment you move in.
- Be aware of local groups, such as neighborhood protection schemes, and have an idea of what you might want to be involved in.
- Plan your storage. Every home depends on storage for function, and it’s a lot easier to plan where you’ll put thin