From making sure you’re financially prepared, maximising your search and turning your wish-list into a realistic goal – there’s lots of things to consider when preparing to buy a home.
Melbourne-based licensed real estate agent and buyers advocate, Cate Bakos, offers her guidance on how to ensure you’re ready when that perfect home does come up in your searches.
Most of us know family, friends or colleagues who’ve been searching for several months, even years, for their dream home. Some poor souls have been looking for so long they’ve even priced themselves out of the market.
The most common reason for this is a lack of strategy.
Indeed, many home-buyers launch into the property buying process without any preparation whatsoever.
‘Unicorn searches’ – property speak for targeting an area where the ideal home is either rare or doesn’t even exist – obviously isn’t the road to success, and yet is all too common a property pitfall.
First up, as a home-buyer you need to be crystal clear on your borrowing capacity and preferred repayments.
The most important preparation you can do before launching all guns blazing into the property market is largely based on finance.
Without pre-approval you’ll have less negotiating strength and you won’t be able to confidently put all your cards on the table.
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While it is no secret cracking into the property market is tough right now, this report can help buyers identify regions that have the most affordable homes in each city and region across the country. Click here to read more.
So how can you get into your own place as quickly as possible while still paying the rent? We asked a financial adviser for his tips on what renters can do to increase their chances of buying. Click here to read more.