First Home Buyers Advice
It’ll likely be the biggest investment you’ve made so far, so you need to make sure you get it right when choosing your first property. First home buyers advice is extremely important to help you get your journey off to a good start. Here’s some handy pointers from the Ristic Real Estate brains trust.
Visualise your Future
A great starting point for buying your first home is to visualise what’s important to you. There’s a lot of questions you can ask yourself in regard to this:
Do we need room for a growing family?
How close do we want to live to our parents?
Are we prepared to commute to work?
What lifestyle pursuits are important to us – beach, mountains, airports?
Be Realistic with your Budget
Remember it’s a starting point, a stepping stone. Leave behind those images of Will Smith watering the lawn in front of his million-dollar mansion and focus on what’s achievable for your situation. The dream home will come, but be patient!
Save your Deposit
When you have an idea on the likely cost of your first home, it’s time to start saving towards that deposit.
This is the hard bit but remember: the bigger the deposit you save, the better lenders will feel about offering you a mortgage. Also, if you have a 20% deposit saved, you won’t have to purchase expensive Lender’s Mortgage Insurance.
Educate Yourself About Interest Rates
The more you know about interest rates the less likely you’ll get into trouble with your mortgage. Knowledge is everything, right?
We can’t predict the future, but it’s likely interest rates will increase for their historic lows at the moment. You need to be financially prepared for that
Expect Unexpected Expenses
Put aside a budget to deal with expenses you weren’t expecting. There’s more to buying a home than just the purchase price – there’s building inspections, lawyer fees and stamp duty (depending on eligibility). Then there’s the costs of moving furniture and getting utilities connected. Having some extra set aside for unforeseen costs will save you headaches down the track.
Research Mortgage Providers
Mortgage lenders recommended to you via word-of-mouth are a good place to start, because you have first-hand knowledge that they did a good job.
Ideally you want someone you trust and feel comfortable with who can look at your situation and your needs, then navigate you through all the options out there.
Know What Government Incentives are Available to You
In Victoria you may be eligible for a first home owners grant of up to $20,000, but you need to be buying or building a first home with a value of less than $750,000. For more information on FHOG, check out this handy web page.
There’s just a few things you should consider if you’re thinking about buying your first property. Remember that we can’t take into account your personal situation or needs when writing this article. If you want to chat to one of our knowledgeable team, they’d be more than happy to answer all your questions. Just get in touch.
