Questions to ask before you start house hunting.
Questions to ask yourself before you start house hunting
Thinking carefully about the answers and be honest with yourself this will help you identify what you really want from a home and how to filter your search by location, property type and price range.
What are you willing to compromise on?
Nobody wants to have to sacrifice something on their wish list from their new dream home, however its more than likely you will have to compromise on something if you’re realistically going to find the right property for you. Whether that’s sacrificing a large south facing garden, a large garage or even a home office, it’s a good idea to decide on the must haves and the can live without.
What’s your absolute maximum budget?
When you’re buying a property, you also need to factor in survey fees, solicitor fees, any mortgage fees and stamp duty. You will also need to list what work you intend to do to the property if any. Once you have complied your list of total costs you can than work out how much you have to spend on the purchase price.
Is this the right area, would you be happy living in this location?
You’re not just going to be buying a property, you’re also buying into a new life in this new area. So it’s very important that you’re happy with the area you’re going to be relocating to, as you’ll hopefully be there for a long time. It’s highly recommended that you visit the area you want to live in and take in your surroundings. Sometimes visiting on different day and at different times of the day to see what traffic is like etc. Also things to think about when looking at the location are the nearest shops, post office, schools and gyms as these are all things you need to ensure you are happy with.
How close are all the amenities you need?
Following on from the area it’s also important that you’ve got all of the amenities you need on hand. What are the schools like, what is the catchment area. What are the local bars restaurants like or how close are decent transport links.
