When you are looking to move house, then there is more to it than just getting a realtor and finding the home that you like and that fits into your budget. It can be quite a long-winded process with certain steps not to miss. So here are a few of those steps that you can’t forget about. It will speed the whole process up when you get them done right.
Checking Your Budget
You might be buying a house outright with cash. In that case, you’ll know exactly what you are looking for in terms of your budget. But that is not the case very often. More people are going to need some kind of mortgage before they start looking at homes for sale. So what you need to do is to speak with a mortgage provider, most likely our bank, to see what they would be able to lend you. It can depend on what deposit you can put down, as well as what your income is. The whole process can be pretty long, though and can take several weeks. So look into this first, so you know what kind of prices you’ll be looking at. It will mean making an offer will be quicker too as you won’t have to wait for approval.
Check Local Areas
When you are looking for an area to move to, you need to take into account several factors. Your dream home will swiftly not be your dream home if it is in a less than desirable area. If you have children or hope to have children, then schools are a really important factor to consider. The same goes for crime rates in the area too. They will affect house prices, as well as the cost of insurance for your home and car. Look for things like churches or playgrounds; whatever is going to be important to you and your family.
Check Fees
When you are planning to move somewhere new, you need to know what hidden costs will arise because of moving. Are you moving to somewhere that has a local tax or a yearly fee for maintenance, for example? Will you have to pay anything like stamp duty tax on the cost of the house you’re buying? If so, what is the threshold? Then there are the actual costs of moving from hiring a van to changing the address on your driver’s license. All of these things need to be taken into consideration and included into your overall budget. There is no need to get into more debt just to move house.
Check House Prices
When you start your house hunt, you need to look at the cost of the homes in the area that you plan to look; is there a big difference in price? How much have the homes close by been sold for recently? It gives you a ballpark figure about how much you would be looking to pay, and you can decide if it is going to work out for you or not.
