Buying a new home is definitely one of the more stressful things in life — but here are three simple tips that can help you narrow down your search and figure out which house is perfect for you:
- Price: After the economy, and subsequently the real estate market, crashed during 2007-2008, thousands new homes began depreciating in value and for anyone who could afford to buy a new house anyway, the prices starting dropping well below the average market rate. Now that the economy is up and running again, you’re more likely to see a higher price tag when looking at a house for sale. The most important thing you can do here is to make sure that you don’t overspend when buying a new home — even though you might be able to get a loan easily, keep in mind that you could spend a long time paying it all back.
- Possible Repairs: This is actually related to price more than you’d imagine, but many people buying a new home have more trouble with this. It might be tempting to go for a house that needs a bunch of repairs, because really, who doesn’t love a few good DIY projects? While some of these projects might be easy to spot and easy to take care of yourself, other “projects” that aren’t so visible can end up costing a lot of extra money. For example, a house that experienced just a little bit of water damage can quickly become a health hazard. And as much as real estate trends today stress energy efficiency, the design or internal structure of certain homes may create a less-efficient environment than you realize.
- Location: Finally, location is always key — but this goes beyond the city and state that you’re looking at moving into. You want to make sure that you really love everything about the location when buying a new home, considering everything from how much you like the neighbors to the type of outdoor landscape that your house has. Because it’s entirely possible that you’ll be moving into an area that you don’t know much about, this is exactly where a real estate agent will come in handy.
Now we’re asking you for some help — are there any important factors that we didn’t include here? Any questions you had (or have) when you bought your first home? Be sure to share your comments and questions with us! References.
