Casula
This week I thought I’d give a couple of separate posts with tips to help potential homebuyers get into the property market.
1. First up you need to research! Buying a property could be the biggest decision you will ever make and therefore property purchases should be considered carefully. Consider what type of property will meet your needs, and the type of area you want to live in. If you plan on moving into the property don’t forget to figure out things like where your children will go to school, or how you will travel to work everyday.
2. Once you figure out what type of property you’re after, you need to start figuring out how you will afford it. You should make a budget for yourself early in your property search so you don’t fall in love with a home only to find out you can’t afford it. Have a look at online banks and lender websites where they often have online tools to help you work out how much you can potentially borrow.
You will also need to account for your deposit, as well as things like legal fees, stamp duty and pest and building inspections. In general try not to spend more that 30% of your income on mortgage repayments and make sure you allow room in your budget for potential interest rate rises.
In my next blog post I will discuss how to find a lender and how the buying process works.