Buying a house is a big commitment in anyone’s life. Unless you plan on flipping a house, when you buy a home, you are usually buying it on the basis that you are going to live there for a long time.
Because times are financially tough right now, it is more than likely that you are going to be taking out a mortgage instead of buying your house outright. This means that any house that you decide to buy is likely going to be a commitment of up to thirty years, so you want to make sure that the house you choose is right for you.
If you are someone that has never bought a house before, then the prospect of buying a house may seem intimidating. Something that you should be aware of is that real estate agents are not afraid to take advantage of people that are unfamiliar with the process of buying a house and they might try to sell you a poor quality house.
The last thing that you want is for your money to be wasted on a house that needs a lot of work that you didn’t know about before you bought it. Here is what to look out for and think about when buying a new home.
Location
A big mistake that a lot of people make when buying a house is not checking out a location. It can be easy to be blinded by a beautiful house and a cheap price but have you ever wondered why a house that is brilliant has such a great price?
Well, a big reason why you may be able to get a brilliant house for a low price is because of the location. Life is quite hectic right now and there are a lot of political and social problems. The last year has been very financially difficult on the world and a lot of people that were already struggling financially have been left in desperate situations. This means that crime and theft in particular are more rampant than ever.
This means that you should check out the local crime statistics in the area that you are looking to move to and see what they are like. Though you may be willing to live in an area with high crime rates for the sake of getting a great deal on the house, there are some things that you have to think about. For example, if you are someone with a family and children, then you could be putting your children at risk, which is the last thing that you want to do.
It is also likely that crime is only going to increase in the area, which means that if you want to sell your house in the future, the location of it is only going to drive down the price so this is something that you have to take into account.
The Quality of The House
When you view a house, you can only really see the quality of the rooms in the house, what the external areas look like, and all of the cosmetic features. You, unfortunately, cannot see a lot of the damage that is going to cost you the most to repair and may impact the quality of your home.
For example, when you are viewing a house, you can’t exactly do a full inspection of the quality of the roof. If you move into a house that has a roof that simply isn’t going to last, you are going to have to replace it. Now, I can’t tell you everything you need to know about the costs of a new roof, but I can tell you that it is going to be expensive.
Instead of being surprised by an unexpected bill, you should instead ask the real estate agent when the last time the roof of your home was replaced. If it has not been replaced within the last decade, this is a big red flag and you should move away from this home, as you are only going to be hit with a large bill after only living in your home for a few years, which could be better invested elsewhere.
