How to Find The Right Property For Your Needs & Get Your Dream Home

If you want to get your dream home, read on to learn how to find the right property for your needs. Learn the best tips and grab this checklist to review!

A property search can be an enormous responsibility that takes up a whole load of time and energy. Unfortunately, sometimes your efforts yield very few acceptable results.

Everyone wants to have that special feeling as soon as they walk through the doors of a potential new home. After all, your whole life is going to be centered around this one single place. However, it can be difficult to figure out how to find the right property.

Luckily, with a little bit of thought and planning you can make your home search much easier. (Psstt… here’s also how to find the perfect piece of land for your dream home!)

A Checklist For Finding The Right Property For Your Needs

I’m lucky that one of my best friends is in the real estate business. I talk to him all the time about how to find the right property and what to prioritze while looking for your dream home! Read on to uncover some of my real estate expert friend’s best tips!

1. Set Your Budget For The Home

You need to set your budget first and foremost when searching for a property. You need to get clear on which kind of house you are able to buy.

Your budget will define whether you should…

• buy a ‘fixer-upper’ which needs a lot of work (like you see on HGTV – where they put in a lot of money to make a rundown home look cool)
• find a finished home (like these Portland luxury homes for sale  – which are only available to the most exclusive of investors).

Deciding on your budget depends on…

• funds that you have readily available
• total amount of funds that you can borrow as a mortgage if you do not have a large amount of cash.
• money needed for buying costs – like agent fees, real estate lawyer fees, interior design fees, furniture fees

Know that you can afford a mortgage

If you’re not buying a property entirely with cash, you will need to take out a mortgage and borrow the money you need to purchase it. Having a suitable down payment for your mortgage is one thing.

But, knowing that you can still afford to repay your mortgage if interest rates rise is another. That’s why it’s worth conducting a mortgage stress test so you can check that you won’t fall behind on your repayments.

When viewing a seller’s price, remember…

• It’s reasonable to decrease the asking price for a property from around 5-10% 

2. Decide On A Location For The Home

The location that you choose is an essential feature of your property search.

Where you choose to live will determine…

• the type of homes available
• their price  -and the amount of space and features you get for this price
• the longterm investment potential for a home
• the schools and educational facilities available nearby
• public transportation options nearby
• convenience to shopping for clothes and groceries
• distance to amenities such as gyms, hospitals and other healthcare services
• commute time (what you’re willing to endure)
• distance from loved ones
• overall apartment safety

For example…

A big city that has its own public transport network is likely to have several modern apartments for quite a high price. In contrast, a remote and rural setting might have a detached farm house type property that’s of a similar if not smaller price.

You might also have work commitments which will dictate which area you can relocate to. But it’s still good to search around in a few different places to identify where you can get the most for your money.

It’s always a good idea to walk around and get a feel for a new location before you decide to search for a property to buy. After all,  affordability doesn’t always mean you’ll be situated in a safe, well looked after community. 

3. The Finish Of The Home

There’s a huge difference between a property that’s finished to the highest specifications versus a home that’s completely gutted out – so it’s a blank canvas for you to create whatever you’re searching for inside a new home.

A blank canvas will give you the opportunity to…

• easily put your own stamp on the place
• install all of the decor, fixtures and fittings that suit your own personal tastes

However, a blank canvas will also add on…

• time
• energy
• money

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of revamping a property then you should look for a recently remodeled space.

There are many properties that are ready to move into, with the highest grade clean finish.

A finished home will…

• be more expensive to purchase
• simpler to get – because you won’t need to put in time and energy to make it look great
• not always be exactly your style in every room of the home

Obviously there are properties that fall between these two, requiring just a little TLC to bring up to your own standards. These can be a great option to get the best of both worlds. Unfortunately these often get snapped up quickly.

This Checklist Will Help You Find The Right Property For Your Needs…

I hope you find this checklist for home shopping helpful when looking for house and land packages! 

Remember: You must recognize that looking for your dream home requires lots of planning and analysis. So be sure to carefully use the tips above as your check list – so you don’t forget to keep in mind key elements before you put down cash on a home.

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