Are you less than satisfied with your family home at the moment? Would you live to find the perfect property where you can put down some roots and remain happy for the rest of your lives? Then you’ve come to the right place today. The step-by-step guide published on this page will help to ensure you leave no stone unturned and find your dream home as fast as possible. Work your way through this advice, and you should manage to remove all the hard work from the process. Of course, you might encounter a few stumbling blocks along the way, but this post offers some suggestions on how to overcome them without facing lots of hassle and headaches. With all that in mind, let’s get started!
Step 1: Consider the location
The location of your new home is vital, and so you will have to think long and hard about the most desirable villages, towns, or cities that you want to target. Some folks might even consider moving overseas! Make a list of the best places you find, and then get in touch with local estate agents to ask about available properties. Ideally, you’ll want to live within a reasonable distance of your workplace because nobody likes driving for two hours every morning just to reach the office. You’ll also want to select an area where there are lots of facilities and things to keep your children entertained. There are lots of property websites you can check out if you want to take a look at some of the homes available before you contact the estate agents. Just conduct as much research and groundwork as possible.
Step 2: Think about price
The last thing you want to do is overspend when purchasing your dream home. That could pose many financial problems in the future if money becomes tight. So, try to choose somewhere mid-range that is not going to break the bank. That way, you should have some breathing space if you lose your job or something else goes wrong in a few years time. Also, remember that you might have some equity in your current home. Either click here or search online to find out how much. There are free mortgage calculators online that tell you how much most banks are willing to lend based on your circumstances. Those tools use details like your level of income and debts to determine how much you can borrow for the purchase of a home. Again, try to find somewhere in the middle of your budget rather than at the top end.
Step 3: Check out local schools
You’ll want to make sure that your children will get the best education possible, and that is why it’s vital that you take a look at local school performance tables. Most authorities publish that information online, and so the task should only take a few minutes. You can find out information about how many students pass their GCSEs, and how many pupils attend university after leaving the school. That data should help you to make an informed decision and work out if the schools in the area are suitable for your loved ones. If you can’t find a decent education establishment, it might make sense to look elsewhere for your dream home.
Step 4: Assess local crime rates
Nobody wants to move to a town or city with high crime rates because that will never make you feel safe at night. While there are many factors to consider, the police publish a crime map of the UK online that you can view to get a feel for the situation. That information highlights how many of each type of crime happens in every town and city in the country. So, you can take a look and then steer clear of places with lots of incidences of violence and theft. When all’s said and done, your children are going to play outside with their friends, and you don’t want to worry about them 24/7. So, make sure you select an area with low crime rates where there is no cause for concern.
Step 5: Pay for building assessments
When you choose the right area and find a seemingly suitable property, it’s time to get in touch with the experts and ask for some assistance. Never make the mistake of signing on the dotted line until you pay for professionals to conduct some building assessments. For a small fee, specialists will come to the house and try to find any issues that might cause significant problems further down the line. You can use their report to drive the asking price of any home down if it highlights structural faults. If the estimated cost of repair is more than a few thousand pounds; you should probably look elsewhere and find a different property. You don’t want to spend the first two years living in a house that looks like a construction site, right?
Step 6: Make an offer
Lastly, you just have to call your estate agent and let them know you want to make an offer on the property. Depending on the quality of the house; you might want to make a low initial offer and then leave room for negotiation. However, if the home is desirable, there is a decent chance that other buyers will want to buy it too. In that instance, it doesn’t make sense to beat around the bush. Let the sellers know how much you’re willing to pay, and highlight your top line. If the homeowners accept; you can start the ball rolling. If they refuse your offer; it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Just repeat these six steps until things work out as expected.
Anyone who uses this step-by-step guide to find a dream home should manage to remove any hard work from the process. With a bit of luck, your family will end up in a dream home within a matter of months if you get things right. Do yourself a favour and build a relationship with a solicitor as soon as possible. In most situations, legal paperwork is the most common cause of holdups when it comes to home purchases. So, you need an expert who’s willing to go the extra mile and push things through as quickly as possible.
*collaborative post
