5 Things You Should Know Before Buying A House

When you buy your first home it is a good idea to go into the purchase with as much knowledge as you can so that you know you are making the right choices each step of the way and don’t end up with a bad surprise at the end of the day.

These are the type of things that you should be asking about once you have found the property you really want.

1) Can I afford it?
Regardless of what the bank or the estate agent is telling you, you need to write up your own income and expenses sheet and decide for yourself whether or not you can honestly afford this property without putting yourself into financial trouble. No house is worth getting in serious problems over. Make sure that your list of expenses includes hidden costs like your car license, doctors fees that can spring on you and things like car services. You don’t want to have an unexpected expenses that you cannot afford to pay.

2) is the house in good condition?
it’s one thing buying a fixer upper and knowing the flaws the house has and having the funds set aside to tackle the problems, but it is a whole separate issue to buy a house with hidden problems that have not been brought to your attention. Check the house for damp, mildew / mould, leaking, beatle infestation, electrical issues, plumbing (this one can be particularly expenses to fix!) and make sure that the seller gives you the electrical compliance certificate and the beetle free certificates when you sign your agreement.

3) Hidden costs
There are plenty of hidden costs in buying a property. Make sure you are aware of and have budgeted for the following:
Transfer Fees
Transfer Duty
Registration Fees
Deeds office Fees
Valuation fees

4) Fees you should NOT be paying
There should be no payment from yourself as the buyer to the estate agent, that is not legal. There should also be no payment from yourself, the buyer, to the mortgage originator as they make their money from a commission earned for processing the home loan application on the banks behalf.
If the estate agent is trying to make you pay a fee to them, make sure you let them know that you are aware that this is illegal and tell them you will inform the bank.

5) Mortgage Originaots
You do not have to submit your bond through the mortgage originator specified by the seller or estate agent. You are entitled to pick anyone you choose (or go directly to the bank yourself, although I do not recommend this as you might be missing out on a fantastic deal from one of the other banks).

By: Catherine vdWeele

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Catherine is a contributing writer for offices to let claremont. Visit century city office space for more information.