Author: Brian Ashworth September 5, 2016

Guest post by Hubert Dwight

For most of us, buying our first home is the biggest decision we ever make and there are so many things that are important to consider.

We have compiled a list of five things we believe are essential to those considerations

Location, Location, Location!

This is an obvious first step but truly it is essential to understand the area that you are buying into.

• Is it a growing area?
• Is there enough public transport?
• Are there good schools near by?
• Are there any big developmental plans taking pace in the near future?

All of these things and more can affect the value of a home and you need to consider the future you would like to have in this location.

Is it realistic to buy here? Places like Brighton are always easy to sell, in fact Marshall White in Brighton has houses for sale right now.

Some suburbs are very difficult to purchase and sell in, and have places on the market for months and months.
Where can you work, do you want children?

If you are a city lover don’t move to the country just because it is more affordable, property is a long term investment.

If you don’t want to have to begin the process over again you need to know that you have made a good decision the first time around.

Whether your goal is to keep the same home until you die or as a stepping stone on the way to bigger and better things, the best way to maximise your emotional and monetary profits are to pick an affordable home in a growing neighborhood so that you can feel as secure as possible.

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The next thing on your list is finances, this is where you ask yourself the more finicky questions;

• Are you buying alone or with a partner?
• What bank or service to you take out a loan with?
• How much do you want to pay as a deposit?
• What is your maximum?

This is the hard part, and while you need to be able to ensure you can afford your repayments and upkeep, there are also rates and insurance to consider.

The best position to be in is to have good amount of savings and a fairly secure work life and if you intend to make the purchase with someone you should be sure you want them in your life and can trust them financially for a long time.

Size Matters

When you think about a property are you envisioning a house with a yard, an apartment, a high rise?

• How much space do you need?
• Do you have a family, or will you in the future?

The size and layout of your home are expensive and complicated things to change, so when you buy you want to know that it is already close to your ideal.

How close do you want to be to your neighbors? . . .  Are you okay with sharing walls or do they need to be an acre down the road!

You want your home to fit all of your passions so when you have figured out the top three on the list it’s time to consider design and age!

Old or New?

The age of your property can have a huge impact on how it looks and functions so the the next thing to consider is how modern of a property do you want.

The first part of this question is how old is too old and what costs might this bring up in future.

Whilst an older property may have grace and beauty and you have fallen for the high ceilings and windows, you need to also consider how much it might cost to heat the old place, and what potential repairs might be needed.

Old houses often have issues like piping or electricals that need updating, old rotting wood in places you can’t see, etc.

So you need to decide what age is good for you.

For those of us that love the ultra modern that means you may need to compromise on space a little or deal with the price tag of something hardly lived in.

Design

Now that you have figured out what you can afford and what you want, it’s the fun part!

What kind of space do you want to live in?

Design includes all the elements of the old and new debate, plus the amount of light you want in your home, what kind of feeling you like.

You don’t need to love the tiles or the wall colour yet because those things are easy to change.

What is important here is the bones, are there enough windows, do you enjoy and open plan? Questions like that.

Good luck with your search! and stay open to new things, you may fall in love with the opposite of what you expected, so see as many places as possible before you settle on a home!