House Hunter
Finding a new
home should be an enjoyable experience but
can become frustrating. Our guide
helps you to structure the process and to
get the most for your money. We believe
there are three stages to getting your
house:
-
short
listing properties
-
viewing
properties
-
making
offers
-
Short
listing properties
The first
rule of house hunting is to be strict with
the properties you will see. List based on
your priorities, browse properties on major
websites such as
rightmove, and then arrange appointments
to view the properties you have short
listed.
You need to consider two
things: the home and its location. The
following list should give you some ideas of
the issues that you might consider when
choosing a location for your new home:
-
Are you
where you need to be?
-
What type
of area are you looking for (quiet
rural, lively, close to Town)?
-
How far
away from your work (think of the cost
of fuel)?
-
How close
to local amenities?
-
Do the
local schools have a good reputation and
good OFSTEAD reports?
-
What is
the local parking like?
The house:
Think carefully if the property looks in
a satisfactory condition, and has been
regularly maintained. Also try to short list
properties by some careful reading of the
Estate Agents description.
Viewing
properties
only view those homes which
meet all of the requirements you outlined in
your home comparison chart (distance from
work, number of bedrooms - whatever you
think is necessary in your new home).
-
View the
house during the day and also at night;
maybe even visit the location a few
different times.
-
Have
there been any other offers on the
property.
-
Make
notes whilst viewing, you will forget
later.
-
How much
work will you need to do to the
property, ie decorating, improvements?
-
How
energy-efficient will the property be?
How much are the monthly bills.
-
In what
condition are the fixtures and fittings
- how much would it cost to replace
them? This will make things easier when
putting in an offer.
-
Negotiating price and making an offer
Great!!! You have found the perfect property to be your
new home, now you need to negotiate the
price. You need to make sure you don't get
carried away by how much you like the
property and stick to your budgeting. You
should know your maximum price and stick to
it. Remember all of your moving costs and
the stamp duty.
Do your home work,
check out
nethouseprice.com before you put in the
offer, work out how much you think the
property is worth - research could save you
thousands of pounds. You could get an
independent valuation of the property from a
surveyor, which may more than pay off if you
can use this as a negotiation tool. You will
need a valuation to get a mortgage.
The estate agent will discuss your offer
with the seller who will either accept or
reject your offer.
Decide
whether this is enough. In most cases the
seller will reject your first offer in the
hope that you will offer more. REMEMBER
know your budget and stick to it.
Also remember the estate agent is working to
try to get the highest price.
One
final tip, it's most certainly a Buyers
market, this means that you have the upper
hand and should negotiate the best possible
price
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Moving Home
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