10 Tips for First Time House Hunters
Buying a house for the first time is difficult enough, without having to look around a property not really knowing what to look for. As well as keeping an eye out for things around the house you're viewing, there are some other things you need to do before, during and after the process that I didn't realise you had to do until we actually did it. So with that in mind, I thought I'd do a blog post detailing some tips for those who are house-hunting for the first time - I hope you find it useful :)
Make sure you already have an Agreement in Principle
An Agreement in Principle (AIP) is something that's given to prospective homeowners that'll detail how much they're able to borrow from the bank to buy their home. Before viewing a house, an estate agent might ask you whether your AIP is already in place for the value of the home they have up for sale.
If you don't then you may be rejected from viewing the property because it can take up to a few months for an AIP to come into effect. It's free to do and is extremely straightforward to fill out, so make sure you do that before house-hunting.
Do your research on estate agents
Some estate agents are better than others. However, if your dream home is on with one which isn't rated very highly, then you might not have a choice but to go down that route with them.
Even so, there are some things you can research about the estate agent, such as: how long it takes for them to correspond, their staff and how professional or friendly they are, whether they'll be able to get things done in a timely manner and how good they are at getting questions answered by the sellers, for example.
If they're particularly slow then you'll be able to to compensate for that by getting your side of things done and dusted in good time, such as completed the relevant paperwork, having offers approved etc.
Keep up to date with market trends
You don't want to pay over the odds for a house. At the end of the day, it's only worth what it's worth, regardless of where it is or how well it's been done out. As a first time buyer it can be easy to get caught up in a whirlwind and you could end up paying way over the asking price - don't do that. Pay attention to market trends. How much are properties selling for in the area? Don't offer more than that.
You should also see if house prices have started dropping or if they're rising. Is the asking price fair? Even if it is, don't offer more than the asking price, no matter how hard the estate agent tries to push you to put more on the table.
We paid under the asking price for ours despite the trend at the time being that a buyer pays over the odds. Don't get walked over just because you haven't done this before. Offer whats reasonable and what you can realistically afford. If it's not meant to be, then walk away and find something else.
Consider location & what's in the vicinity
First time buyers in this day and age should consider the location in which they're buying. This might be easier said than done as people are just wanting to get on the property ladder.
But if, in the future, you cannot afford to move to another property, then at least you know you're in a decent area with schools, shops and other amenities, such as local parks or transport links.
The price of the house will reflect how much there is in the area and how beneficial it will be to the homeowner. So you might be paying a slight premium for living in a good location, it'll pay off in the future if you find that you can't move on thanks to rising house prices and additional costs.
Don't worry too much about cosmetic issues
Cosmetic issues are something you can rectify simply and cheaply. The things you do want to look for are structural problems and other things that might cost a lot of money to change. Does the house need a new bathroom and a new kitchen? Do is need a new boiler and a new bathroom?
What's the state of the windows like? Are the cracks in the walls? Are there any signs of damp or leaks (usually coming in the form of brown or yellow discoloured patches on ceilings, around windows or in top corners of a room)? Look for signs of rising damp. Are the homeowners trying to hide things with random pieces of furniture? Are pictures hanging in odd places? This could be a sign that they're trying to hide an issue.
Having a survey done is advised, but they aren't allowed to touch the belongings of the current owners so it might not uncover everything. How old is the wiring likely to be? Ask the see the consumer unit and energy metres.
Something we wish we'd done is ask to flush the toilets because the one downstairs wasn't actually functional when we moved in, even though it was sold to us as a usable space, so we needed to rip it all out and start again (which involved us having to buy a rather expensive loo).
We're all wise in hindsight and it's likely to be that you'll uncover more problems when you move in and use and clean things, but spotting issues before going any further ahead with the sale can help to justify a knockdown in price, so make notes and report it back to the estate agent if you want to pay less than what they're asking for.
Have a keen, critical eye
This touches on the previous point of making sure you spot as many issues as possible. Not only can this be used as ammo for lowering your offer, but it also helps you to determine whether you can repay the mortgage every month and rectify any issues that there might be.
Can you still pay the mortgage and buy a new kitchen? Can you pay the mortgage and buy a new boiler? Can you pay the mortgage, buy a new kitchen, pay for a new boiler and get a new bathroom? It can help you to determine whether you'll be able to live there, be comfortable and afford to do the place up simultaneously.
What about your other outgoings? Is your car on finance? Are you looking to get a new car because your's is on its way out? What about rising energy prices and food costs? It's all something to factor in if you're looking to buy your first home.
Think about hidden, additional costs & not just the price of the house itself
Buying a house, I didn't realise, comes with loads of additional costs and you can't actually avoid them. A lot of the time, it's always something to do with your solicitor fees. As a first time buyer with a Help to Buy ISA (that no longer exists) we had to pay an extra £50 each to the government to cash them in and get an additional 25% on top of the deposit we already had. That's one example.
You also pay the government to register you as the homeowner of that property. You can an invoice that's as long as your arm with itemised costs you have to pay. By the time you're done, you could be paying upwards of £1,000 just for the solicitor.
A conveyancer is slightly cheaper than a housing solicitor. But make sure you do your research as to which one is best. Like with estate agents, some solicitor firms are better than others, but you have a choice as to which one you use.
These days, you could even use a solicitor who isn't based in your town or city. We used one from Leeds despite living two hours away. Don't box yourself in. It might also be that your bank is able to recommend some solicitors that they work with, which can be quite useful.
Have a survey done or a snag report if you're buying a new-build
We had a survey done just for peace of mind that the house wasn't subsiding, because they can be a huge financial blow to any homeowner. being a first time buyer, we just didn't have the funds for how much it would cost to underpin a three bed property. Have a survey done for peace of mind, even if you aren't a first time buyer.
Buying a new build home doesn't exempt you from having problem properties. Make sure you have a snag report done if it's brand new because they come with a lot of issues, as I've been researching on places like YouTube. Once the report is done, and if there are things that need to be fixed, make sure you give the report to the developer as they'll be able to rectify those issues for you in a timely manner, hopefully.
View the property you're interested in more than once
We viewed the property we're in now twice. I wish I'd have given it one more look, but we were living in a time where the housing market was moving quickly and we were on to getting it for a good price. So we made the time to look at it twice and used the second viewing to look more at the ceilings, conditions of the walls and whether we'd be able to use the third, smallest room as an office space.
If we couldn't, we probably wouldn't have bought the property as there's not much else you can do with it because of its shape and sloped ceiling. Luckily for the seller, we measured up and found out we could fit two good-sized desks in there, so the space wasn't wasted after all.
No matter how much you think you might be putting the seller out by looking at it, buying a house is a big deal, so keep going back until you're 100% certain you're making the right choice for you.
A house is only worth what's worth, don't pay over the odds, especially if additional work needs doing
I've already touched on this. Don't pay more than the asking price for a house, no matter how much you love it. This is because it might not sell for as much in the future and you've lost a lot of money. This is especially the case if extra work needs doing, like a new kitchen or bathroom, or both.
If absolutely nothing needs doing, then maybe you could pay a little more than the asking price if it's popular, but I still don't recommend it as you could uncover issues when you move in that you didn't anticipate and you've now parted with tens of thousands of pounds as a deposit alone.
Be cheeky and offer around 10% less than the asking price. If you do, then negotiating will happen where you work up to the asking as opposed to starting at the asking price and offering more.
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I hope you enjoyed this blog post? Let me know in the comments below whether you're looking to buy a house for the first time or if you've just bought one! I'll see you again very soon with a brand new blog post :)
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