Even as a traveler, there will come a time when we will need to look to buy a home to set up base. This can be anywhere: in your home country or a place you’ve fallen in love abroad. Regardless of location, the vital things to ponder before buying a new home remains the same. To help you plan for your big home purchase, here is a list of important matters to consider before acquiring your dream abode.
Recognize
your “must-haves”
List down the things you would like in a house before you start looking. Is a driveway necessary, for example? What is your preferred number of bedrooms? How important is it for you to own a standalone unit or is it more valuable to own a condominium? Depending on what option you choose, the property price and budget each month will differ. These can help you streamline your search by helping you identify the things to look for.
Come
up with a definite budget range
As buying a house is a big financial commitment that impacts your finances for a long time, especially if you must take out a loan, this step is imperative. Determine how much debt you can afford to pay in monthly amortizations and how much equity you have available. Fortunately, there are some good online resources that can help you calculate your payments like MortgageCalculator.uk for example. In general, housing payments should not exceed 30% to 40% of your income each month. Your selection will be more focused once you know the price range you can work with.
Study
the house location thoroughly
Considering major cities’ terrible traffic situation, location cannot be underestimated. Though it is natural to select a home near your current workplace, you should also keep your future plans and those of your family in mind when choosing a location. Access to transportation hubs and proximity to important destinations should be considered. Keeping an eye on upcoming infrastructure projects by the government is also important.
Also, make sure to keep up to date with the latest housing trends such as where homeowners are choosing to buy new houses — like with a recent Bloomberg article about United States homeowners are taking their home-equity gains to emerging Metro Areas in America.
Compare
bank offerings carefully
To know what works best for you, you need to take a good look at what each bank has to offer. For example, there are banks that offer a more flexible deal by allowing for longer payment periods, while other banks give out fixed interest rates. You should also take note of the various fees that banks often charge so you can weigh what their over-all offerings are. By comparing the difference of what different banks are offering can potentially save you thousands or even millions when you compute the sum in the entirety of the loan. This online calculator on amortization on homes can be a useful tool when comparing bank offerings.
