Are you dreaming of buying your first home? Becoming a homeowner has many advantages, not paying rent and independence being major benefits. However, as first time buyers there can be some major pit falls. Here are some top tips to help you prepare and think through your approach to best advantage.

4 Tips For First Time Home Buyers

Buying a home is the biggest investment most people will make in their entire lives. Those high stakes come with a lot of stress, and if you’ve never gone through the process before, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed.

Luckily, there’s a lot you can do to prepare yourself before you start looking. We’ve collected four great tips for tackling your first-time house search with confidence.

1) Understand the financials before you start looking

It can be super exciting when you decide you’re ready to buy a home. You may be jumping out of your shoes to see a bunch of listings and start comparing backsplashes and bathroom tiles.

But it’s important to have a firm grasp on the economics of purchasing a house and your personal financial situation before you start considering which home to buy.

It’s worth it to spend a fair bit of time researching a few financial factors first, including:

House prices in your area

Competitiveness of the current market

Available mortgage options, factoring in 30 year and 15 year rates.

It may not be as exciting as seeing houses in person, but when it comes time to move ahead with an offer, you’ll be glad you put the extra work in.

2) Dig deeper in your search area

We all want to live in a house we love, but when it comes to purchasing a home, the location is just as important as the home itself. It has an outsize impact on your living experience, plus it’s a major factor in your home’s resale value.

You’ll want to have good information about:

• The average house price in your chosen area
• The quality of the school district
• The proximity of relevant local infrastructure, like transportation and public parks

All of these factors can make a big difference in what a home is worth.

3) As first time buyers – Put thought into what you need

You’ll probably dream of finding the perfect house that checks off every last item on your wish-list and lacks even a single characteristic you don’t absolutely love. But the reality is, you’re not very likely to find such a house, no matter how hard you look.

For that reason, it can be very helpful to put some work into identifying what factors are truly important to you and what factors you could consider “nice-to-haves.” That way, when you find yourself looking at house after house, you can make decisions about what’s really going to work for you versus what catches your eye at first glance.

4) Remember – Patience is a virtue

When the housing market gets competitive, many potential buyers feel the pressure and try to rush into buying something for fear that they’ll be iced out if they don’t. While that impulse is certainly understandable, you’re more likely to have the best overall home buying experience if you can remain patient, keep a steady head through the process, and be willing to sift through many houses before you find that one that really works for you.

As we said above, this may be your biggest investment, and you don’t want to rush into it just because you feel pressured to buy something quickly. If you don’t feel 100% committed to the property, then keep looking.

Your Hard Work Will Pay Off

Buying a home is never easy, especially as first time buyers. Many peopel learn the ropes as they go. We can’t promise it will always be smooth sailing, but the work you put ahead of your move, into understanding the process and your needs, will make a big difference in your experience.

FURTHER READING FOR HOMEOWNERS & PETOWNERS

At Housesitmatch.com we like to offer useful and practical articles on topics for our readers. In this selection we offer you a number of suitable pieces from our own blog on renovating and decorating a home.

New home construction vs home renovations

Dream home – How to build your own

New home features you didn’t know you would want

Housesitters keep pets safe at home and save money

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities