Renting a home and home ownership

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Most people start out by renting their first home from someone else. The move and transition to home ownership is a significant step in defining your own space and identity. Once you are a homeowner you can define that space by modifying the shape of your home, the look of your living space and how long you own the place. However, making that first step to investment is a big move. Here are some guidelines on what to expect.

Renting a home and the move to home ownership

Renting is becoming more increasingly common amongst young adults nowadays. Ultimately, for the majority, home ownership is much better than paying rent. Rent always goes to someone else. You may be paying someone else’s mortgage on their behalf. This leaves you with nothing to show for it at the end of your rental. Of course, renting is great if you’re not sure where you want to live, want to wait until you have a family, or simply aren’t ready to settle down.

When you’re finally ready, buying a home can give you so much more freedom over the personalisation of your space, save you money as you’re not paying someone else’s disposable income on top of mortgage payments and, ultimately, provides you with a pretty big asset. Of course, this is a complex process. So how can you get started on the right foot? Here are some steps to consider when you’re ready to get on the property ladder!

Decide What You’re Looking For in a Home

The first step to take when in looking for your perfect home is to decide what exactly you want in a house. There are countless properties out there and – bearing in mind that this is the biggest financial investment you’re likely to make in your life – you’re going to want to choose the right place the first time around. Some areas of focus that will help you to whittle down your search include:

Location –

Moving into home ownership is a big step. You need to decide where exactly you want to live. Buying a property is a big investment. At the end of the day, the world is your oyster or as far as your particular oyster will stretch financially. You could stay local. You could head all the way to a hdb hle in Singapore. Factors that are likely to impact where you live include whether it needs to be close to your workplace, whether you need to be close to schools or childcare facilities and whether you want to remain close to family and friends or not.

Size matters in home ownership –

Next you need to consider what size property you’re looking for. For individuals, a studio apartment or one bed flat could be just fine. For families, you may need something bigger with extra bedrooms and bathrooms.

Attached, Semi-Detached or Terrace –

Houses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but consider how close you want to be to your neighbours. At the end of the day, you never know who will end up moving in or out of the property next to you. So, do you want your house to be standalone? Do you mind being attached to a neighbour on one side? Would you be okay as a middle house in a terrace?

Garden –

Some people don’t need a garden at all. Many homeowners have pets and kids so a garden becomes an essential. Some like gardening and deem it important. Consider how important a garden is to you and whether you need one for your home.

Extras –

And finally, you can consider extras that you are always wanted. Always wanted an en suite bathroom? or would you prefer a home with a garage? Do you like to have a laundry room separate from your kitchen?

Start Saving Your Deposit

Once you know what you want from home ownership and what you’re looking for, you can figure out how much you’re going to need to spend to get the home you want and can start saving your deposit. Nowadays, the average mortgage deposit is between 10 and 15% of a property’s overall value. So, you may find that it can take a while to save. These tips can help!

Create a savings account – the first step you should take is to create a savings account. High interest accounts such as LISAs can help your money mount up more quickly. There are also usually terms on removing your money that include fees and deductions, encouraging you to leave the money in the account until you’re ready to buy.
Cut non essential costs – of course, cutting out expensive and non essential purchases, such as holidays, non essential clothes and accessories, takeaways and other costs, can really help to maximise the amount you have available to put into your savings account.
Reduce essential spending – believe it or not, there are ways to reduce essential spending too. Sure, you do need shelter, energy, food and more. But you could consider moving into a cheaper rental, switching energy providers and eating non branded food to free up more money for your savings pot.

A final word on home ownership

Buying your own home is an extremely exciting journey. Becoming a homeowner you develop a great sense of possession and identity as you can truly define your persona living space. Hopefully, some of the information above will help to get you started out towards this life changing purchase!