3 things first home buyers need to know!
These days if you’re buying a home in your twenties chances are you’ll be smugly feeling like you’re winning in life. But beware, there are a few mistakes young home buyers need to watch out for.
Lessons learned: where some young first home buyers went wrong
Your emotions can put you wrong. Having spent most of her life living in an inner city townhouse, one young buyer romanticised the idea of country living & bought her own slice of paradise – not exactly in the country, but a suburban home set on almost an acre of land. She admits it was a big mistake! She travels a lot for work and simply couldn't keep up with the property maintenance. She later moved into an apartment which proved a much better fit for her lifestyle.
You might not be thinking about kids, but potential buyers could be. When one young, single first home buyer bought his townhouse all he was interested in was securing an affordable mortgage and making sure his new abode was close to the city. He didn't check out the school zones, or consider how attractive the home would be to a family. Later, when trying to sell, he realised he had bought in a less than ideal school zone and this made selling tough. He now knows he should have looked at the number of homes for sale, & researched why people were moving out of the area – if he had done this he would have realised that school zoning was a real issue! It’s always best to buy in areas that appeal to many & varied buyers, so you can sell easily if necessary.
Even the smartest budgeters need a big buffer. It’s all well & good to make sure you can comfortably meet monthly mortgage repayments, but have you really taken all possible expenses into account? One first home buyer was great at budgeting, saving & organising his finances, but didn’t factor in additional costs until too late. He didn't consider the cost of breaking an existing rental lease, did a poor job of estimating moving costs & underestimated the costs of power, internet etc. Moving in during Winter when the power bill was at its priciest was particularly challenging too. He also didn't budget for new furniture & homewares.
So, first home buyers, whatever you do, take the time to do plenty of research during the home buying process. Consider your lifestyle, where you want to be now, & where you want to be down the track. Most importantly, seek input from a financial adviser - we’re here to help make first home purchases easy!
