Choosing Your First Home – Key Questions First-Time Buyers Need to Consider
With house prices on the rise, first-time buyers remain unduly priced out of a rapidly-advancing market in the UK. For the slim minority lucky enough to break through deposit requirements and start their journey onto the property ladder, buying a first home can feel like a race. But, as with any race, pace is key – and there are some key questions you should slow down to answer before you proceed.
What Is My Budget?
First and foremost, you need to ask yourself earnestly what your budget is for buying. The limit of your buying budget should be based on a few things, from the amount of money you have saved to the size of your annual salary – or your combined salary, if you are buying as a household.
This is important for you to know not just to give you a clearer idea of where to look in the market price-wise, but also to establish a firm ceiling for when you start putting offers in. Bidding wars are easy to get caught up in, and you could soon find yourself stretching the limits of affordability without a hard maximum budget in mind. Don’t forget to incorporate the cost of surveys, legal fees and potential renovations into this budget too!
What Features Are Non-Negotiable?
Before you get too attached to properties as you start to browse the market, you should write down a list of non-negotiable features that you wouldn’t want to buy a house without. If you go ahead with putting offers in before you do this, you could find yourself in too deep on a house that isn’t fit for purpose.
For instance, if sustainability and energy efficiency are absolute must-haves for you, you might be better served looking for new build homes that adhere to newer, stricter building regulations – and which benefit from modern material technologies, making them far more efficient than older builds on the market. Alternatively, you might be after a house with a box room for home-office purposes, without which you’d be working in the kitchen.
What Are My Long-Term Plans?
Another key question that you must have some form of answer to before putting in an offer is “what are my long-term plans?” In a nutshell, there is little point to placing a great deal of time and money into a first property if you have even the slightest inkling that you might want to move to a new area within the next five years. Admin and moving stress aside, the biggest reason for this is that Stamp Duty relief only applies to your first home purchase. If you’re moving again, and quickly, the Stamp Duty you pay could be significant.
What Location Suits My Lifestyle?
This question is a more general one, which asks you what you’re looking for in a move. If you’re an urban socialite, you won’t find much enjoyment moving somewhere rural or without transport links – and vice versa.
Wrapped up in this question is another, too, which relates to the neighbourhoods within your search locations. Before you put an offer down, you want to have a good idea of what to expect from your neighbours and local community; online message boards can be a good repository for this information if you can’t get down in person.
