We all know that what starts off as an exciting exercise of looking online at a property portal, maybe glass in hand following the ‘lets do it’ chat, can sadly turn from fun to stress in a matter of months due to a whole variety of factors.
We’ve had a think about how best to avoid the stresses that come with house hunting from our experience of having helped so many lovely families buy houses in the last couple of years, and we think if you follow these simple steps, you’ll navigate your way through the stress of moving with ease.
1) Don’t jump the gun
It’s far too easy to get all over excited and start house hunting for your new home even before you’ve got yours ready for sale. We can’t tell you how frustrating this will become for you a couple of months in. Maybe you’ll have spotted the perfect house but are not yet in a position to buy. You’ll then compare everything to the ‘one that got away’ or you’ll get house hunting fatigue. So wasting your stamina on houses you are unable to buy really is fruitless. Trust us, wait until you are in a position to view a house ‘seriously’ and be truly ready to buy.
2) Know your budget
This may seem completely obvious but we often find that clients start off with a vague notion of what they can spend and unless you know your finances inside out, you can waste valuable time looking a house that you could never afford. Alternatively you could get frustrated about not being able to find that ‘dream house’, when actually you could stretch a little further to put you in a new ‘price bracket’ and hey presto, you are looking at the level you should have been all along.
3) Make yourself the most attractive buyer possible
A seller is looking for a buyer who is going to put in an offer that they think is acceptable, but more than that, they want to know that the offer has substance. They want to know that the buyer does in fact have the money that they have offered. So, to avoid any confusion and stop all the last minute scrambling about and 24 hours of panic, at the beginning of your house buying process get your finances in order and at the very least get together quotes from the various professional services you will be instructing. Even better get an Agreement in Principle from your lender. This will make your offer watertight from the seller’s perspective and will work in your favour if you are in a competitive situation.
4) Narrow your criteria as much as you can
Too big a search area and you will have too much choice as there are often too many variables. We notice movers from cities, who are used to a choice of very similar styles of house, find the array of types of houses in the countryside a little overwhelming. Our advice is to start to narrow your criteria down with simpler things. For example, choose your child’s schools first. Or if that’s not feasible, work out how long a commute you are willing to do and then look no further than a particular stop on a railway line. Or simply spend the time driving yourself on an orientation tour and work out which village and towns you like and which you don’t. That way when you are looking online, you can dismiss houses straight away that didn’t make it onto your ‘preferred list’.
We hope that helps, and if all else fails, you can always call us and we’ll take the sting out of house hunting for you and hold you hand through the whole process.
