Tips to finding your first home

Searching for your first home can be an overwhelming experience, but when it’s the biggest purchase of your life, you need to ensure that it’s right for you. There are so many things to consider, so to help you with one of the biggest decisions in your life, we have drawn up some helpful tips and guidance when finding your first home.

Start with an open mind

There is the danger of becoming too fixated on certain locations or certain properties. It’s important to be open when searching for your first home, ensuring that you’re considering all locations and types of houses. Often buyers become stressed because they have narrowed their search down too far too early.

Talk to your local estate agent

It’s worth booking in a conversation with your local estate agents as after all, they are the experts. They will be able to give you an idea of properties available in the area, upcoming areas to search in and whether your budget is realistic to where and what you’re looking for.

Check out the location before putting an offer in

You don’t want to commit to a house before even knowing what the location or neighbourhood is like. If you fail to do this, you could be stuck…for a long time! It’s a good idea to identify three to four neighbourhoods you’d like to live in based on commute time, schools, recreation, crime, and price.

Use property finding websites

With the world evolving, property search websites have become the most popular way in finding properties for sale and to rent. They are easy to use, open all hours, provide you accurate results and you don’t even have to move from the sofa! Some of the many include Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket.

Speak to a mortgage adviser

We can give you an idea of how much you will be paying monthly, taking various fees and rates into account. We will also be able to tell you whether your budget is enough to get you the property you want and what deal we believe is right in light of your needs.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Approved by The Openwork Partnership on 17/03/2023.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s important to consider everything when making one of the biggest purchases of your life.
• Buying your first home is an overwhelming experience, so making sure you’re open to everything is key.
• When finding your first home it’s important to consider things like the neighbourhood, whether it’s a starter house or your forever home, price and affordability.
• Estate agents are great for finding your first home, they will give you insight into where to buy, upcoming areas to buy into and if you can afford certain areas.
• Property finding sites are great for finding your first home, they are open all hours, are easy to use and you don’t have to move from the sofa!
• We can help make the process of finding your first mortgage as smooth as possible.
• YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.