In 2013, I made the biggest decision of my life, deciding to buy my home. I found the one for me, placed my deposit and 13 months later (that's a different story) finally picked up my keys! I've now been living in my own home for 2 months, and I'm pleased to say I made the right choice. But here's what I learnt over my journey of buying a house.
Lesson 1 - What you think you can afford, probably isn't what you can afford
When I signed my contract for my Graduate job I thought I was earning a pretty good salary. I had a decent monthly income, very little monthly payments going out of my bank. I thought I'd be able to afford homes in the region of about £130k - £140k.
I started my search within this price range and found some amazing houses that I'd have loved to own. My parents convinced me to do some research online and get some quotes for mortgages. It was at this point I realised no one would give me enough to buy the houses I'd been looking at unless I had a massive deposit, which I didn't. To get a house I was definitely going to have to lower my price range.
Before you start looking speak to a financial advisor or do some research yourself to see what the banks will be willing to learn you, what deposit you'd need and whether you can afford it.
Lesson 2 - Learn to compromise
Decide what you want from your new home. Do you want a flat? Or a house? In the city? Or in the Countryside? Write out a list and start your search. What you'll find is you're going to have to compromise somewhere. Either in size, location, number of bedrooms, garden etc. Decide what is the most important thing to you, what you can't live without, and narrow down your search.
I wanted a 2 or 3 bed house, with a decent size garden, off road parking, just on the outskirts of Newcastle, within close distance to a good bus route/metro station to get into town and easy access to the motorways to get to work. When I saw what I could afford, I realised this wasn't going to happen. I had two choices; move further out of the city centre (into the next county to be exact) to get the house I wanted, or get the location I wanted but live in a flat instead. Although I considered option 1 for a while, I ended up with option 2. Location was much more important to me than the house was.
If you can find the perfect house for you without having to compromise at all, you're very lucky! But, if not, don't be afraid to compromise.
Lesson 3 - No one can make the decision for you
I'm rubbish at making decisions so I tend to avoid them as much as possible. I took my parents with me house hunting and I kept asking them 'what do you think I should do?'. Their response was 'We're not the ones that will be living here, you will'. As annoying as it was at the time when you just want someone to tell you what to do, they're right in what they're saying.
You're buying your home, so the decision as to what to buy is yours. Don't go house hunting alone, but remember the people you take with you are there to advise you only on things you may not have spotted/considered. They can't make the decision for you.
Lesson 4 - It's a lot more expensive than you think it is
Buying a home isn't cheap, and there's a lot more to pay for than you might first think of. The bulk of your money will go on the deposit, typically 10% of the sale value, but before you've even got the keys you have to pay for solicitor's fees, stamp duty (if applicable), mortgage application fees, financial advisor fees, your mortgage provider's solicitors fees, property surveys, the list can go on. Make sure you have enough behind you to cover all of this as you'll need to pay it all in advance.
Then when you eventually get your keys there's all the furniture to buy, insurance to sort out, council tax to pay, bills to pay, curtains to buy, phone lines to install (if they're not already there), and if you're buying a new build you've got things like carpets, tiles, curtain poles, light fittings to purchase just to allow you to sleep there.
Make sure you're aware of everything you're going to need to pay and keep track of how much you're spending to make sure you have enough to cover the things you need.
Lesson 5 - Delays happen
Delays. Delays. Delays. The amount of delays I went through in my purchase were unbelievable, but I'm not here to rant about them (as much as I would like to). When you make the decision to purchase you'll be given an estimated date for completion, but take this with a pinch of salt as it is just an estimation.
If you're buying a preowned home you'll have other people's moving schedules to deal with. The person you're buying off my not find a home to move into and until they do, they probably won't agree to move. That could be a long delay depending on how long it takes to find somewhere.
If you're buying a new build home, no matter how far through the build they are, there's always things like the weather, a shortage of parts, unexpected problems or anything to arise. Everyone puts delays onto the completion date. I had delays due to the roof not being signed off my the building authorities, to a shortage of staff to complete the job, to the carpet fitters not being available on the day the builders wanted them, to last minute changes in plans stopping us from completing. Be very careful what you sign and agree to regarding dates for a new build.
And then in either situation, you have the delays with solicitors. I may have only bought one home for me, but I've moved house four times with my parents and in each case we had numerous delays with solicitors not doing what they should have done and by when. From my experiences, if you don't keep on top of them and in communication with them, things aren't going to progress.
Lesson 6 - Enjoy your new home
The day you get the keys is a great day. You finally get something to show for the fact you've spent a fortune on. I spent the first half an hour in my home just wandering round the empty living room in circles talking really excitedly down the phone to my parents. I loved it, and it didn't have anything in it.
Now I've been in two months, I'm settled and I love being here. I definitely made the right decision, and I enjoy every minute I'm in my flat. I look forward to coming home from work and don't mind spending time at home on the weekends. It's a big decision but it's definitely worth it. I hope you enjoy yours too!
Sarah x
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