When I won a large sum of money when playing the lottery a few years ago, I decided to invest some of it in real estate. My dad used to always tell me that bricks and mortar where a great way of protecting a large sum of money. Unfortunately, my father wasn't a real estate expert so his advice did not go beyond this very simple statement. I didn't know what to do for the best so I contacted a real estate agency. They were really great and they helped me to plan my property investments wisely. I started this blog so I could offer advice to others.
Here are two tips to follow when buying a house for the first time
Be upfront with the real estate agent about how much work (if any) you'd be willing to do to a property
When you first consult a real estate agent about your interest in finding and buying a house, you should tell them right away how much renovation work, if any, you'd be willing to do any of the houses they arrange for you to view. Telling them this before they even suggest that you look at certain properties in your desired area will ensure that neither of you wastes time visiting houses that are unsuitable.
For example, if you've told them that you don't want to do a full bathroom or kitchen renovation, but are happy to consider houses in which these rooms require some basic cosmetic updates, then they won't bother showing you properties whose bathrooms or kitchens are extremely outdated or in need of major renovations, but may show you ones where the bathroom wall paint is faded or where the kitchen benchtops require some simple refinishing.
Additionally, talking to your real estate agent about this prior to going on any viewings with them will also ensure that if, for instance, the reason you don't want to look at houses that require lots of updates is that doing renovations is not in your budget right now, you won't have to worry about being taken to see a property that you end up loving, that needs a lot of renovation work done to it, and being tempted to put in an offer on a house that you cannot really afford to renovate.
Be willing to view properties that meet all of your requirements
Whilst there are probably a few things that the house you want to buy absolutely needs to have, it is worth viewing properties that the real estate agent thinks might be suitable for you, even if these properties don't tick every box on your 'house must-haves' list. The reason for this is that experienced real estate agents are skilled at seeing a property's potential and working out how, with a few small changes, it could be perfect for a particular client of theirs.
For example, if you want the house to have four bedrooms, and you intend to use one of these rooms as an office, but the real estate agent wants to show you a three-bedroom house that has a modern, clean garden shed that they think could easily be converted into an office space, you should consider checking it out. In this situation, the three-bed house could potentially be cheaper than the four-bed, due to having fewer bedrooms, but would still provide you with an extra space to use as an office.
For more information on real estate, contact a professional near you.
Share10 June 2022
