An Entensive Checklist For First Time Home Buyers

While being the first time home buyer, is a big achievement in an individual’s life and is very close to any person’s heart. It is a truly sentimental moment that brings with it the pleasure of achievement of a lifetime dream.

At the same time, it is a big-sized investment. Attention and thoughtful study are necessary to make the right choice and enjoy long-term profits. After all, most people buy a home only once in their lifetime and then that same property is transferred on generation after generation.

If you are at that stage in your life when you are ready to or are planning to buy your first home, this article is specially created to help you make a choice that you will never deprecate. Making a well-rounded home purchase decision assumes consideration of an aggregation of portions. Let's check them out below –

I. Evaluate Your Requirements Completely---

When you’re going on the searching for your first home buying, it is quite natural to have your mind walking to everything that looks and feels beautiful. There is essentially no shortage of good properties options today. Most of the good developers have compelling offers and advertisements with captivating messaging and imagery that can quickly excite anyone.

But, when you’re sitting down and searching the feasible options, it is wise for you to focus only on those properties that make a complete reason for your present and exacted future requirements. After all, this one investment is most probably for your lifetime and hence it must be well thought out.

Your decision to purchase the home could be driven by either of the two causes – self-use or investment. While some concerns remain common across both these goals, what you require may be slightly different depending on that characteristic. Typically, factors that you should consider to evaluate your needs include--

Size Of The Home

If you’re going to buy the home for your self-use, you must take into a number of your family size and choose the exact home size with the right number of rooms.

If you’re almost young or recently married, you must view the space necessities for the future when you have children. On the other hand, if you’re living independently from your parents, or you manage to host outstation guests regularly, you might want to choose for a house that has an extra room for the time they visit you. It’s good to think these portions through now, to avoid space difficulties a few years down the line.

If you’re buying the house completely from an investment perspective, you may choose for a size that is optimal for renting purpose. Don't choose that is too small or too big could get a little more challenging to rent out easily.

Choice Of Essential Amenities

Buying a property that is bundled with amenities is beautiful to anyone. It’s always exact to own a home that is equipped with all the modern facilities and luxury besides. But, homes with additional amenities come with a larger cost and not all of the extra facilities may be of use to you. It’s good to thoughtfully consider what are the must-have facilities for your family’s comfortable and healthy living and look for one that is most fitted to those requirements.

Location Preference

The location of the house is also a very important factor that you must examine thoughtfully into. Any home that you buy either for yourself or another family that you’ll rent it out to must be around a good neighborhood that is secure for family living. Additionally, it should also be easily approachable by all common means of transportation.

If you plan to live yourself, you might want to study the locational closeness to your workplace and the type of facilities you would want or need around. For example – entertainment zones, good schools, and colleges for your children, the shopping complexes, hospital, banks and so on.

Time To Possession

After you are deciding your requirements, another part that you need to evaluate is how long can you stand to wait before getting possession. As a home buyer, you have the option to go for ready to move in homes or buy homes in their under construction phase. While the past is in more demand normally, the end comes with its own set of benefits.

If you’re buying the home for your self-use and have the option to wait for a few years for possession, you could buy one in its under-construction phase and enjoy an extent out a payment plan, and maybe get the best deal.

II. Figure Out The Costs And Plan Your Budget

Buying a home is a high-priced case, and financial factors largely determine the right and affordable choice between the feasible options. Therefore, once you have an understanding of your needs, the next step is to plan out the budget to buy the type of home that suits your requirements. While budgeting you should –

Find Out The Average Property Price

It’s good to start budgeting by getting out the average prices of homes in the locality and size that is best for you. A point to note is that home prices essentially differ depending on the area, amenities included in the property, open area and the developer of the property.

Once you have a clear idea about the price, you need to next budget and decide whether you can manage it or not. Getting emotional about your desire, and trying to buy something way out of your reach might land you into very long-term debt, so it is necessary to budget thoughtfully. If the property you’re eyeing at feels out of reach, you may want to rethink the location, amenities or flat size to appear at a choice that is closest to your budget.

Familiarize Yourself with Extra Costs

While working through financial situations, it’s also important for you to make note that buying a house has extra charges in addition to the property price that needs to be acquired. These include charges such as mutation and registration costs at the time of buying. You must check out these charges into your budget.

III. Make A Well Rounded Choice

Once you have a basic idea of your needs and have prepared your budget, the next step is to choose from the options available. You must visit the site of each of the properties in your shortlist to get an actual feel of what you will get, and see weaknesses for yourself if any.

As a thumb rule, it is always careful to choose for a property that is sold by a well-reputed developer as a home is a long-term investment and it is better to be safe with your choice. You should ideally give more preference to a well-reputed lender with a caring DNA as this small step will help you save a lot of trouble in a long time.

With all these factors in place, you can make your pick and then start planning on how to make the payments.

IV. Plan Out Your Payment Method

If you are planning to buy a new property that is in its under-construction phase, you should not make the fill payment at one time. You can book the property with a down payment and pay installments as per the payment plan suggested by the developer. If your looking at purchasing ready to move in properties, you’ll be required to make the full payment at the time of purchase to transfer it in your name.

Generally, most first time home buyers go for home loans. Getting a house on loan means making a down payment of usually 15-20% of the home value, and paying the remaining sum over the tenor of the loan along with the interest. Interest rates again can be fixed or hovering, and you must discuss and evaluate the viability of these in detail with your bank.

V. Learn About The Government Benefits Schemes

There are many government schemes available and you must find out which ones you are eligible for. The Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Waas Yojana (PMAY) under it can offer you savings up to INR 2.6 lakhs with its special interest subsidies. Also, you also hold the chance to save up to INR 2 lakhs on the interest paid and 1 lack under section 80C, Income Tax Act.

Conclusion

Buying the first home is a very emotional and important milestone in any person’s life. Most people make this purchase only once in their lifetime, and generations enjoy the benefits.

If you’re about to buy a home and are at the cusp of making your life’s most vital investment, you must exercise care to make the correct choice. A correct choice is one that is well-aligned to your requirements, falls within a budget you can afford and allows you and your family to enjoy a good living experience. Make sure that your attentiveness at each step are well rounded, and you’re sure to make a choice that will benefit you during your lifetime.