Learning how to do anything for the first time usually comes with a process of trial and error.
With a significant investment, like buying a home, the learning curve can take many months to navigate.
This quick and easy guide is designed to help you to buy your first home in Auckland faster and smarter.
1. Secure a finance approval.
While checking out open-homes is fun and exciting for a while, a few months in the appeal can begin to fade.
That’s especially true if you’re shopping for a home before securing a finance approval from the bank.
As soon as you’ve secured a conditional approval, you’ll know exactly how much you’ve got to spend – and from that point, the prospect of owning your own home will begin to feel like a reality.
If you haven’t already applied for a finance approval, book an appointment with a mortgage broker or a bank to get the process underway and you’ll be able to go shopping for a home – for real.
2. Define what you’re looking for in your first home.
Narrowing down your search criteria will make finding a home you love less overwhelming and a lot more fun.
To get started, just grab a paper and pen (or your phone or laptop) and write down what you’re looking for in a home: what you want, don’t want as well as your needs and preferences.
You’ll also want to look to the future, including thinking about your goals, changes to circumstances, finances and interest rate rises.
3. Make your property search efficient.
The frustration is real when you’ve allocated your Saturday afternoon to visiting an open home, only to arrive and find there’s a pylon in the back yard – or something else equally unappealing.
The second time this happened to me, I knew I needed search smarter.
Before heading to an open home, here’s what I suggest:
Use Google Maps to check out the home.
Take a look at the Street and Aerial views – find out what the home looks like from the street, the neighbouring properties and the street itself.
Google Maps is also great for checking out public transport options and commute times at various times of the day.
Get a rough idea of price.
Check the Auckland Council CV, released November 2017. On this page you can also find the land area and type of title (freehold or cross-lease, for example).
For more ways on how to research a property on the cheap, these are five of the best free resources for first home buyers.
4. Get to know your preferred suburb/s inside-out.
The reality of buying a first home in Auckland often means making a compromise, and that could mean buying in an area that you haven’t spent much time in before.
There’s no real shortcut with this one: check out plenty of open homes in the area, find out how much they’re selling for, get to know the best and worst streets, the transport options, schools, shops, parks cafes and restaurants.
With every visit to the area, you’ll get a better idea of what living there might be like – and if it’s the place for you.
For help in determining what a home is worth (and how agents pitch price) see Agent Insider Information: The Price Guide.
5. Commit to buying.
Buying a home, especially for the first time, takes some courage. When there’s a lot at stake, it can be easy enough to talk yourself out it.
I like to say ‘Buy a home with your head and your heart’. That means educating yourself fully, commit to making a considered decision, find a home that you love and then do what you can to buy it.
Fortune favours the brave!
If you’re still feeling a little overwhelmed by the idea of buying your first home, here’s how GettingHome can help: In just three weeks Nicola can teach you how to buy your first home with complete confidence, with First Home Buyer’s Bootcamp.
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