Finally! You now have enough money to buy your own house. But even though a large share of financial worries is now behind you, there are other things that may stress you out from scouting your new home to competing with other buyers and transferring the title.
The rigorous process of buying a home starts with saving up lots of cash, which can often take years. Then comes the choosing part, where future homeowners spend a lot of time traveling and meeting with agents. And when you have finally decided which house has proven worthy of your investment, things get even more problematic from there on.
A Stressful Process
It’s no surprise that one of the most common causes of stress nowadays is purchasing a house, which can take up to three months on average. There are a lot of horror stories surrounding the process of buying houses and all these lead to frustration and a feeling of hopelessness.
A survey, conducted by Which? Mortgage Advisers, stated that one in five home buyers experience a problem when delays occur due to other interested parties. Ten percent of the respondents said that they had trouble in securing a mortgage and the same percentage had an issue with removal companies.
Meanwhile, 12 percent reported that they had problems even on completion day and 7 percent experienced an issue with surveyors. Eight percent of the respondents had difficulties with conveyancers, while one in seven said the original owners left the house in poor condition.
With that said, your frustrations are totally valid. According to David Blake of Which? Mortgage Advisers, there are things you definitely can do to avoid being stressed out when purchasing your house:
Plan Ahead
It is best to think ahead and plan in advance by securing a mortgage in principle, a statement from your preferred lending company that basically says they are willing to lend the borrower a certain amount. What good does this bring? You basically have an advantage over other buyers because the statement acts like an assurance for your payment.
You might also want to consider the time frame the seller is looking at. The owner may be selling the house under specific conditions that you need to be wary of. Also find out if there is a lessor staying at the property who may extend the lease, which will then make the waiting period longer before you can actually move into the house.
If you own a house that is on sale and at the same time you are looking into buying a new one, it is best to find a buyer before closing the deal for the new property. This is so that you can use the payment for the old house to outbid other buyers who may also be interested in the property you are eyeing. It can be upsetting to find out that you have been zapped away by another buyer’s offer, in which case you should increase your offer to outbid other interested parties.
Conveyancing, or the legal process of transferring titles, also takes time and patience, and is often considered to be the most time-consuming part of purchasing a house. With that said, it is important to stick with established and efficient law firms out there to avoid any delays.
Communication Is Key
Lastly, proper communication is the key to efficiency – and in this case, a smooth transaction. Make sure the agent knows when you’re going for a vacation or if there’s an emergency so that they won’t think you are not interested anymore. It also pays to attend meetings and to air your concerns throughout the process. While this may be time-consuming, it will give the seller and the agent the notion that you are a serious buyer.
But if the whole process is not for you, you may have to wait for more progress in the field of digital mortgage. Last month, the first digital mortgage was approved, which means that the future of homeownership is about to become a whole lot simpler.