Choosing your first home or moving to a new one is an important decision as it is the first step towards independence and in many cases a decision for the rest of your life. For this reason, I have created this guide with 10 key steps to take into account to choose your ideal home.
Before starting, it is very important that you do not determine your decision by the first property that you like and that you keep in mind that a nice house does not mean that it is free of problems that can be headaches later (very expensive ones!).
Now, these are the 5 things you must take into account to choose your next property:
Define your needs:
1st step: Make your wishlist and list your needs.
It seems obvious, but many times we venture to real estate fairs to find out what properties are on offer, without first becoming aware of what we really need.
Sometimes what we want is not necessarily on the same wavelength as what we require. That can make us take the wrong decision in the heat of the moment. If we have children, it is most likely that before choosing a property with a tennis court and cinema, we should consider the need for a storage or a common area with a playground.
Create your wishlist and list your needs to mark the requirements that each of the houses you are going to visit. You can compare by filtering the options from the beginning.
The triangle of opportunity:
2nd step: Use a score system to compare real estate.
I want to share with you this small triangulation strategy that I have designed to weigh and compare properties, where the three parameters that normally weigh the most in real estate face each other.
The sections to consider to evaluate the condition are:
- Footage
- Distribution
- Security
- Antiquity
- Energy efficiency level
- Community
- Common expenses
- Parking quantity and location
How much do you have:
3rd step: Define your budget.
For this you must do your accounts and ask yourself the key questions so as not to overdraw.
What debt capacity do I currently have? How much is the amount owed at the moment on credit cards? What amount of debt can I reduce to apply for a mortgage loan? How much am I willing to invest?
By answering these questions you can determine the range in which your budget is going to fit.
Visit the properties that interest you
4th step: Plan your visits.
Once you have your favorites, contact your broker to advise you with the documentation and appraisals, if you need support with this you can send us an email to [email protected].
Plan what days you will establish to know the properties according to the time availability you have. It is recommended that you do not see more than 3 properties a day, since as fatigue progresses you will wear yourself out and lose perspective of all the details.
To prevent you from losing perspective, evaluate 5 to 10 properties and finally limit it to 2 so that in the end you can decide on one. You can support yourself by putting together a comparative chart so that you can evaluate the characteristics of several properties at the same time.
Bring out the trader in you:
Step 5: Discuss the price.
Once you have identified all the pros and cons of the home, evaluate negotiating the price with the arguments analyzed in your triangle of opportunity.
The idea is that you extract the real value of the property. For this you can help yourself by finding out the average price of the area in similar properties in the surroundings. According to a study by idealista.es, the average discount that buyers negotiate reaches up to 20% of the sale price.
The idea of this list is to have a vision of the real estate market and that the time invested in researching the market really means significant long-term economic savings and capture the best possible property.
