Buying a new home is an emotional roller coaster ride and can be thrilling, frustrating, confusing and ultimately absolutely wonderful. Along the path of searching for a home and finding one you may well experience all of these emotions and perhaps a few more.
Anything that can ease the process is a great benefit and here is something everyone, be they first time buyer or seasoned mover should do first of all. Check your finances! Don’t do it because almost every agent you walk into says they can help you get the best deal in the galaxy, don’t do it because you are told you well be put in touch with the most amazing and loveable financial advisor the industry ever dreamt of, do it because it is the most crucial thing you need to understand, ‘How much can I/we really afford to spend?’
Thankfully long gone are the days where the man of the house would put on his best Sunday suit, make an appointment to see the bank manager and be told what his future prospects were and what sort of a risk he was. We have also said goodbye to the days of ‘How much do they want to borrow? Double it and add a bit on top for good measure!’
Borrowing money today is a different matter for everyone an although it is a good thing mostly it does mean that you need to research properly what your personal situation will allow. What it costs you to live will play a bigger part in determining what you can spend. We have seen peoples hopes dashed far too often because ‘Uncle Terry’ said, ‘no worries, just multiply your salaries by … and add this on, there you go spend that much.’
Take time to find a qualified Independent Financial Advisor that you can talk to. Make sure they are a registered IFA and that they are not tied to any financial institution in any way whatsoever. Financial Advisors will give you the best advice they can but how good is that advice if they have limited access to the marketplace. Salesmen sell product and if an advisor is commission based associated with a financial institution then there will be a drive for them to sell as much as possible within the guidelines of giving best advice. Everyone wants to make a living.
To find out more about Independent Financial Advisors one of the places you can start online is at Unbiased.co.uk Once you have a clearer idea of what you can afford to spend, of what buying a home will cost you, the associated fees included, then you can begin to look for your dream home. You can determine the parameters of your search, work out based on the marketplace what negotiability there is and how far you should look. It will mean you may well find yourself able to afford a property you didn’t think you could stretch to and it may save you from falling in love with that delightful project that will stretch you too far.
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