Personal

Do Your Homework

You have worked out how much you can afford to spend, the type of home you want, and your preferred location. You now have to find the property that meets these requirements. This is when you find out that the type of house in your preferred suburb is too expensive. You may need to compromise.

You can’t change the affordability, so you need to work out some kind of trade-off between location and property features.

The more properties you look at, the better appreciation you will get of what is available, and at what price. You will find that values can change quite dramatically by moving just a short distance (e.g. on the other side of a major through-road). This can be a very time-consuming exercise, but the more thorough your research, the more likely you are to end up with what you want without paying too much for it. Some tips for the home searching process include:

1. Take an organised approach to researching all sources.
   This includes property guides in the local or metropolitan newspapers, real estate offices in and around your preferred suburbs and the internet.
2. Take your time to view properties thoroughly so that you can note any defects. View at your own pace and tell the estate agent you would like to look through on your own if this is your preference.
3. Compare each property to a list of your requirements.
4. Ask lots of questions. This helps you make comparisons between properties. If you feel comfortable with the estate agent you can ask them about other properties they may know of.
5. View any properties you are very interested in more than once. Take along a couple of other people whose judgement you value.
6. A second visit should be more critical. Look for damaged paintwork, cracks in the plaster, worn carpets or curtains, springy floorboards, signs of damp, leaking taps. Test the water pressure, check cupboards for space, and try and get a feel for how your belongings would go in the house.
7. Try and visit at different times of the day so that you can get a feel for daylight in the rooms, heat from the sun, noise, and traffic volumes.
8. If you are really interested you should consider an independent building inspection and a pest inspection.