Essential things to think about when buying your first home…

I met a couple last week who were buying their first home and one of the conversations we had was around long term goals.  It made me think, how many first home buyers have a long term goal in mind when they are looking to buy their first home?

A lot of people may have a goal of getting into property ownership and providing a stable home for their family, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!  But if you sit down and start thinking about long term goals, would that change how you would think about buying your first home?  Would your criteria still be the same?

If your long term goal is to have one or more investment properties, then would you be better off looking at a first home that is low maintenance, on an easy care section and in a good location (relative to where you currently live)?  Would the property meet the new Healthy Home Regulations and if not, is this easy to achieve?

Is your long term goal to buy an older home that needs work, renovate and then sell?  Often these types of property come with a larger section and offers the potential for capital gains.  Are you prepared to do some work to tidy it up or renovate?  This takes time, skill and/or money and would you be living in the home while you were carrying out work?  Have you been involved with a renovation before?  What work can you do and what would you have to outsource?

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to buying property, but for first home buyers who are wanting to become savvy purchasers – sit down and have a discussion around your long term goals and this will make the home buying process a lot easier.

If you wish to discuss this further, you can contact me via email at anita.dobson@harcourts.co.nz, visit my Facebook page www.facebook.com/anitadobsonrealestate, or phone me on 021337093.