First Home Buyers: Finding Your Perfect Home
Finding Your Dream Home
Once you know what you can afford, you can get a much better idea of what type of home you can buy and where you can live. When it comes to the type of property and location, many first home buyers find they need to compromise in some way.
A free-standing home in an established, convenient, leafy neighbourhood near a CBD, great transport, family and friends might well be out of reach the first time around.
If convenience is important to you, you may need to look at apartments instead of houses, remembering that the closer you are to a CBD, the higher the demand and price. Your budget may only stretch as far as an older walk-up unit if you want a property within 20 minutes of a major capital city, for example.
If you’re looking for a house and garden, depending on where you are, you may be restricted to the outer suburbs or regional areas.
Consider what is most important to you now and for the next 5 years.
- Are you looking to join a community of people a similar age to yourself?
- Is it important that you live near to work, or could you cope with a long commute?
- Do you have children, or are you starting a family?
All of these, in addition to your budget, will influence where and what you buy.
Research is essential. Don’t forget to explore:
- Suburb demographics
- Price trends over the past 10 years
- Existing and planned infrastructure, such as public transport, shopping centres and schools.
If property values in one suburb have skyrocketed in the past 5 years, find out why and consider whether neighbouring areas have similar potential.
To speak to our Lending Specialist, call our office on (02) 4732 3844.
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