Buying a house is an important decision. Before buying a property, you should carefully consider what financial resources are available, what type of property you want to buy, and so on. In order to cover all these important points and so that they can really be sure that they have thought of everything, there are now for you the top 10 tips for a successful real estate purchase. You can find out all the information you need about incidental costs when buying a house in our guide on the subject of incidental costs when buying a property.
Real estate is in short supply and has high prices, especially in this day and age. There are many interested parties who could become competitors for them. Therefore, it is always to be well prepared and keep an eye on their finances. To ensure this and have a chance in finding their dream property, they should consider some points. First of all, they should use a budget calculator and with the help of this calculate their monthly expenses, so they can estimate how much they have available for the real estate loan. Then, they should use a budget calculator to calculate what purchase price you can afford, taking into account their equity. Once these two points are clarified, they should obtain a non-binding financing request from various banks to see if they can get a real estate loan and how much it would be.
Through these steps, you are well prepared, know whether you would receive a bank loan and which properties would be financially suitable for them at all. Now you can start looking for real estate. The agent or seller, they tell quietly about the preparations, because this underlines how serious it is with the property search and they may be preferred to other buyers.
Tip 2 – be aware of the requirements for your new home
Of course, it is extremely important to know what they can afford financially, but they should also be clear about what requirements they have for the property. You should ask yourself questions like: ‘Where do I want to live?’ In the city or in the country? ‘What needs to be nearby?’ Schools, supermarkets, rail links, …. ‘How many rooms do we need?’ ‘Do we want a big garden or a small one?’. ‘Would we rather build?’. ‘Do we want to renovate or move in ready to move in?’. If you have answered these questions, you can narrow down the property search enormously and save valuable time. You should be sure about a house, because you are buying it and want to live there longer than three or four years. You should also think about what your life will be like in ten or twenty years’ time and whether the demands on the house might change then.
Now they already know how much budget they have available and what requirements their new home should meet. Now it’s time to start looking for real estate. It is always advisable to search in as many directions as possible and to have a lot of choice. Therefore, search in various real estate portals, they commission brokers, they ask their friends and acquaintances and they just go for a walk in their desired place of residence, often find so houses that are for sale. Do not rush and do not decide thoughtlessly. Several house inspections may also help you to expand your requirements for a house.
Tip 4 – Investigate the location of the house
Found a property that fits your budget and vision? Great! However, even if it looks great at first glance, you should not decide too quickly. Take a good look at the location of the property first. Check that you can find everything you need in the area. This could include bus stops, supermarkets, schools but also the hairdresser for example. Then they should visit the house at different times of the day and see if there are any unpleasant smells produced by, for example, a sewage treatment plant or the farmer next door, are there any disturbing noises that could be annoying in the long run? Such visits can also be useful to observe, for example, when the sun shines where into the house or garden.
Of course, you don’t want to invest your money in something that has, for example, broken pipes, a damp cellar or possibly water damage. So before they buy a house, they should put it through its paces. To do this, they can quietly consult an expert who takes for them the house under the microscope. They should check things like: Energy efficiency, moisture, mold, sponge, pollutants or asbestos. But also things like insect infestation by termites or the like they should prevent. What you can look for yourself during an inspection, are the conditions of roof, windows and wood, but also the smell, can indicate such as mold infestation.
Tip 6 – get all the important documents about the house
The location of the house is perfect and serious damage can also not be determined. You are getting closer and closer to your dream of owning your own home! Next, you should ask the seller or the agent to hand over all the important documents for the house. These not only help to clarify open questions, but are also partly needed to clarify financing issues with the bank. Among the important documents are: Floor plans, site plans and possibly construction documents, in the case of leaseholds the lease agreement, the extract from the land register, the energy certificate, if necessary the extract from the building encumbrance register and in the case of common property, such as terraced houses, for example, the declaration of division, the certificate of seclusion, the community ordinance, the partition plan and the minutes of the last owners’ meeting.
Tip 7 – negotiate the best purchase price and lock in the financing
Once all the points have been clarified and you are sure that you want to buy the property, all that remains is to finalise the purchase price. In normal cases, there is always some room for negotiation on the asking price. This is strongly dependent on the location of the property, because where there are many potential buyers other than you, the negotiating leeway is rather small, but if you are the only interested party, they should quietly poker something. Simply send the exposé of the property to your financial advisor. This can calculate the market value and the mortgage lending value from the point of view of the bank for you and they can estimate the offer price better. In addition, you can find out about prices per square metre in the region or do an online search for comparable properties.
It is also important that you can only buy the house when you have the financing commitment of the bank in your hands, because only then can a notary appointment be arranged. You should therefore have all the documents together as early as possible so as not to delay the process unnecessarily.
Tip 8 – Familiarise yourself with the bureaucratic procedures of buying a house
When buying a house, they face a bureaucratic act, because there are many things to be considered. So that they are not completely overwhelmed, they should familiarize themselves in advance with the most important terms and procedures. This includes, for example, the purchase contract, the entry in the land register and the payment procedure. If you want to learn more about the topic, take a look at our big guide to buying a house!
Tip 9 – Do not underestimate the purchase contract
A purchase contract is a very extensive contract. You should not save time at this point, but read the contract of sale completely and ask for any ambiguities! The contract of sale should be available at least two weeks before the notary appointment, so that you have enough time to check it. Important points, which should stand absolutely in a sales contract are data to installations, which are sold with, as for example the fitted kitchen, the fire-place or awnings. But also the assurance of the seller that he is not aware of any contaminated sites, such as pollutants, which are not mentioned in the purchase contract. The exact purchase price should also be stated in the contract.
Tip 10 – the contractual handover
In the notary contract is regulated when the handover takes place and which components of the house also pass to the buyer. So you should definitely check again before the appointment, which agreements were made, and pay attention to the compliance with these during the handover. The following documents should also be handed over to you at this date at the latest: all keys incl. cellar and garage keys etc., the documents for the residential building insurance, all documents for the building services such as maintenance contracts, operating manuals etc., but also the documents for the appliances that you have taken over.
If this appointment went smoothly, you are now the proud owner of your dream property and can finally tackle the move!
/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/lukinski-logo-real-estate-investment-germany-house-villa-off-market-clean.svg00Laura/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/lukinski-logo-real-estate-investment-germany-house-villa-off-market-clean.svgLaura2018-09-22 19:15:192022-03-01 10:44:5310 Tips for Buying Real Estate & Getting to Your Dream Home
