If you’re currently browsing real estate listings, you might be wondering the questions to ask when buying a house. In 2020 and 2021, we saw a huge exodus from major cities to suburban areas around the world. People are eager to start buying a new home- and they want it now. Millions of people are browsing real estate websites on a daily basis to see if they can find a property to put down roots. However, before you jump into buying a house, ask yourself these questions first. This might save you a lot of heartache later on.
Questions to Ask When Buying a House
7. How many times has this house been sold before?
When searching for houses online, do yourself a favor and check its property history. If it has a high turnover rate and people only live there for a couple years before putting it back on the market, you need to ask yourself why. What are the problems with this house that makes people run for the hills? There could be a horrible next-door-neighbor who lets their dogs bark all night. Or maybe it floods during the rainy season. Maybe it’s haunted. Do a little bit of digging to find out why this house is so undesirable.
6. Are you fudging the numbers to make buying a new home possible?
According to data from CoreLogic in 2018, 1 out of every 109 homes was purchased through mortgage fraud. This means that the person who bought the house lied about how much money they made in order to qualify. And these are just the people who got caught. Getting a mortgage became increasingly difficult after the 2008 market crash. Now, with the housing market being incredibly competitive, people are pressured even more to make the numbers work in their favor. However, you need to ask yourself if you can really afford this. In the end, lying on your application only hurts you. Make sure you are only spending 25% of your income on mortgage and taxes, with enough left over for an emergency fund.
5. Does this house feel like home?
When you walk into a house, it’s very important to pay attention to how you feel. Do you feel excited? Can you actually imagine what it would be like to live there? It’s crucial for you to follow your intuition when it comes to buying a house. Sometimes, you might get a really negative feeling in the pit of your stomach. Even if there isn’t a logical explanation to why you dislike a place, it’s still a sign that you should walk away. You don’t want that negative emotion hanging over your head every time you walk through the door.
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4. Will the value appreciate over time?
Not so long ago, real estate was one of the best investments you could make, because the value of the home was basically guaranteed to appreciate every year. So if you stayed in this house for at least 5 to 10 years, you would end up selling it for a profit. Now, this has changed. At the time this article was written, house prices have gone up exponentially. And according to real estate expert Graham Stephan, for every house you see on the market, there is a bidding war going on behind the scenes. So the listing prices are already inflated, and you’re going to see the final price go as high as 70% above asking. This means the price could very literally be double what it would have cost to buy that same house two years ago.
3. Can you imagine yourself raising kids in this area?
When you’re young, it’s easy to buy a house without thinking too far in the future. So if you don’t have kids already, you should ask yourself if the area where the home is located is an ideal location for raising a family. What are the schools like? Is local crime on the rise? Here on InspiringHome, we already have a list of red flags to look out for before buying a home. It would be smart to look over that list too, after finishing this article.
2. Are you mentally and financially prepared for a fixer upper?
Many of us have seen so many home makeover shows, we almost feel prepared to do it yourself. However, the reality is always far more stressful than what you see on TV. If you have never been involved first-hand with home renovations, you are likely to have no idea what it’s actually like.
Another major issue is ordering supplies for your renovation. Now that we are over a year into the pandemic, prices of housing materials have gone up exponentially. Materials also take weeks or even months to arrive. Keep all of this in mind when you buy a home that needs to be fixed up before it’s considered livable. You may be waiting a lot longer to move in than you would ever imagine.
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1. Are you buying this house because of FOMO?
With all of the craziness going on in the world right now, a lot of people are buying houses because of “FOMO” or “The Fear of Missing Out”. They are afraid that if they don’t start the process of buying a new house right now, they’re going to miss out. But the reality is that we have no idea what will happen to the market over the new few years. If it’s not the right time for you, don’t push it to make it happen if you’re not financially or emotionally ready to handle the new responsibility.
You just read an article all about questions to ask when buying a house. For more tips like this, check out other articles here on InspiringHome:
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