When it comes to searching for your forever home, it can be a slightly daunting experience. There are so many things to think about, including location, room size, garden size, space for extensions, and of course, if you’ll feel settled enough to make it a home for life.
Becoming a homeowner at any point of your life, be it a first time buyer or looking for your forever home, will always sit as a scary experience for anyone. Whether your forever home is a two bed terrace or a 6 bed detached overlooking a lake (lucky you!), a house is by far one of the most extravagant and expensive purchases you’ll ever make. This aside, it is always a huge learning experience. The obstacles you come across and lessons you pick up on the way are invaluable.
When it comes to buying a forever home, you want to make sure that you have fully researched the location, ensuring it does the job for not only you, but for your family/any family you plan to have to grow up in. That is usually the best starting point when it comes to the house hunt.
No matter if a forever home is for your family of 5, for just yourself and your partner, if your moving to north carolina or literally the next street, here are some tips to take with you. It’s worth getting clued up before you start the forever home journey.
1. Assess your finances realistically
Your forever home will become the house you retire in, so make sure that you haven’t put yourself in a financial mess before you get there. Ideally, it’s advised that in terms of your mortgage, you should aim to spend no more than a third of what you earn in a month (so 1/3 of your monthly income).
With this in mind, where you can, put down as big of a deposit that you can. Most people try to put 10-20 percent down, but if you can put more down, it’s a good call to do so. Plus if you can do this, you’ll get a better interest rate. Remember not to feel too disheartened if you have bad credit, and are worried it may prevent you from getting approved for a mortgage. There are many companies now that specialise in helping people who have these struggles, you can get started here by checking out Create Finance who aim to help those with bad credit.
2. Seek professional advice
Start off the hunt for your forever home by using online services, like RightMove an Zoopla, for all your information in regards to the house, the area and the value. After this part has been done, it’s useful to research into a good solicitor. You can find a solicitor easily online these days, but it helps to look into local ones who also are experienced with mortgages and housing.
When you find a skilled solicitor, they will guide you through the legal process, advise you if you need to work with a mortgage broker or not, and will give advice on the provider that you decide to choose to go ahead with. You need to be clued up on all the areas of mortgages and lending, as it can feel pretty overwhelming if it’s not a straight forward one you need. There are wholesale mortgage bankers for those who offer a wide variety of loan products to help Brokers, Non-Delegated Correspondents, and Correspondents. There can also be confusion around the difference between mortgage advisors and mortgage brokers. A mortgage adviser is a qualified professional who specialises in finding the most suitable mortgage deal for your circumstances. Often they will be called mortgage brokers, but there is no real difference between an adviser and a broker.
3. Research location, and then research some more
Location has never been more important than when searching for your forever home. The place you choose to buy your forever home will serve itself as your local town and neighbourhood until the end of your time (scary thought, I know!).
Only you know what you want to class as an ideal neighbourhood for growing old in. Does it have access to a little town? Is there public transport that is reachable from your home? Are you close to motorways, or is access to the countryside more important?
This also allows you to consider whether moving to another country is an option, too. For example, is a move oversea’s on the cards, perhaps? There’s a lot more to consider in regards to looking at property options oversea’s, with intense research needed. However, there are some very skilled property and finance experts who specialise in this area who can help. Take a look at this site to explore their tips on purchasing a property abroad.
4. Ask yourself how flexible the home is
Over time, everything can change. The size of your family, your finances, your hobbies, your interests…
Imagine a number of outcomes that could come your way, and apply them to your chosen forever home. Can the house be extended should you have more children, a live in carer, an extended family, etc etc. Or, would the home become too big if children were to leave, or if you were to suddenly become alone due to life circumstances?
Will the home date at any point, or if your mobility suffers, will it become a nuisance in terms of location? It’s even worth considering it’s location in terms of work changes, or if you suddenly have to work remotely from home, how it is situated for changes to signals and working from home.
5. Think about inheritance
It’s not a delightful topic to think about at such an exciting time, but it is something that unfortunatley comes to play when buying a forever home.
See, a forever home is a home which will eventually be passed on when you’re no longer here. If you have children, they will inherit the house, so ask yourself if it is one that could be passed down, and your children/extended family could take over the house and live in it themselves. Or, would it hold it’s value, or even make money, so that it could be an inheritance for your family in terms of them selling the house?
People tend to only think about inheritance and inheritance law when they take over a house in this country, or slightly more complicated, when they take over a home abroad. If you’re in the situation and feel confused, there are inheritance law specialists and abroad – like inheritance law Spain – that can assist you. It’s not something you are expected to just know about, don’t worry!
There are an abundance of things to consider when looking for your perfect forever house, but hopefully the list above gives you some food for thought.
6. Reputation and the future
It’s one thing to find a home that ticks a lot of things off the list that appeal to you, but try to think about the wider picture. Just because it may have a quality school nearby and it’s close to your workplace, have you stopped to think about the wider reputation?
Do some thorough research into the area before you make the decision, as it could be that the area has a high crime rate, or falls under a postcode that makes you sit in a ‘worse’ catchment area for doctors or healthcare. You may not be thinking of children or families when you are moving, but it could be important in the future, so make sure you cover all areas.
Did I miss any important ones off the list? Feel free to leave a comment below!
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