Your own home is usually the largest purchase that is made in life. So, before you decide on a house, everything has to be right from mortgage lending to real estate. With our tips you avoid problems and mistakes on the way to your own home Houston house buyers.
Tip 1: Prepare your real estate financing
In the popular regions of Germany, we are currently on a seller’s market. Anyone who wants to sell a property is in a good position due to high demand and high property prices. On the other hand, this means for buyers that they have to be well prepared, because there are many more interested parties. The most important step is the preparation of real estate financing.
Use a household calculator to find out how much money is available to you on a monthly basis for the real estate loan.
Then use the budget calculator to calculate the maximum purchase price you can afford considering your equity.
Make a non-binding financing request to find out if a bank would grant you a mortgage loan in the desired amount.
Only when you know that you are getting a loan should you go for a real estate search. This saves you a lot of time and you know exactly which houses are suitable for you. You can tell the real estate agent or seller about your preparation, so that the seriousness of your purchase interest is substantiated and you may be preferred to other buyers.
Tip 2: Determine your requirements for a house
On the one hand you need to know how much house you can afford at the most, on the other hand you have to make clear what conditions your property has to fulfill. The following questions should be discussed before buying a house:
- Where would you like to live?
- How must the connection to bus and train be?
- Do you want to renovate and buy something old or should everything be ready for occupancy?
- How big should the property be?
- Do you need a large garden?
- Does house construction also come into question?
Tip 3: Search and find the right property
You know what you are looking for and how much money you can spend on your home. Now it’s up to the real estate search. Look on real estate portals and hire regional real estate agents to find a suitable property. Even when walking through your desired neighborhood, you can find properties for sale.
Tip 4: Check the location of the house
You have found a nice house that suits your ideas? First, take a close look at the situation. The dream house could turn out to be a failure if the situation does not fit your ideas or disadvantageous aspects such as noise pollution or poor access to public transport complicate later home sales.
Even if you may want to live in your house for life: Unforeseen events can make a sale necessary. With a house in a good location you are in case of a fall on the safe side. In addition, you can expect more value appreciation potential.
Tip 5: Check the house thoroughly
Since a property is an expensive purchase with great consequences on the one hand and on the other your new home in which you spend a lot of time, the house should be thoroughly checked before purchase. Inform yourself before acquiring a used property (mainly years of construction until about 1980) in general on the topics:
- Energy efficiency
- Humidity
- Mold
- Sponge
- Pollutants (PCB, wood preservatives, formaldehyde)
- Asbestos
Other important aspects are included in our House Purchase Checklist, which helps you identify major weaknesses in the home. This results in valuable clues for the possibly necessary remediation requirements and the associated cost planning.
The neighborhood of the house also plays an important role: address neighbors and get to know the people in your potential new neighborhood. If you discover that your immediate neighbors are offensive to you right away, then you should consider your buying considerations.
Tip 6: Request all important documents about the house
You like the location and the house has no serious damage? Then go into detail and ask the seller or broker for all important documents. These help to clarify outstanding issues and are sometimes also required for the financing request from the bank. This includes:
- Floor plans, site plans, construction documents (if available)
- At leasehold: lease
- Deed
- In case of community property (terraced house / condominium): declaration of division, certificate of secrecy, community order, distribution plan, minutes of recent owners’ meetings
- Energy certificate
- Possibly. Excerpt from the occupancy register (especially important for pipe stems)
Tip 7: Negotiate the best purchase price and make sure you finance
If you have found a property that you want to buy, financing and price must be fixed.
As a general rule, there is some room for negotiation in the estimated offer price. Of course, it depends on the location of the property. In popular regions with high demand is usually less time and room to play poker at the real estate price. Anyone who assumes that he is the only interested party can quietly give a little longer time to think and make a bolder bid.
To estimate the offer price, send the object’s exposé to your financial advisor, who will determine the market value and the mortgage lending value for you from the perspective of the bank. Furthermore, you can inform yourself in our guide with real estate price mirror on the local square meter prices. Also, an online search with comparison objects makes sense to check the purchase price.
It is important that as soon as you want to buy, the financing is provided. Only when you hold a financing commitment of the bank in hand, the notary appointment can be arranged. Gather all the important documents for financing at an early stage. Under checklist documents you will find out what you need.
Tip 8: Familiarize yourself with the bureaucracy
The moment you have decided on a house, the bureaucratic act of buying a home begins. So that you do not have to deal with completely new terms and processes, it is worthwhile to inform yourself in advance about the course of a home purchase. On our home purchase page, you will learn how the purchase of real estate is progressing step by step.
Tip 9: Read the purchase agreement carefully
If you have agreed with the seller on the purchase price and is the financing in dry cloths, the notary appointed by you or the seller sets up the purchase contract. This should be available to you at least two weeks before the notary’s appointment, so that you can examine it in peace. In addition to the usual information about the property and the handover, the following should also be listed in the purchase contract for the house:
Information on fixtures that are sold with (e.g. fitted kitchen, garage, fireplace, awnings)
Assurance by the seller that he is not aware of any contaminated sites, such as pollutants, that are not mentioned in the purchase contract.
Tip 10: Pay attention to the contractual handover
The notarial contract regulates when the transfer takes place and which parts of the house are transferred to the buyer. Make sure that all agreements are met. It is therefore best to make a settlement with the purchase contract before the appointment, which fixtures you take over. The following documents should also be handed out to you on the day of the transfer:
- All keys (also for cellar etc.)
- Housing insurance documents (this will be sent to you first)
- Documents on building services such as maintenance contracts, operating instructions (boiler, etc.)
- Documents about other installations or equipment that you have taken over.