Are you in the market for your first home?
At Rostron Mortgages, we don’t want you to stress – we’ve got your back. Before you get started on your property purchasing journey, it’s important to become familiar with the process and some important terms.
Stick around, because we’ve got 5 key things to consider before making that first property purchase.
1. Find yourself a quality team of professionals
With a team of experts to lean on throughout each stage of the process, it will ensure that your decisions can be made with impartial input, from people that have your best interests at heart.
Look into getting in contact with these professionals:
- Mortgage Broker
- Financial Planner
- Buyer’s Agent
- Building Inspector
- Solicitor or Conveyancer
Looking to get started with finding your team? We’re always happy to help!
2. Know your budget
Before anything else happens, the next thing to look into is your budget for your purchase, as this will provide you some insight into what your spending capabilities are, and direct you toward particular property types and areas.
Don’t forget to consider associated purchase fees when calculating your budget, including Stamp Duty, Lenders Mortgage Insurance, Transfer Fees, Conveyancing Fees and Building Inspection Fees.
3. Figure out your home loan
At this point in the process, it’s important to become familiar with the different types of home loans available to you, and how they work. Here are some of the basics to get you started:
- Fixed or Variable Loan
This is a big one at the moment – with interest rates going up, it can be difficult to know what the best option is. A variable rate will stick closely to the interest rates as things move up and down. On the other hand a fixed rate will make sure that you know your rate, regardless of what changes in the future.
- Term of the loan
The longer you have the loan for, the longer you will invariably have to pay interest. In some circumstances though, your best bet may be to jump in and absorb some extra interest with the goal of getting a foothold in the market.
- Loan Repayments
There are a number of options for repaying your loan depending on your circumstances and personal preference. An important thing to note, however, is that it’s more common that you can pay the loan down slightly faster with more frequent repayments. A great example of this is if you pay $3000 per month, but choose to halve that and pay $1500 per fortnight, over the course of the year, you’ll contribute 26 times, for $39000, rather than 12 times for $36000.
4. Get Pre-approval
Pre-approval is an important part of your journey to purchasing your first home Simply put, it means that your lender gives you a solid estimate of what they’re willing to loan you for your property purchase.
5. Do your research
At the end of the day, the more you know about your purchase, your opportunities and your desired home type, the more comfortable you’ll be with taking that next step. Make sure to look into your ideal area, what to expect living there, and whether it’s the right fit for you.
With this knowledge, you can feel more secure in making the big decision to purchase your home, as it allows you to look at the situation from a basis of logic, rather than stress or emotion.
Interested in learning more about how we can work alongside you to make your first home purchase a reality?
Give Rostron Mortgages a call on 1300 661 880 – we’d love to help!