You may not know it, but being a first home buyer is an enviable position to be in. This is because, as a first home buyer, you will have lower levels of debt that anyone already climbing that property ladder. Though, on the other side of the coin, this also means you may have a smaller amount of upfront capital and savings available. Don’t be discouraged by this, you as a first-time home buyer are in a prime position to make excellent choices about your financial future. The first thing you need to consider is if your first home purchase is a sound investment strategy. It’s one thing to buy your dream home, another to buy a good investment. Here’s how you can do both.
Where You Want to Live, Might Not Be Where You Should Buy
You have your dream suburb all picked out and maybe you’ve been dreaming of living there for a long time. However, if that area is too pricey you need to be looking elsewhere. Spending too much on an initial purchase can lead to repayment issues later on. Don’t give up on the dream area, but consider surrounding suburbs. You need to be looking for a great value home, not just a great home. Pay attention to surrounds such as main roads, parks, shops, schools and transport. All of these will factor into whether or not your dream home purchase is a good investment or not. You need to be thinking about the future of your home, not just the now. How is it going to work for you five, ten, fifteen years down the track? If the answer is “I don’t know”, then you need to be doing some more research and getting some advice from experts.
Be Flexible and Think About the Future
Once you’ve worked out a budget and researched an area, you should be on your way to finding the right home purchase for you. During this search for the perfect home, it’s important to be flexible. Unless you’re building it from the ground up yourself (which we wouldn’t recommend unless you’re an experience property investor), it’s never going to be exactly what you want. The balance between dream home and good investment is a fine line, but a vital one. If you like it, chances are others will too. But, you need to think about things like growing families, commutes to schools and work, future projects and plans in the area, the maintenance or any needed renovations involved in the house and whether or not the asking price is a good value for the area.
Remember, owning an investment home now that makes good financial sense, can mean the opportunity for future growth and the equity to buy an even bigger home you love in the future. Those first home buyers that make the smart choice may see themselves in their dream home sooner than those trying to rush into it.
