Buying our first house

Guybrush Threepwood

I'm glad to say I'd a great meeting with the bank this week and now I'm starting to look for a house to buy (with a strong confidence that we'll get a mortgage if we can secure a house in our price range).

Having solely worried about the banks support for so long I've realised that I'm not quite prepared for the next stage! How to I go about finding a house, and making sure it's a good property?

I've looked up houses on daft, and have few ear marked, but should I be going to individual real estate agents too? Should I visit all the in our area, or just focus on a few?

What additional costs should I expect when we find a property and put an offer in?

Any help/advice appreciated!!

pwurple

On where to look, Depends on how large your target area is, what is available in your budget and how much free time you have!

2 per week was loads for me.

I advise anyone house viewing to build a relationship with the agent. Like any bunch of humans, easier to do that with some than others. we got our house in the end from an agent who knew what we were looking for from chatting at previous viewings, and phoned us before the house was advertised.

On costs, you will need to pay an engineer to survey it. I've gotten quotes from 300 to 690 on the same property for that. I also usually add a drainage or plumbing inspection, but that's optional.

Solicitors fees vary, and include things like land registry fees. Somewhere between 1000 and 2000, depending on the complexity of the purchase. I recommend getting a will made at the same time here, as you will now have an asset, if you get hit by a bus.


Stamp duty. 1% probably for you. So, 200k house wil have stamp duty of 2000.


Proprty tax. Check the bands for your cost.

Life assurance. You will get various quotes based on your age, health, size of lan etc. The cheaper options will be decreasing term (to cover mortgage). Get more quotes than your bank, and read terms carefully. Optional are other things the bank will try to sell you like critical illness cover. Again, get quotes and decide if you want it.


There are possibly more, but that's what i can remember at this hour on a sunday morning.

MarkAnthony

The very best of luck! It's an exciting time but it can be heart breaking at times.

My top tips as it were:

It's not yours until you're arse is in the door. I was driving the van with all my and the wife's worldly possessions packed in the back when I got a call from the solicitor telling me there was an issue with the folio. Luckily it got sorted relatively quickly but talk about limbo land. Try not to get emotionally invested; for every perfect house you find there are 3 more.

If you're in Dublin (or anywhere else I guess) DO NOT get bogged down in postcode snobbery. I ended up with a much bigger house than I thought possible with absolutely lovely neighbours in an area I could probably spend the rest of my life because I visited the area and asked people who had actually lived in the area. Three streets over from me the houses are 500K+ for what I have because they're in 'Raheny'. On the flip side most EA's a 'geographically challenged' at the best of times. Make sure you visit a potential area at different times, that includes 2am on on Friday night.

Do not be pennywise and pound foolish. Get a decent solicitor, surveyor etc. ideally from personal recommendation. If they cost 10-20% more than the cheapest it's usually money well spent.

Finally it's a home not a commodity. Don't worry about getting the best possible deal, the best possible ROI. Get somewhere you're happy with and can stay for at least 10 years. Far too many people see it as an investment - which of course it is to a degree, but forget it's a home too.

Flatzie_poo

You should follow this thread;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057501206&page=40

A lot of people here are in the same boat as you, many of the past questions will really help you along the way!

Best of luck!

Guybrush Threepwood

Thanks all for the great advice!!