Magical Penny

Finding a new home is one of the eternal struggles that we all have to go through at one time or another in our lives. If you’re struggling to find the home that’s right for you, it makes sense to go back to the drawing board and think about the fundamentals, where your preferences lie and what you and your family really need from your home and what it can offer. Here are some of the top considerations that you’ll need to keep in mind.

Assess the Floor Plan

The floor plan will tell you a lot about a home and how you’re likely to use it once you’re living in it. Assess the floor plan and be sure to take a closer look at what it’ll mean for your family. Do you favour an open plan layout or are you looking for something with a more traditional approach to spacing and structure?

Discuss the Space You’ll Need

As a family, you should discuss what kind of space your new house will need to offer you going forward. Do you need a space that’s going to offer you extra room to grow into if your family expands in the future? Is that something that’s a priority for you or not? Think about these issues and have open discussions so the right home can be found.

Location vs Outdoor Space

Sometimes, two of the things you might be looking for in a house come into conflict, and then you need to decide where your priorities really lie. If you want a city centre location, the chances are you’re not also going to have a lot of outdoor space. Being able to achieve both of those things will take a lot of money and a long time searching.

Consider the Age of the Home You Want

It’s important to think about the age of the home that you’re planning on buying. If you want a home that’s going to be very modern and secure, not experiencing any long-term wear and tear issues, it makes sense to look at a newer home. And new build houses are better than ever, so it’s definitely an option to consider. At the same time, some people simply prefer older, more traditional homes.

Trust Your Gut

Finally, you should remember to trust your gut because so often your instincts tell you everything you need to know about a home and how suitable it is for you. A home is a very personal thing and if it doesn’t feel right, then there’s nothing wrong with moving on and searching until you find the one that does feel right.

Finding the style of home that’s right for you and that’ll meet all your needs can be one of the biggest tasks you have to deal with when you’re hunting for your next home. Be sure to take into account each of the factors above when making your decision if you want to make the right call.

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Considering buying a house is a great step in the right direction for many people. Nowadays, more and more of us are renting, but this can often feel like throwing money down the drain. When you pay rent, you’re essentially paying your landlord’s mortgage on the property on their behalf. Alternatively, the mortgage on it may already be paid off, meaning you’re just paying your landlords income every month. When you buy a house, you’re paying into something that you will ultimately own. This is much more rewarding. It also gives you much more security, as you won’t ever have to worry about your landlord selling up or ending your contract to move someone else into the place you call home. Instead, your home will be your own as long as you want it to be. If this sounds good to you, it’s time to get yourself up onto that property ladder. If you’re a first time buyer, you may not be aware of all the steps you will have to take to achieve this. But don’t worry. The following information should help to guide you in the right direction!

Figuring Out What Mortgage You Can Afford

The first thing you need to do when considering buying a house is to determine how much money lenders are likely to approve upon your application. This will let you know what size mortgage you’re looking at working with and, consequently, what kind of property you would be able to consider buying. This is also a good way to determine how big a deposit you’re going to have to save before you can start browsing houses on the market. Sometimes, you may find that the total is too low and you may want to focus more on advancing your career and earning more money before you continue your journey to buying a house. Sometimes, you’ll be happy with the amount and can start advancing to the next steps. Whatever the results, this is an  essential initial step to get you started out in the right direction. There are various factors that play into how much a mortgage lender will provide you with. Remember that a mortgage is essentially a huge loan. Mortgage lenders are likely to work in an extremely similar way to any other lender – they’ll want a good look at your finances to give themselves confidence that you’re going to be able to pay them back. If they feel that you won’t be able to afford to pay them back, they won’t offer you the cash. This may all sound pretty complex, but a mortgage calculator provides you with a simple and straightforward way to get an idea of what size loan you could be working with. Simply put in the price of the mortgage you’re interested in, the interest rate attached, and the loan term in years. The calculator will then give you a breakdown of the amount you would be expected to repay monthly. You can then see whether you can afford this amount and can adjust your expectations accordingly.

Determining Your Deposit

Once you know how much you’re likely to be approved on with your mortgage, you can work out how large a deposit you need to save and get started with your first steps towards actually becoming a homeowner. There’s no single amount that you have to save to afford a mortgage deposit. The figure you’re aiming for will largely depend on the price of the property you’ll eventually take into consideration. Cheaper properties have smaller deposits. More expensive properties require larger deposits. The majority of people try to save around 20% of the overall property price. However, there are also plenty of 90%, 95%, and even 100% mortgages on the market, meaning you could have a 10%, 5% or even no deposit. Just remember that saving a bigger deposit will make your life easier in the long run, as it can reduce monthly mortgage payments for you.

Saving Your Deposit

Once you have a figure in your mind for how much you need to save, you can begin to save for it. Now, you may feel disheartened and as though you’ll never be able to save this much. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. First, you need to find a good quality savings account with a good interest rate. This will provide you with a safe and secure space to deposit money and actually begin to save. Next, you can take various steps to get the show on the road. The first thing you need to do is work out a budget. Sit down with a pen and paper and write down your total income after tax and essential living costs, such as rent payments, food, water, and energy. This will leave you with your disposable income. It’s a good idea to save as much of this disposable income away in your savings account as possible. This will quickly mount up and you’ll get closer and closer to your mortgage deposit in next to no time. Of course, it could take years to save enough, so don’t completely deprive yourself of any treats or luxuries by depositing your whole disposable income every month. You still need to live a life and enjoy yourself. Just put as much in as you comfortably can. Remember that you can cut down on essential costs to have extra money to put into the savings account too! You can cut food costs by cutting down on takeaways, opting for own brand goods or unbranded goods at the store and removing expensive buys from your shopping list. If you’re renting, you could move somewhere cheaper to reduce your rent costs. The sacrifice could be more than worth getting into your owned home sooner. Cut water costs by taking showers instead of baths. Entertain your friends at your home with meals or film nights rather than going out all the time. Consider free activities on the weekends, such as museums or art galleries. If you can get away without having a car, public transport can prove much cheaper. All of these changes will free up more money for that mortgage deposit savings account!

Getting Started

Saved your deposit? Great news! Now you can start having an actual look for the property you want to purchase. There are all sorts of different things you can do to get started in the right direction. Most people will use buying agents, such as buyers agents at Prosper Group. They take all the hard work off your hands. A consultation will help them to understand what you’re looking for and they’ll be able to find available properties that tick as many of your boxes as possible. Some factors they might want to know include:

• Budget – how much are you willing to spend on a house? What size mortgage will you be approved on?
• Location – where do you want to live? Do you have a particular area in mind? Or are you more open to relocating for the right house? Do you need to be near schools or public transport links?
• Renovations – are you willing to put work into a property? Do you have funds put aside for renovations and work to be done? Or do you want to be able to move straight into a property as it is?
• Rooms – how many rooms would you ideally like in your property? Is this a set amount or is there some leeway?
• Bathrooms – do you require a set number of bathrooms? Do you want an en suite, a wet room or other additional bathroom spaces?
• Garage – do you need a garage? Or will a driveway or on road parking be okay for you?

Putting In An Offer

Found the property of your dreams? It’s time to put in an offer. Chances are, if the property is nice and a reasonable price, there’s likely to be a little competition. The key is to get in fast. Put in a decent offer and chances are the seller will accept quickly for a fast sale. Bartering too hard could lose you the house, as others may put in more reasonable offers and you could lose out to them. This can be a daunting time where you feel on edge waiting for the back and forth between the seller, yourself and different buyers. It’s important that you determine a maximum price you’re willing to bid for the property. This will help you to ensure you don’t get overexcited and spend too much. Never surpass your maximum price.

As you can see, buying a house really is quite a long and complex process. It can see you on a rollercoaster of emotions over a fairly long time. But when you eventually find yourself in the home of your dreams, it will be more than worth all of the effort you’ve put into getting there! Hopefully, the above information has served as a good guide and can get you moving along the way!

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There are many different ways to get involved in property investment. Residential real estate needs a different approach for every individual. To succeed, you will need to identify and address your own goals, needs, and circumstances in order to achieve your property investment aspirations. Along with this more individual approach, there are some important rules of thumb that you will need to learn too. These rules can help you to make your journey more successful and to reach your investment goals. Here are the rules to grow a property portfolio. 

An investment property is one that has been purchased in order to generate a return on investment. People can benefit from investing in property either by earning regular rental returns or by getting returns from the future resale of the property after it has grown in value. 

A property investor is someone who buys one or several different properties with the intention of renting them out or selling them for a higher value. Many people invest in properties alongside their full-time jobs, but it can become a career in itself if you’re successful enough at it. 

Those who are interested in investing in properties can get started in a few different ways. You might choose buy-to-sell property, or you might prefer buy-to-let. Buy to let is when you buy a property in order to let it to a tenant, which is a very popular and very common strategy for property investment. 

If you don’t consider buy-to-let, then you will miss out on the potential for returns that will last a long time, over getting just one payment from selling a property. If you’re new to property investment, then you don’t overlook buy-to-let options. 

Plot Your Course and Stay On It

This first step is essential if you’re going to make it in property investment. Find a strategy that suits you, the risks you’re willing to take, the goals you’re setting, and the time frame that you have to work with. 

Stay away from any kind of get-rich-quick scheme. Good property management advice tends to lean more towards a slow and steady approach to lead to success. 

Slower plans might not seem as exciting, but beginners are better to consider:

• Buy and hold. This involves leveraging equity and time. During an acquisition phase, add high growth, quality assets to your portfolio. Hold into those assets for the long-term to allow your capital gains to give you extra equity for your next investments. When you’ve built a substantial portfolio of assets, you can then move into a cash flow stage. 
• Buy, renovate, and hold. This allows you to manufacture capital growth, and grow your portfolio more quickly. You can do this by buying properties that need doing up in an already desirable location. Improve these properties to increase your capital and rental value. 

Establish A Peer Network

It’s always wise for new investors to surround themselves with more experienced professionals. 

When you start out, you will definitely need an accountant, solicitor, finance broker, property strategist, and a mentor, all with experience in the property industry. It’s also important to connect with other like-minded individuals who are also starting out in the world of property investments. 

Networking is essential these days. You can get started on social media, through forums and blogs on just about every topic you can imagine on real estate. 

Many experienced property investors are happy to make connections with new investors online and are willing to share their mistakes, successes, and learnings. The easiest way to reach out is through LinkedIn. You can also meet like-minded people at seminars, shows, and presentations. 

Just remember to take all the advice you get with a pinch of salt, and only take the good advice that works for you. 

Crunch The Numbers

It’s essential that you have a good financial footing when you first start out in property investment. 

Run your numbers based on today’s interest rates. Account for future upward adjustments of at least two percentage points, and then run your numbers again. When interest rates are low, many new investors are tempted into the market. If you’re going to do this, you need to calculate whether or not you can afford to keep your assets when interest rates go back up. 

Know Your Target Market And Give Them What They Want

Property investment is a business. For this reason, you need to know what your target demographic is if you’re going to be able to ‘sell’ them your product. 

Tenants pay your rent and assist with your very important cash flow to keep your portfolio going, but owner-occupiers are the driving force in the market and who determines the value of your investment property. 

When you buy an investment property, you need to be fully versed in who the tenants and homebuyers are likely to be in the location you’re considering. 

From there, you need to choose the right property that will appeal to these groups, so you can maximise your long-term gains. 

For example, if you want to buy in an area that is popular with growing families, it wouldn’t be a smart investment to buy a one-bedroom apartment. 

Learn How To Negotiate And Learn About The Purchasing Process

Good negotiation skills are not only about the final price that you sell for. You also need to understand various contract terms, as this is a very important part of property investment. 

In the world of property, everything is negotiable. As well as the purchase price, you can negotiate the deposit, settlement terms, and anything left in the property. 

Of course, everything is potentially negotiable, but try not to get carried away. It can be easy to complicate the deal too much and end up actually losing out on a good buy by making your offer too unattractive to a potential buyer. 

Capitalise On Property Investor Tax Perks

You should be investing for capital growth, but cash flow is a very important part of any strong property investment portfolio. Without a healthy bottom line, your entire asset base is at risk. 

This doesn’t mean that you should invest in a cash flow positive properties. Instead, one of the ways that you can maximise your cash flow is by taking advantage of some of the income tax incentives that are available to those who invest in residential real estate. 

Speak to your accountant to make sure you can maximise the legitimate tax deductions available to you, as well as any depreciation allowances. 

Don’t Make It Personal

Most of us have felt emotional about a property in the past, especially about our own homes, where we make memories, but don’t have any experience in making a purchase of property purely for financial reasons, and not emotional ones. This can make property investments harder than you might think.

If you’re going to be able to invest in a more strategic manner then you will need to learn to take your emotions out of the purchasing decisions. 

Purchasing investment properties is not about your personal taste, and should instead be about appealing to the right target market. You need to learn to see housing and real estate as a commodity that has the potential for profit and revenue. 

Remember that property investment is essentially a numbers game. Approach your investment decisions with sound, sensible logic. Develop a detached eye, so you can be objective and base your decision making on an investment strategy that aligns well with you, where you are, and where you want to be after your portfolio develops. By doing this, you can make your investment beginnings get you well on the way to a successful property portfolio that will earn you money. 

To be successful as a property investor, one of the best pieces of advice you can take on is to aim to grow a very diverse portfolio of property. A property portfolio that is made up of a variety of property types is a lower risk than a portfolio with less diversity. It also means you can increase your potential cash flow significantly. 

A successful investor, especially of buy-to-let properties, will have spent time studying the housing market and will have come to a clear idea of the ideal locations that will offer the highest potential returns. By doing this, you will have a better knowledge of the best property investments when building your wider portfolio and will be much more likely to succeed. 

If you’re smart about it, it is entirely possible to get rich by investing in property. If you’re going to make enough to live on like this, then you will need to take the right steps to make sure that your money can go further by building an effective property portfolio. Don’t go into property investment expecting to get rich overnight, but over time as your skills grow and your portfolio develops, investing in the property market can significantly boost your income and can be developed into your full-time career. 

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