The time may have come for you to buy a new house. If you aren’t already on the housing ladder then you may have been saving for some time to make this happen. Saving for a house is not easy and houses these days are not cheap. The good news is that there are ways to save money when it comes to buying a new house. Take a look at the article below for more inspiration and ideas.
Go Smaller
If you are looking for ways to save money when searching for your dream home then it may be necessary to go smaller. The key here is to only get the size you need, for instance, if you only need a two-bedroom but want a four-bedroom then this is unreasonable. It will cost you more for rooms you won’t be using. A few years down the line, if you are in need of a bigger home then you can sell up, make a profit, and buy a bigger home.
If you don’t need something spectacular and you are not fussed with a garden then you could buy an apartment. This will be significantly cheaper than a house and you can get all the same features. You will need to look into prices and mortgage options. For example, if the home you are looking at costs £120k then you will need to work out the repayments. Check out sites for examples of £120,000 repayments on mortgage.
Avoid Stamp Duty
If the home you are buying is below a certain price then you will not have to pay stamp duty, this is currently set at below £250,000. Of course, if the home you wish to purchase is above this price then stamp duty payments will be applied to your final bill. If you are unsure whether you or your home are exempt from paying stamp duty then you can take a look online or speak to an expert to be sure.
Haggle On Price
We British people love to haggle over the cost of everything, so why should your house be any different? If you have your heart set on a house but the cost is just slightly out of reach then try haggling with the owner. You will find a lot of the time that people just want to sell their homes so they can move out. If the house has been on the market for some time then you are more likely to get a reduction in price. When you look at housing websites you can choose to look at the ones that have been on the website the longest, it will work in your favour to look at those ones first.
Look During Winter
There are certain times when house prices are generally lower than other times of the year. One example of this is during the winter months. You will quite often find that house prices are lower or get lowered in winter because not many people are looking to buy. If you are looking for ways to save some pennies then house hunting in the cold may be more beneficial. Take a look at houses between the months of October and March. It is quite common for house prices to fall around 10% during this time. Not just that, around November and December, is the time that buyers are more serious about moving out. You are far more likely to get people who are happy to negotiate on price during these months.
Increase Credit Score
Something else to consider is how good your credit score is. If you are somewhere low or mid-range then you could be looking at paying more of a deposit to be accepted for a mortgage. If you know you are going to be buying a house then you can take steps to improve your credit score before you get yourself on the property ladder. If you need financial help or assistance then you could contact local charities such as StepChange who will help you with any financial difficulties you find yourself in.
Buy A Fixer-Upper
Finally, if you don’t mind putting a bit of work into the home you are buying then you might like to consider purchasing a fixer-upper. These are houses that have not been very well loved or looked after. They can quite often be falling apart but with your love and time, they can look as good as new. Quite often you can get your hands on one of these fixer-upper homes from auction sites. Have a look online to see where your nearest one is, be aware that most auction houses are sold without being looked at. It is sort of potluck with what the condition is like inside, some homes won’t require that much work while others will be falling apart at the seams.
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