Buying a house you would live in with your family is entirely a different game from the pure economics of investing in Real Estate. When investing, your singular objective is to make as much money as possible from the property in question, whereas a personal home carries several objectives ranging from long-term comfort, convenience, pride, reliability, and so on.
The decision to buy a home naturally doesn’t come easy; plenty thoughts come to play—mostly emotional. The following tips will guide you to make a great buying decision and keep you from losing your money when you set out to buy a home for yourself.
- Emotional Cost
Your home is a great influencer of how proud and good about yourself you feel. Feelings are a function of emotions. Thus, the kinds of emotions the prospective house evokes inside you upon sight are critical and worthy of attention.
Would you be a proud owner of such property? Would you be happy and comfortable enough to readily welcome friends who wish to visit you? Does the neighbourhood reflect your person? Does the property and its environment effectively represent your personal brand?
- Do Your Homework
This implies vetting the property, its fittings, its papers, and everything else. Nothing is too big or too small to verify when it comes to real estate investing, unless you’re willing and happy to lose your money.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where dishonesty exceptionally thrives, hence the need to doubly check. If it’s a built-up house (old or new), check the state of the building, the quality of materials used and the quality of all fittings.
It would help to get an independent professional, say a property surveyor and valuer, to undertake these checks and make an unbiased recommendation. Do not use the seller’s. Also, check and verify all necessary documents: tittles, deeds, approvals, etc. Use a property savvy lawyer for this.
- Ask For Help
This is simple: ask for help—paid help. Don’t try to save money at the expense of your tomorrow. Before you set out to house-hunt, build a reserve budget which will serve as your bailout when hiring professionals to help your quest.
Professionals you need are agents (to tell best locations/properties for your budget), lawyers (to verify documents and ensure you invest safely), accountants (to help you secure financing, if needed), valuers (to assess worth and empower your negotiation).
Remember, even the strongest of men needs help when it matters, and the most successful men on earth are so because they hire the best help they can find.
- Don’t Be Shy To Underbid
Most home-buyers, especially first-timers, often shoot themselves in the foot. They fear the seller and/or their agent might perceive them as being broke if they underbid, so they choke themselves with unfavourable deals. This is dumb! Please bid, and bid to the tone of what you can conveniently afford. The worst that can happen is getting a ‘no’. However, many times people who muster enough courage for this get surprised by the seller.
You see, different factors motivate property sales, so who knows if the seller is in desperate need of money. But ensure you have money in liquid and ready for immediate release when you bargain. It enhances your negotiation power.
Now, we invite you to invest in Abuja with our company. Our houses are strategically located, functional, affordable, reliable and stylish.
We committedly and perpetually have your best interests at heart!
