Five must-knows for first-time homebuyers
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Loading... - Ekene Odili
- 20 May 2022
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Owning a home, whether bought or rented, always gives the buyer, especially a first-time buyer, a sense of worth and fulfillment. Sometimes, however, it comes with challenges that arise from ignorance of what to do before making a choice and subsequently paying for the house.
This ignorance is made worse by realtors — agents and developers — who make money from closing deals and, therefore, do everything possible to close those deals. Unfortunately, this ‘doing everything possible’ can include not giving the first-time homebuyer some very crucial information.
Normally, an agent earns more money from selling a house at a higher price. Yet, a client’s (a homebuyer) best interest lies in buying the property at a lesser price. This will always conflict with an agent’s financial incentives because he makes more money when the buyer buys at a higher price.
There are at least five key elements that first-time homebuyers should know before committing their money to buy a property. In most cases, homesellers don’t tell buyers what they should know.
Big houses mean more expenses
Oftentimes, first-time homebuyers do not know that big houses mean more expenses, and this starts dawning on them right from the time they take possession of the houses and are ready to equip or furnish them — buying curtains, furniture, kitchen equipment, beds and beddings, etc.
Lanre Owode, a property analyst at Alpha Mead Group, advises that when buying a home, a first-timer should make sure it is sizable enough so that he (and his family) can be comfortable.
“On the flip side, the bigger the house you own, the more headaches and expenses you will have. It is important to be sure that you can maintain a large property in the long run before you make the move to own it,” he said.
“Therefore, one key question you should be asking yourself before buying a house is: ‘do I need this much space?’ Whether it is a two-bedroom, salt-box house or a 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom home, you should know that a big house will be equivalent to big expenses in future,” he added.
A great deal doesn’t mean a great house
One thing that is very true of buying a house is that the better the house is, the less bargaining power one has as a buyer. This is because good properties cost good money. However, the price may be above what the buyer considers a ‘great deal’ and may cause him/her to reject the good house in favour of a lesser-priced one. Read More…
