Creating your house buying checklist is a lot of fun — until reality hits. Melbourne is one of the most expensive cities in the world for buying property, so your purchasing dollar doesn’t always get you as far as you’d like. And with the great Australian dream of buying property being an important goal for many people, it can be difficult to balance those property dreams with the reality of the property market.
Read on to learn how to create your house buying checklist and discover the considerations that buyers often overlook.
Your simple house buying checklist
- What is your ideal location? Are you open to other areas showing more value?
- Can you make future payments if interest rates rise or your circumstances change?
- Research prices in the area for comparable homes – is your goal realistic?
- What is the orientation of the home? North facing rear/yard living room is ideal.
- What is the layout of the home – will it work with your lifestyle?
- How does light fill the home – is it giving an abundance of natural light?
- How easy is the pool, garden or outdoors to maintain – and are you up to it?
- How will people move through the home – are there any areas of congestion?
- How does the home fit your lifestyle – for example, if you love entertaining, can you throw parties in the home?
- Consider your future lifestyle – what amenities will you need in 10 or 20 years?
- What are the infrastructure, zoning or future developments in the area?
- Is there appeal for buyers in the future? You want people competing to buy one day.
- What renovations are you willing to undertake – and what is the realistic cost?
- Are there any planning restrictions or heritage overlays that limit renovations?
- What is the area like in terms of neighbours, lifestyle, amenities and access?
When working as a buyers advocate, I find it’s easy for clients to answer questions about the location and the features of the home. But what they overlook in their home buying checklist can be the key to purchase success. Because we don’t want you regretting your purchase down the track because the property no longer suits your needs.
The three key areas people overlook when preparing a home buying checklist
Failing to consider future needs
When your child is in kindergarten, you feel like high school is years away, and you focus only on the primary schools in the area. But ask any parent — kids grow up fast. Soon they’ll be starting Year 7 and you want to ensure the high schools in the area are suitable. My core advice is to find a location that has a multitude of options for high school. This means you’ll be spoiled for choice when finding the right placement for your son or daughter. And one day you’ll likely have adult children living in the house too – will the property accommodate those needs?
Another area buyers overlook is considering their changing needs as they get older. You might be happy to drive up and down a steep road for now, but what if you can’t drive in the future? I encourage many buyers to purchase properties that are within walking distance of amenities and public transport. It’s not fun to accept that we are all getting older, but many clients are grateful that I recommended these considerations years down the track.
Failing to be flexible in terms of features
Some buyers insist on three bedroom, two bathroom properties, and overlook any homes that don’t meet those requirements. This means they don’t look at smaller properties that can easily be renovated down the track. In some cases, it might be better to sacrifice that extra bathroom to make a wise financial investment, rather than purchase a poor quality home, simply because it has the features you want right now. Some buyers would rather live further away in a larger home, without considering the hassle of travel time and being farther away from the facilities they enjoy. In those cases it might be better to compromise on size and features to be in the suburb that you love. Every buyer is different in terms of what they’re willing to compromise, but it’s good to be flexible.
Failing to assess the renovation potential
Many buyers see a property and think, ‘Oh we can build and extend upstairs later on,’ without considering the huge potential cost of a large-scale renovation. And down the track, they’re stuck in a smaller home without the funds for a costly renovation. This can be considerably difficult if you’ve purchased a heritage property which doesn’t allow the modifications that suit your lifestyle. Furthermore, if you have plans for a granny flat or second dwelling out the back, make sure the council regulations permit it before you sign the contract. At the same time, clients can overlook properties that can be substantially enhanced just by knocking down a wall or adding simple or affordable fixes to become a great investment for your lifestyle and your financial future.
Failing to appreciate the property ladder reality
Sometimes buyers can be seduced by the property ladder dream, hoping to buy and sell their way up the ladder. But while that can happen, it often takes longer than you think. You may be living in your compromised home for ten to twelve years, not three to five years. Yes, when you buy the home, it will likely appreciate in value, but in the meantime you may be stuck living in a property that doesn’t meet your changing needs, and that can be tiring very quickly.
Investors failure to purchase quality
When you’re a property investor, because you’re not living in the home, you are likely to be less concerned about features and livability. But if you want to attract quality tenants who will pay market rates to rent your investment property, it makes sense to purchase with them in mind. The better quality your property, the better tenants you will attract and the better they will respect the home and take care of it for you. Plus you will have better resale potential when you’re ready to sell.
Not considering future selling potential
When you’re buying your forever home, you’re possibly not thinking of selling this asset down the track — it could be decades away. However far away that time may be, it will come to pass, and you want to be holding on to an asset when it’s time to sell. So make sure to have future viability on your house buying checklist. You won’t necessarily be able to predict your future financial situation or circumstances, so it’s always great to have a property that you know you can sell easily in a pinch. And if you were the only buyer when you purchased, you may find it difficult to sell in future. Whereas if there’s strong competition from buyers now, you can be relatively confident that future buyers will also compete when you’re selling.
Your house buying checklist: your top tips
- Go beyond just location and features – think about all aspects of the home
- Be accurate in terms of what renovations can be done – it’s easy to over or underestimate renovation potential
- Be open to other kinds of properties and ways of being flexible – especially in a competitive market
- Research comparable prices so you can spot an overpriced property easily – or a good buy
- Consider your future needs – your children will become teenagers, or you’ll be wanting to downsize one day – that time will come sooner than you think
- Investing in a buyers advocate is the best way to ensure you make the best possible purchase for your financial future, lifestyle and situation
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