Wazzup Pilipinas!
Get your wish list ready, familiarize yourself with the market, get your finances sorted out, and connect with a trusted real estate professional. If you plan to finally become a homeowner in 2015, here’s a list of things to keep in mind to get you moving up the property ladder and owning your dream home.
Global property portal Lamudi Philippines compiles a guide to buying property to supercharge your house hunt
First Stage: The Dreaming Phase
The very first stage of the house-hunting process is the dreaming phase. Imagine yourself living in a particular neighborhood, your kids going to nearby schools, and your entire family enjoying the area’s parks and other amenities.
This phase has no definitive start time or length, so get yourself immersed as thoroughly as possible in the process. Explore neighborhoods, look at photos online, compare listings and property prices, and imagine yourself finally moving into your dream home. Once you get a clear picture, it’s time to move to the next stage.
Second Stage: Search and Discovery
Once you feel you are ready to make a choice, it is time to move to the search and discovery stage, in which you narrow down your options to areas and districts that fit your needs and lifestyle.
This is also the stage when you need to speak to a licensed real estate broker to help with your search. He or she will help you get the facts, and connect with a loan officer or mortgage lender to get your finances sorted out, who will then run some numbers and do a full review of your finances. The loan officer will also marry that data with housing loans offered by different banks and teach you about the different loan options and interest rates, among other things.
To help you get through this crucial stage, here’s a list of guidelines:
1. Evaluate your needs and lifestyle: Do you prefer a suburban house that is near good schools for your kids? Or are you a committed city dweller who is willing to trade small space for proximity to shopping malls and business centers?
2. If you are buying using a housing loan, how much monthly repayments can your income accommodate? As a rule of thumb, do not allocate more than 30 percent of your monthly take-home pay to your monthly installments.
Third Stage: Taking the Plunge
After weeks or months of searching, you will have seen enough houses and asked plenty of questions to know the market inside out. By this time you already have a list of likes and dislikes that will help your broker narrow down the search. If a property that meets your requirements comes on the market, your broker will let you know immediately, and you can schedule a viewing as soon as possible. At this point you must be ready to make an offer and negotiate. It also helps to provide proof that you have been pre-approved for a housing loan.
At this stage, it is very important that you have done your homework to avoid experiencing buyer’s remorse. Although sometimes this feeling in unavoidable, it can be prevented by following these guidelines:
1. Be aware of the property developer’s track record. Does it have a good reputation, and does it turn over high-quality units and on time?
2. Study carefully the financing options available for you. Do not jump into the first bank who makes you an offer; instead, focus on the one that offers you the maximum benefit.
3. Do not hesitate to request an inspection. You will eventually live in the property so make sure to inspect every nook and cranny.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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