With your pre-approval sorted and a price range in mind, it’s now time for the fun part – house hunting!
A good first step to help narrow down your search is to make a list of all the important features you’d like your new home to have. It’s a good idea to rank these in order of importance. These features may include:
Depending on your budget, you might need to be flexible with some of these, while others will be non-negotiable. Once you’ve got the important features sorted, it’s time to think about what your “nice-to-haves” would be. These could include:
Trademe.co.nz and realestate.co.nz are also great places to look. Most real estate agents list their properties with these two sites and you’ll also find private sales on Trade Me.
If you’d prefer to have someone help you with your search, rather than do it online yourself, then get in touch with a local real estate agent.
It’s really important that you complete your due diligence to make sure you’re aware of any and all issues. You’ll want to look into both the land and the building. These are some of the things you might like to look into:
You can find more tips for house hunting here.
When this series comes back next year, we’ll talk about the purchasing process and what information you’ll need to provide the bank before you make an offer. For now, happy house hunting!
The above information is a guide only and should not be relied on as it does not take into account your personal financial situation.