How to Manage the Stress of Buying a House
Dealing with the stress of buying a house can be challenging. However, the following tips can make life easier:
1. Decide Exactly What You Want
Although they are very helpful, real-estate agents are not mind-readers. Therefore, if you don’t know what you want, you’ll spend a considerable amount of time viewing houses that don’t suit your needs. If you’re precise about your requirements, an agent will find it much easier to find your perfect home.
Things to consider include:
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Desired square footage
- Single-level or multi-level
- Type of housing
- Distance to shopping and expressways
- Schools in the area
- Age of the home
- Neighborhood
- Amount of maintenance required
- Type of exterior
2. Make Sure You’re Flexible
Unless you have the money to purchase some land and construct a property from scratch, it’s unlikely you’ll find the perfect home. So, learn to be flexible and understand that it’s not likely you’ll find an exact copy of the property you’ve imagined.
Write down a list of your wants and work out which features you can do without. Doing so will help you determine what’s most important to you and your family and be realistic about your requirements.
3. Seek Pre-Approval for a Mortgage Loan
Financing a property directly contributes to the stress of buying a house . It may seem like qualifying for a home loan isn’t that difficult. However, after combing through your credit record and income, lenders may think otherwise.
We always recommend seeking pre-approval for a mortgage before you start making offers on properties. Without pre-approval, you could waste a lot of time falling in love with houses that you can’t get eligibility to finance.
Additionally, some agents and sellers will only work with potential buyers who have been pre-approved by a mortgage lender. To smooth your path to pre-approval, pay all your bills on time, and try to pay off any outstanding debts. These actions will help raise your credit score, allowing you to qualify for the best possible interest rates. Also, keep your bank statements and records handy. Lenders will need all this information when they determine mortgage eligibility.
4. Take Advice from your Real Estate Agent
Unless you have a background in real estate, you should consider the advice your real estate agent offers. You chose this professional so that the stress of buying a house would be manageable and bearable, so heed their words.
For example, if your agent recommends adding specific contingencies to an offer, consider putting them in place.
They may suggest making sure the property passes a home inspection or adding a requirement for your seller to honor repairs. Whatever their professional opinion is, trust that they know the industry well and follow their advice.
5. Save Enough Cash
Buying a house is one of the most expensive purchases you’ll ever make. Therefore, you must understand the cost of purchasing a property before you take this giant leap.
Your mortgage lender will require a down payment of anywhere between 3-5%, depending on the type of loan you need. Next, you’ll be charged a credit check fee and mortgage applications, cash deposits, appraisal fees, and home inspections. Then, there’s title insurance, recording fees, origination fees, underwriting fees, and discount points to add to your budget.