Buy well - sell well
September 17th 2008 02:23
The other half of the successful selling equation is actually buying well in the first place. The ability to see a house's ``bones'' under all that pink paint and cracking plaster takes a while to develop, but there are a few rules that can be followed.
First, location location location. Yes, boring, boring, boring, but so true. That doesn't mean you have to race out a buy the the worst house on Ascot's best street. No, buy the best location you can for your cash and tolerance level. You have to live in the place, after all, and if you can't stand drug addicts shooting up in the park, or can't hack being the poor person on the very rich street, there is no point living in that location.
Pick your pricepoint - what you can comfortably afford to pay on a mortgage. Calculate the repayments on 10 per cent interest, or more, to be sure, and have a back-up plan in case you or your partner lose your job. OK, so find that point of debt and add it to your savings. That's how much the FINISHED house has to cost.
Research suburbs in the area that you like, or that's close to work and family or city - whatever it is that matters to you. Find out what the entry price is (cheapest house no matter what the condition), and find out what the top price is. Drive the suburbs looking at streets and take note of the noise levels, access to amenities, traffic management, level of obvious rentals. Do you like the style of housing? Imagine yourself living there, going to the shops on Saturday, driving the roads to work every day - the boring stuff matters. Take a map and make notes on it.
Look at real estate websites, to work out what's on the market. Try to pick patterns. Entry level homes in x suburb have two bedrooms and one garage and are trashed. Spend $x more, and you get three bedrooms but still one garage. Spend $x more adn you get renovated ones. Hang on, why is this house cheaper than the rest? Oh, because it backs on to a child care centre and Centrelink office...
Wait. Time brings clarity, and in this falling market, you have time. Think a bit on what you want and ask yourself where you want to be cooking your dinner in five years' time.
Go look. Take a good look at everything you can, and work out what you can live with for the price you want to pay. It's a sliding scale - but keep an eye on the FINISHED price you need not to exceed. IF you buy a house that needs new carpet, painting, a back deck and a new driveway, make sure that those costs fall into your budget. At a pinch, you could sacrifice some luxury or renovation potential for a better position, providing you can live with the consequences of not renovating that house.
Don't give up. It's bloody depressing sometimes, and argument provoking, finding a house. Take the emotion out of it. Go in with a plan, stick to it and you can't go wrong.
First, location location location. Yes, boring, boring, boring, but so true. That doesn't mean you have to race out a buy the the worst house on Ascot's best street. No, buy the best location you can for your cash and tolerance level. You have to live in the place, after all, and if you can't stand drug addicts shooting up in the park, or can't hack being the poor person on the very rich street, there is no point living in that location.
Research suburbs in the area that you like, or that's close to work and family or city - whatever it is that matters to you. Find out what the entry price is (cheapest house no matter what the condition), and find out what the top price is. Drive the suburbs looking at streets and take note of the noise levels, access to amenities, traffic management, level of obvious rentals. Do you like the style of housing? Imagine yourself living there, going to the shops on Saturday, driving the roads to work every day - the boring stuff matters. Take a map and make notes on it.
Look at real estate websites, to work out what's on the market. Try to pick patterns. Entry level homes in x suburb have two bedrooms and one garage and are trashed. Spend $x more, and you get three bedrooms but still one garage. Spend $x more adn you get renovated ones. Hang on, why is this house cheaper than the rest? Oh, because it backs on to a child care centre and Centrelink office...
Go look. Take a good look at everything you can, and work out what you can live with for the price you want to pay. It's a sliding scale - but keep an eye on the FINISHED price you need not to exceed. IF you buy a house that needs new carpet, painting, a back deck and a new driveway, make sure that those costs fall into your budget. At a pinch, you could sacrifice some luxury or renovation potential for a better position, providing you can live with the consequences of not renovating that house.
Don't give up. It's bloody depressing sometimes, and argument provoking, finding a house. Take the emotion out of it. Go in with a plan, stick to it and you can't go wrong.
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