If you are thinking about buying your first home, you may find yourself creating an overly crowded Pinterest board of all your favourite interior designs, or blubbing over houses you believe to be out of your price range on sites like Waterfront Group. It can be quite disheartening after saving for years to think the home you will end up buying is no-where near what you would like for your forever home. Is it really the time to invest? Or will saving for longer and investing in your dream house be a better option for you? Here are some pros and cons to consider before buying for the first time.
The Unexpected Costs
A big con is the unexpected costs that come with buying a house. The insurance, utilities, maintenance and repairs, the petrol used to get to the nearest supermarket – it all adds up. Not to mention solicitor fees before you even own the property. Before you buy, you need to be honest about how much you can realistically afford on top of the mortgage. Yes, saving as much as you possibly can will cover your deposit – but what about the costs that come after that? Have you got enough savings to cover them, or earning a salary to ensure you’ll be comfortable? It’s easy to focus on the end product of owning a house, but be sure to look at the wider picture of what happens after you receive the keys.
Statistics
A pro and a con in one. Statistics show that the average age for first-time buyers has been considerably lowering for the last three years. Due to the increase of younger people in higher paid employment, the risk level of investing is not as high. With that said, statistics also show younger people believe they are going to be in a home for a lot longer than they actually are. The want for a family or a relocating job promotion could cause you to start looking for a second home quicker than you thought. Think about what you want your future to hold, and realistically how many years it’ll be until you want to reach that future. It may not as far away as you once thought. This will help to confirm your choice of buying now, or saving for a bigger property and buying later.
On The Property Ladder
A major pro is that without monthly rent, which typically is higher than your average mortgage for a starter home, it makes it easier to save for your dream forever home. When you do want to move into something bigger and more suitable for you and your family, you will have the ability to choose whether you rent out your property, or sell up to put towards your new mortgage. Either way, you will have monthly payments that cover your mortgage, or a large sum paid off making your mortgage payments considerably less. Either one is an advantage to your financial situation.
This is by no means an exhaustive list but is a good place to start. This is one of the top five investments in your life, so it is important to give it the thinking time a decision this big deserves.
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