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What To Avoid When Buying A House - AA Ireland What To Avoid When Buying A House - AA Ireland

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What To Avoid When Buying A House - AA Ireland

Published 19th February 2019Read Time 5 min

Now that you have the backing of a mortgage provider you’re ready to step onto the property ladder. With all the excitement buying a home brings comes an equal amount of stress. However, with some caution you can avoid the most dangerous and most common pitfalls that many first-time buyers fall into.

Tips For First Time Home Buyers

1. Make Sure You View Plenty of Properties

You have to wait until your mortgage is sorted to start house-hunting, right? In short, no! Chances are, especially if this is your first time buying a home, that you may not have a full idea of what you’re looking for. Taking your time to view as many properties as possible, even before your mortgage is approved will allow you to figure out what you like, what you’re willing to do without, and what the absolute deal-breakers are.
Even if you have a lengthy list of what you want and don’t want your future home to include, seeing what’s out there is really the only way to hammer out what goes on your list of “has to have” and your list of “can do without.”

2. Sort Out Your Life Insurance/Mortgage Protection

Sorting out your Life Insurance and/or Mortgage Protection is an important step, and in most cases your mortgage provider will require that you have some form of cover before granting approval. Should the worst happen, having life insurance or mortgage protection means that your spouse/family won’t be left having to pay-off the mortgage on their own.
Many different factors can affect your life insurance premiums, particularly smoking which can as much as double the cost of life insurance. However, having life insurance or mortgage protection in place will help protect your family and ensure they keep the roof over their head if the worst happens.

3. Dipping Into Your Savings

When applying for a mortgage, banks will review your past spending habits to ensure you will be able to maintain your mortgage repayments. In an ideal world, you will want to be saving money over and above your monthly rent, but it’s also important to avoid the temptation to dip into your savings for one last holiday before buying a home.
Interrupting your saving habits for a holiday or a big ticket item like a car may lead to banks declining approval for a mortgage, or at the very least delaying the process until you can prove your ability to save up once again.

4. Don’t Rush in When Buying a Home

It’s very easy to fall in love with a property and find yourself wanting it at all costs. Firstly, even if it’s your dream property, you need to stay within your budget. Once the bidding starts be careful not to make your first bid at or above the asking price, as all this will do is drive the final price up.
Equally important when buying a home is the getting the property surveyed. What looks like a dream house at first glance could quickly become a nightmare if issues such as damp, flooding, or poor structural design show up in later years. Even if your mortgage provider has had a survey carried out, ask an independent structural surveyor to assess the property to ensure your dream house doesn’t fall apart in the future.

5. Leave The Valuation Until Last

In most cases your valuation will only last for about two months. With this in mind, leave this step until as late as possible so you’re still covered in the event of contractual delays. When you’re entering the market every cent you can save will go a long way, and leaving your valuation until the last minute should help you avoid paying for a second one.
If you've managed to avoid all of the above mistakes then securing your home should be a walk in the park. However, even if you have found your dream home it's important to make sure you have adequate home insurance cover in place. Click here to get a quote.

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