The following contribution is from another author.
When buying a house for the first time, buyers can become overwhelmed with a property that they fall in love with for all the wrong reasons. Approaching the real estate market for the first time requires a lot of legwork and homework. Whether it’s a 20-year mortgage or 30 years, you can assume that this is a house that you’ll be spending a major portion of your life. There are tips and tricks, as well as good solid advice that will help you choose the house of a lifetime.
Getting Started with a House Hunt
The reason to go through these specific steps is to safeguard your purchase and your health. For instance, if you invest in a home where the asbestos was not properly dealt with, you could be looking at years of asbestos inhalation. Other types of health hazards could include mold, mildew or even vermin. The danger of asbestos is that when the fibers are inhaled into your lungs, it can develop into cancer. Due to the latency of symptoms, it is usually only discovered in later years.
Check How Much Mortgage You’re Eligible For
Choose a Realtor and Go Shopping
Once you have seen a few houses and you can’t stop imagining your life in one of them, go ahead and make an offer. Order a home inspection of the house you want to buy to make sure it’s structurally sound and in good shape. Here are some of the items on the checklist:
- Asbestos
- Termites
- Mold
- Cracked foundation
- Roof leaks
- Faulty plumbing
- Ordering a Home Appraisal
There are many points to juggle when choosing a first home, but there are priorities. For instance, according to a report in 2019, the most important feature was safety. In fact, safety came in at 82% in that study. There are different types of safety in a home. One takes into account the safety of the neighborhood, but the safety of the home is every bit as important. For instance, if you moved into a home with asbestos, your possibility of developing asbestos poisoning would be increased. Since many properties in the 1950s through 1980s were built using asbestos products, they could very well be in a home you are interested in. Get a report and know before signing the deal that you won’t be at risk for asbestos poisoning. Be sure to do your own research using sites like Asbestos.Net to be informed.
Finally, after you’ve chosen a beautiful home, checked its safety, and signed a contract, you can move in with confidence that you will be secure.
