What To Do Before Buying Your First House

It’s never too early to think of buying your first house. It’s a huge milestone and a huge turning point in life. It does sound daunting, but it’s something you can do that your future self will thank you for.

Buying a house is an excellent investment for you and your family. So here are five ways to make sure that you are already prepared to secure your first-ever home.

  1. Have good saving and spending habits

Saving up as early as possible is an excellent habit to consider. Having enough savings would mean that you could easily acquire a home loan. Once you get your first job, the best thing to do is to start setting a budget for yourself. You also have to live on it religiously and spend just enough. This may mean fewer night-outs and more dinners at home, but this is just a little sacrifice compared to the fruitful success you would get in the future. If you save early on, you’ll definitely acquire a bigger budget, thus a better home.

  1. Figure out a budget

As much as we wish for a beautiful and big house, we should only buy a house that we can truly afford. This is to avoid having so much debt piled up that you can no longer afford to live the lifestyle you wish to have. To give an example, you might consider having 30% of your monthly income as the budget for your home’s monthly expenses.

  1. Prepare the deposit

You’ll definitely find it easier to build up a good chunk of money for a deposit if you’ve established healthy spending and saving habits. Having a bigger deposit will lead to a decrease in the mortgage. So make sure you are prepared enough, especially to let your bank and lenders know that you’re not a risky borrower.

  1. Check your credit history

It’s critical to check your credit history prior to purchasing your first home. One forgotten phone bill could definitely make you look like a less legible borrower. You have to carefully check your credit history to avoid problems like this in the future. However, remember not to overcheck, as this could also be a red flag to the lenders. To make things easier, you may opt to hire a company that offers services like checking the credit history. 

  1. Consult with a broker

Finally, schedule a meeting with your broker after settling all the earlier steps. They will help you find your first home and assist in organising a pre-approval.

Now that we’ve settled all of that, you are now prepared to buy your first-ever home.

Should I Buy A House Or Rent One?

This is a tough one. If getting a new home is one of the plans you’re currently working on, this question may have already been on your mind. Your family may be telling you to buy a house, but your friends are telling you otherwise.

To help you in making this big decision, we’ve come up with the different advantages and disadvantages of either buying or renting a house.

ADVANTAGES OF BUYING

  • The property’s value has the potential to grow in the long run.
  • There is a good amount of interest rates available for you in the market.
  • Having your own house can put you in a good financial position in the future.
  • You won’t have to worry about breaking anything or changing anything about the house since it’s all yours for the taking.

DISADVANTAGES OF BUYING

  • Sometimes, you may be forced to live in a neighbourhood you don’t like because of the high prices of the properties in the neighbourhood you’ve set your eyes on.
  • There are other bills to pay for such as maintenance, interest rates, and even for repairs should there be any.
  • You will need a huge chunk of deposit, and you’ll have to wait a little longer to acquire the needed amount.

ADVANTAGES OF RENTING

  • You won’t need to worry about property rates. Thus, you can choose whichever neighbourhood you like.
  • You can always move whenever and as often as you want to.
  • You won’t have to worry about any other maintenance fees.
  • You can move as soon as possible because there’s no need to prepare for a significant amount of deposit.

DISADVANTAGES OF RENTING

  • You’re basically spending a good amount of your monthly income on a property that isn’t yours, to begin with.
  • Monthly rentals may change from time to time.
  • You may end up renting a home from a terrible landlord who has so many rules you have to follow.

True enough, there are a handful of factors that you have to consider before getting a new home. You have to know your financial capabilities, current needs, and lifestyle. What’s best to do is to seek expert advice from your broker. They will assist you in weighing all the different pros and cons to help you decide on your purchase.

new house

What To Do Before You Buy A Car

Have you been saving up to get a new car? It’s an exciting feeling, but it’s also as scary as can be. You have to take a lot of considerations before finally deciding on buying. So read on and learn about the best tips to help you avoid committing common car purchasing mistakes.

Set the overwhelming emotions aside, and make sure to follow these six tips.

  1. RESEARCH PRIOR TO BUYING

Don’t go to the dealership unprepared. Having access to the internet is a significant advantage. You can list down all the specifics you need in a car and, through the web, a search which one would best suit your lifestyle. With a little bit of scrolling, there’s a lot of car comparisons available. You may even be able to find awesome second-hand car deals. You just have to be patient enough and research thoroughly.

  1. UNDERSTAND YOUR TRADE-IN WORTH

You must have a rough estimate of how much your trade-in car is worth. An excellent method to find out is by looking it up on the internet and figuring out how much it could sell if you were to sell it privately. Doing so will help you weed out dealers that will say your car is worth less than the amount it actually is. Have the correct information ready so you’d be confident enough to face different car dealers.

  1. HAVE A PRE-APPROVAL READY

It would be best if you organized a pre-approval for your car loan so that your bank can thoroughly examine your current financial status. Doing so will help them decide how much they can lend you. With this in mind, you will be able to easily figure out how much your budget should be. 

  1. RESEARCH ABOUT DIFFERENT CAR LOANS

Don’t stop at just researching cars. Go beyond and learn about the different car loans available. If you do that, you’ll eventually find the car loan which will suit your lifestyle best. Don’t pick the first car loan presented to you in an instant. It would help if you looked around for a better car deal because it’s not the best car deal that would be looking around for you.

  1. DON’T PURCHASE THE ADD-ONS

Don’t fall for any add-on schemes your car dealer will offer you. Those offers, including window tint and paint protection, are just other terms for the additional expense. These add-ons will definitely cost you a higher interest to pay for.

  1. TALK TO YOUR BROKER

The best thing you can do is schedule a meeting with your broker. You have to seek professional help as they are the best assistance you will need as you go through all the other five tips. If you want, they can do the whole process for you while giving you real-time updates simultaneously.

Having these tips will prevent you from making mistakes. With your broker’s help, you will be able to assess your financial situation and find the best car and car loan for your lifestyle.

The Best Questions To Ask During An Open Home

Are you planning to go to an open home on the weekends? Do you want to make the most out of it by figuring out which questions you should be asking them? With the right questions, you will be able to decide whether you really wish to purchase the property.

In your search of buying a new home, here are some questions that will lead you to much-needed information.

  1. WHY IS THE PROPERTY ON THE MARKET?

If you’re really interested in purchasing this specific house, its history will be a great advantage for you. The answers to this will be most helpful during the negotiation processes, and you’ll be able to figure out whether the sale is in a rush or the owners are just waiting around for a good offer. With this question, you’ll know whether the owners are looking for either a short or long settlement period. You might even be lucky enough to know what their terms of deals are.

  1. ARE THERE ANY OTHER RECENT SALES I CAN COMPARE IT WITH?

A price guide is what you should be looking for. With a price guide, you’ll know if the house is being reasonably priced or not. The real estate agent available during the open house should be able to present you with a list of the price ranges of similar properties within the neighbourhood.

  1. ARE THEY RECEIVING OFFERS AT THE MOMENT?

This question will help you figure out the estimated amount you should offer the owners. The agent should be able to show you the rough estimates of their recent offers. You may also ask about the offers that the owners have rejected before. This will definitely give you an edge. If the agent says that the house hasn’t received offers yet, you might have to think a little harder about closing this deal.

  1. HOW LONG HAS THE PROPERTY BEEN ON THE MARKET?

This will help you find out if you could offer them a lower deal. If it’s been on the market for quite some time now, the owners are more likely inclined to accept the first offer they can get their hands on. You also have to consider that potential buyers are passing up on the property for a reason, and you have to know what that reason is. This tells you that you should do more research, as having the property on the market for so long could indicate a red flag.

  1. DOES THIS PROPERTY HAVE ANY KNOWN ISSUES?

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t found an issue during your inspection in the open house. You still have to ask the real estate agent about any issues it could have. They are always going to tell you upfront if there’s any. It doesn’t matter if your decisions will be affected by those issues; they will still tell you.

To make sure that you are making the right decisions when purchasing a house, you should definitely seek expert advice from mortgage brokers.

What Is A Credit Score And How Should I Handle It?

Along the path of becoming an adult, you’ll learn about credit scores. But what exactly is it? How important are these scores?

A credit score is an essential factor that can either make or break your bank loan applications. This lets the bank and lenders know whether you are a trustworthy borrower or not. It also helps them understand your capacity to pay back the loan on time. With that, they can decide how much they could possibly lend you, which includes the interest rate and credit card limit.

Overall, it represents how good you are at handling and managing your finances. So if you’re planning on applying for a loan, make sure that you can present a good credit score to your bank and lenders.

Here are some tips you can follow to keep a good credit score.

  1. Always pay your bills regularly

This does not only include credit card bills and other loans, but also includes rental fees, utilities, and phone bills. You should be able to pay your bills on time, as this tells your lenders that you are not a risky borrower and that you’re responsible enough to pay them back.

  1. Payback your debts

You should maintain a low credit card balance. Try your hardest to aim for a low credit utilisation ratio. This will have a positive impact on your credit history. A low credit card balance will mean that you do not max out your limits and that you are able to handle your credit history properly.

  1. Get extra credit for your phone bills and utilities

If you can guarantee that you pay your bills responsibly, you should consider getting extra credit scores for it. There are plenty of companies that offer this service, and being able to pay your phone and utility bills on time will surely improve your credit score.

  1. Keep the unused credit cards

Unused credit cards will not cause you any damage as long as you’re not paying for annual fees. That’s why we suggest that you don’t close these accounts. If you have these closed, your credit utilisation ratio will increase, and you have to remember that we are aiming for a low ratio. If you aren’t losing money because of those unused credit cards, closing them will do more harm than good.

  1. Only open new credit cards when necessary

Don’t open new credit card accounts if you don’t need them. Even if you now have an increased credit limit because of all the latest and old cards combined, this can still have a negative impact on your credit score. 

  1. Monitor your credit reports

It may not happen a lot, but inaccuracies in credit reports are possible. You should monitor your credit reports, so you can easily find any errors. Have them checked and corrected as soon as you can because this can also negatively affect your credit score.

It may sound like a complicated process, but trust us; your future self will be eternally grateful for you if you are able to keep a good credit score. You may also consult with a mortgage broker, so you can receive expert advice about handling finances.