There is an awful lot of (sometimes confusing) advice out there for people looking to start their search for a new house, so here’s a quick Top 5 Tips to get the hunt for your new home underway as efficiently as possible.
Go Online
Most house hunting these days can be conducted online and there are plenty of different websites which you can a have nose around on. Zoopla is one of the most popular, plus there is the excellent Rightmove (who allow you to set up an email alert that will inform you when a new property comes onto the market in a particular area), as well as OnTheMarket.com and Home.co.uk, and that’s just for starters. You may be able to find a site that is more specialised to the area you want to buy in, so do dedicate plenty of time to hunting about on the internet.
Research Local Property Sale Prices
You’ll want to be aware of what kind of prices properties in the area you are searching in have been going for. In older times, this kind of sale price information was difficult to get hold of, but nowadays it’s easy. You can find information on the prices properties have sold for on sites like Zoopla mentioned above, but also try out Nethouseprices which is also excellent for researching the kind of information that will greatly add to your knowledge of where to search for your new home.
Rightmove is another website where you can search for the prices of sold properties in a certain area, as well as finding new available properties which you might be interested in. They will also have information regarding the condition of the sold properties as they will match up a requested address with the old property descriptions prior to the sale. This is obviously an excellent way of ensuring those cheap house prices that caught your attention are not down to the fact that the buildings were dilapidated.
Talk with Local Estate Agents for Insider Info
The online house hunting revolution that the internet has given us doesn’t mean we should abandon having face time with actual estate agents. Many houses are available before being advertised on property websites and it’s the local estate agents who will have the lowdown on those. It’s a good idea to pop into their premises and have a friendly chat to see if they have anything to tempt you with that hasn’t been announced to the world just yet.
Check Out House Auctions for Potential Deals
This is worth adding to the list but be aware from the off that this is a very hit and miss method of house hunting. You may well get lucky and find a property going for much less than its value that doesn’t have many rival bidders, but you might equally get unlucky and have a rival bidder who is willing to outbid whatever you are prepared to pay. Always worth a shot though if you have the time and inclination, just don’t get too excited.
Be Prepared for Market Changes
Use the current housing trends as a guide, but do not put too much faith in them as the market can go up and down at a moment’s notice. Be prepared for either good news or bad news in terms of the availability of properties at the prices you are prepared to pay. If you are only able to afford the kind of house you want with the market as it currently is, then it might be wise to move quickly once you have found the property you want.
This is all just advice to get the ball rolling of course, and there are plenty of other steps you’ll need to take to finalise the deal and claim your new home. Hopefully though these tips will help folks without much house buying experience know how to get their new home hunting adventure off to a good start.
