If you’re considering placing a bid on your dream home, you might be feeling overwhelmed. You want to make sure you’ve thought through all the important steps for choosing a home and making it yours before committing to anything. Here’s 5 essential questions to ask yourself before you take the plunge:
1. What do I need in a home? What do I want?
Getting clear on what you need (the essentials) and what you want (the extra things you’d love) will help you make the right choice. Try writing down a list of needs and a list of wants. Your needs are the essentials that you can’t compromise on, like number of rooms and how long it will take you to get to and from work every day. Your wants are the extra things that you’ve dreamed of, but you could compromise on for the right property, like having a spare room and a backyard.
2. What’s happening in the market at the moment?
Look through property listings online and in newspapers to see how much different types of properties are selling for. Check the suburbs that you’re interested in, and check similar suburbs too. Check homes that only fit your needs, and check homes that fit your wants and compare the two. It is worth putting time into this step because it will help you get a feel for the market so you can make the best decisions when it’s time to start bidding.
3. Am I confident about the bidding process?
Go along to open auctions to get an understanding of how they work. Closed bidding is a bit harder – you’ll have to do your research online, talk to real estate agents and talk to people you know who have done it themselves. The more you understand about the process, the more prepared you’ll be to do your best performance.
4. How much do I want to bid and how far am I willing to go?
You have your budget, know what you need and what you want, you have a feel for the market and you understand how the bidding process works. Now you’re ready to start bidding on your dream home – but before you do, you need a plan. You want to be ready to fight for your dream home, but you don’t want to make any wrong decisions in the heat of the moment. Having a clear plan will help you perform at your best and avoided getting thrown off course by anything unexpected that happens.
You have done your research and you know what to do, but have you given enough consideration to your agent’s advice? Agents see properties being bought and sold every day, so they are a valuable resource. Ask for their advice and recommendations and make sure you take them into account.
