Buying a house is one of the biggest aspirations of many, but it isn’t easy to wade through the property market and settle with the home of your dreams. It takes a lot of research, patience, effort, and fulfilment of legal obligations to buy a house.
With new property dealers and real estate property developers entering the market, purchasing an ideal home is only getting more challenging by the day.
How do you buy a house in a stress-free way with so much around? If you’re planning to buy a home, you should read this article till the end. This epic guide has been curated to help house buyers make a wise investment, ensuring they don’t face any difficulty related to their house in the long run. So, let’s head straight to the points shared below that one should keep in mind while buying a home.
1. Evaluate your reasons for buying a house
An important point you must keep in mind is deciding well in advance the reason for buying the property. Whether you want to live in the property you’re buying, rent it out, or give it to your children has to be decided before you start looking for a property. This point is crucial because it will impact the property registration process. If you’re buying the house for yourself or renting purposes, you can get the property registered in your name.
But if you’re planning to invest in a property and gift it to your children or family members, you have to get the property registered in their name. Property registration takes anywhere between two to three months, so if you are clear on whose name the property should be registered right from the start, you can save a lot of time during the registration process.
2. Make a list of documents you’ll need to get the owner status rightfully
The legal documents needed to claim rightful property ownership are long enough to discourage anyone from buying a house. The hassle of separating the unnecessary documents from the relevant ones is even more tedious. To save much of your research time, we’ve already sorted out some important document list names that you must possess to claim the rightful ownership of the new property.
Of all the documents available, you must own an allotment letter, payment challan, original sale deed, possession letter, share certificate, share allotment certificate, completion certificate, share transfer certificate, lease deed in the original, registration certificate, payment receipt, possession certificate, no dues certificate, sanctioned map of the property, etc.
3. Can you fund the entire purchase, or would you require a loan?
Buying a house is not easy and requires significant investment. Hence before venturing out on your home hunt journey, always decide on the amount you’re willing to invest. If you’re willing to own a dream house, even if it means taking a home loan from a reputed bank, you should do the EMI calculations first and evaluate if taking a home loan would be the right decision. You can use a reliable, online home loan EMI calculator to get near accurate EMI projections. If the EMI seems out of budget, you might want to settle with a budget and more affordable house.
4. Always consider getting a property located in a well-connected area
If you look for urban-style houses at a low cost, you might come across several projects. The only downside to these projects is that the property is located in a suburban area or a far-off location with fewer connectivity options. If you have a job in the main city, you would not want to commute long hours every day from your office to this distant property, even if it is on the affordable side.
Hence to ensure you’re investing in the right property, always look for projects that have plentiful connectivity options. Also, ensure the property’s distance is not too far from the main city. Check what roads, highways, schools, marketplaces, transportation means, and utility stores are available in and around the house. The more well connected the property, the better.
5. Is the money worth the cost?
The worth of what you purchase matters a lot. Hence before signing any property purchase papers, do some research from your end. Make a comparative study to determine the prevailing market rates of similar property types in the area. You can also ask the local shopkeepers or neighborhood people about the prevailing rate in the area.
Doing so will ensure you’re not paying an exorbitant price to the property seller. You can also calculate and derive an approximate percentage that the same property price might appreciate in the future. All the data collected from these sources will be enough to make the right property buying decision.
6. Conduct a background check on the agent & property developer
Today everyone is trying to sell something, so you have to be cautious about what and whom you buy things from, especially if it’s a high-value transaction. It’s no hidden fact that agents and property developers want you to buy property from them because every sale can bring in money for them. In such a scenario, you have to be extra cautious about both. If you’re planning to buy a house, select a property after conducting your own market research and not going by the agent’s or developer’s words. It can save you big time from making the wrong purchase.
7. Never ignore the home insurance cost from costing evaluation
A mistake some people make is omitting the insurance cost from the property cost. The purchase price you pay for buying the house is just one of the expenses. As a house buyer, you will also be subjected to other associated costs like home insurance, property registration, taxes, and more. Of all the associated costs, insurance cost is the most significant one because you will have to pay it regularly. So, if you want to get the financials right, don’t avoid home insurance from the property cost.
8. Look beyond the appearance
Looks matter while finalizing a house, but they shouldn’t be the only property selection criteria. If you’ve shortlisted a property, check its basic and structural design, study the property map, see if there are any seepage or cracks in the property, ask the agent or developer about the materials used, etc. You can also check if the structures allow for easy renovation at a later date. The more aspects you evaluate before finalizing any property, the better.
9. Check the possession timeline for the property
You must have heard some instances wherein the property developers took money from buyers but kept delaying the possession for one or another reason. If you don’t want to find yourself stuck in a similar situation, you should ask the developer about the possession timeline. You can determine if the possession can be given in time by checking the pace of work at the property site. If the property is complete and ready to move in, you might want to prioritize it over other options.
10. Check the license & approval allotted for the real estate project
No developer can build property without acquiring the necessary license and approvals from the concerned authorities. In India, for example, RERA is responsible for the development, marketing, and sales of any real estate property. So, you can check if the selected property you’re considering buying is approved by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) or not. If a project has obtained all the necessary documents from the concerned authority, take it as a positive sign, and you might consider investing in it.
Get the house of your dreams without any fuss
Buying a house holds both financial and emotional value, so you act wisely before investing in any property. When something holds value, you should not hurry up and act with patience to exercise the necessary restraint. To make the journey easier for you, we’ve listed above all the points you should consider before purchasing. Following every point will require much of your time and effort, but it will be well worth it in the end.
