8 Steps to Buying your Dream Home

Buying your Dream Home

It’s almost everyone’s lifelong dream to own a house and making the house a home. Buying a house can be a very intimidating process as well as a very daunting process, especially if you’ve never done it before. 


The very first thing you should do before starting the whole home buying journey is to figure out whether you are in the right position to be a home owner. You have to factor in the additional responsibilities and costs that go along with owning a home — such as maintenance fees, buying furniture (you can check out Sogeshome's Bedroom Furniture for reference), repair work and etc.

How To | Steps

The steps to consider when purchasing a new home

Step 1. Decide to buy a Home

Home ownership is called as "accidental investment" that many people make. If you do the right deal, it can be an "intentional investment" that creates a base of financial security.


Step 2. Determine how much can you afford

Often you might hear the golden rules in purchasing a home — the monthly repayment of loan not more than 30% of your net income. You can always depend on the abundance of home loan calculator online to make the best guess on your affordability rate.

However, don’t forget to factor in the money you’ll need for down payment and other miscellaneous fees such as legal fees & stamp duty for S&P agreement, legal fees & stamp duty for loan agreement.

Step 3. Hire a real estate agent

Buying a new home for the first time could face complicated processes. You can always take the help of real estate agent. You do not have to worry about having to pay the real estate agent, as their agency fee for service rendered is a maximum of 3% of the sale price of the property and it usually applies on the seller only.

You probably still need a real estate agent as an experienced agent will have the first-hand experience in dealing with inspectors, bankers, lawyers, sellers, communities and all sort of other aspects of real estate industry. On top of all their expertise, its crucial to have someone who is close to the seller to be in the best position in striking a best deal for you.

Step 4. Finding Your Home

You can now start touring homes within your price range. Property portal like PropertyGuru will come in handy in getting you the right new home. You will need to access your values, wants and needs for the short and long term. You might be viewing a lot of houses and it can be hard to remember everything, so having a notebook ready to detailed down the good and bad of the units could be helpful.

Besides the house itself, it is very important to evaluate the neighborhood such as:

• If it’s a resale unit, are the other homes and the whole building well maintained.

• Traffic of the surrounding streets.

• Street parking for families and visitors.

• Amenities nearby like restaurants, parks, public transportations, shopping complexes and so on.

Step 5. Make an Offer

You should never rush into making the decision as buying a house is a long-term investment and one should not take it lightly. Work with your real estate agent to negotiate fair offer based on the market value and the condition of the home. Once you and the seller reached an agreement on the price, you can now proceed with the remaining steps in the home buying process.


Step 6. Perform Due Diligence

Have a thorough home inspection to check for signs of structural damage or things that might need fixing. You can arrange the inspection yourself or ask your real estate to do it for you and usually the inspection will be conducted within a few days of having a mutual agreement between you and the seller. This contingency protects you by giving you a chance to renogatiate your offer or even retract and withdraw it without penalty give significant damages arise.

Step 7. Getting the right mortgage

It is advisable to approach multiple banks to get the best loan programme as possible. Your real estate agent will have couple of bankers in line to assist you on this matter. Every home buyer will have their very own priorities when choosing a mortgage. 


Some might be interested in keeping their monthly payments as low as possible and some might be interested in clearing the loan in the shortest tenure. Remember step 2? Always follow your affordability and never burden yourself on getting a home.


Step 8. Close

The final step in your home buying is the confirmation from the lender and legal statue and credit worthiness. At closing, you will sign all the paperwork required to complete the purchase, which include loan documents as well as the S&P agreement.

Following all these tips for buying a home will help you a lot in making your home buying experience less painful and perhaps enjoyable. 


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