Article
In order to end up with a
great house in a great neighbourhood, there are a couple of things to consider
before you begin house hunting. This will help to smoothen out the house
hunting process for you. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares
5 things to do before house hunting.
Know
the market a little
Try to spend some time
getting to know the market a little. You should not be completely ignorant
about what the house hunting process entails to avoid being cheated. Browse
real estate listings, familiarize yourself with the different neighbourhoods
you are considering, ask around for recommendations on good real estate agents
or consultancies, talk to friends, family and even co-workers to get to know
about some of their house hunting knowledge and experiences etc. Try to get as
much information as you can about the house hunting process beforehand. Some
real estate consultancies to consider include Propertymart, WhiteBricks,
Elegant Court etc.
Find
a good agent
A good real estate agent
or realtor is hard to find, but you are going to have to work to search them
out. A good agent is someone who knows the market well, is knowledgeable about
the area you are interested in and can point out problems with potential homes.
Once you can get a good agent that knows their stuff and is able to get you a
great house, it makes the house hunting process much easier. One of the best
ways to get a good agent is through recommendations from family and friends.
You can also go to trusted real estate consultancies for some help.
Stick
to your budget
It’s not enough to just
have a budget; you need to be able to stick to it. Consider your monthly cash
flow and figure out the amount of money that you can conveniently devote to
housing payments (the key word here is conveniently). A general rule to guide
you is that the money you set aside monthly for house payments should not be
higher than 25 – 30% of your monthly income.
Have
a sizeable leftover
You would think many would
know this, but there is an alarming number of people that spend almost the
entirety of their income on buying or renting a new house. No matter what, this
should never be done. Houses need constant maintenance, and even after buying
the house there are still one or two unforeseen expenses you might need to
make, you therefore should avoid putting everything down on a house. Ensure you
have a sizeable leftover, that can act as a sort of emergency fund and that can
be enough for your general upkeep.
Choose
a location
Well, this is obvious, however
it’s not just about choosing a location but the factors you consider when
choosing this location. Unfortunately, a lot of people are ignorant of the
vital factors to consider when searching for a house and end up choosing a
great looking house in a terrible location. You should consider if you feel
safe in the area (not just if the agent tells you the area is safe). Do your
own research about the area, ask around. Consider the traffic situation around
the area, especially during rush hour. Also, consider if there is likely going
to be noise disturbances from any source that is beyond what you can handle. In
addition, take note of how clean and well-kept the neighborhood is. Are you
likely to be dealing with typhoid issues when living there because of the dirty
water etc.?
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