How To Find Your Dream Home On A Budget
A low budget shouldn’t mean settling for a low-quality property. Your home is your personal space and deserves to meet your requirements. You may have to manage your expectations somewhat – you’re not going to find an eight-bed mansion on a shoestring – but you shouldn’t discount every luxury. Here are just a few ways to help you find your dream home on a budget.
Photo Credit from Architectural Digest
Consider a self-build
Building your own home can often cost a third of the price of buying a home – that’s the cost of land, architects, lawyers, labor and materials all included. Self-build mortgages exist to cover these costs, meaning a deposit could work out much less than buying a regular property. Buying land can be tricky – you may be limited by location and council legislation. However, if you do manage to find suitable land, you have total creative freedom (within reason) of what your property will look like. For building a dream home, this is the way to go.
Consider renovating
Another option to consider is renovating. There may not be a property out there that meets all your specs as it stands, but when you start to consider the small tweaks that can be made, you may be able to turn a dull property into a dream property with time. Colors can often be the most off-putting elements to buyers and yet are the cheapest to fix. It costs very little to repaint pink walls or repaint flaking cabinets. Structural alteration will be the most expensive, such as extensions or removals of walls. So long as a property doesn’t need these alterations, you may be able to fix other faults on a budget.
Don’t let location limit you
Being in a location you love is important. But when you consider you can buy a large house in country for the same price as a flat in most city centers, you need to start weighing up your needs. You may not want to live in an extremely remote location, but you may be able to find a happy medium on the outskirts.
Local moves have their financial advantages. You won’t have to pay for removals, and could rent a van and do it yourself. However, weigh up the added cost of movers and thousands off your mortgage and it may not seem like that much of a sacrifice. Start broadening your search and see what your find.
Don’t rush
When trying to find your perfect property, patience is key. Waiting may allow you more time to save up for something you truly want, as well as giving you more time to scope the market. Try to resist the urge to jump upon the first good property you find, sometimes it can be worth taking the risk and waiting for that ‘great’ property to arise. If you feel you’re being too finicky, discuss what you’re looking for to an agent and see how realistic they think your criteria are. Consider giving such agencies your number and ringing you when they think they’ve found a property you may like.
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