Buying a property is a time when you need both to have your head screwed on and be 100% sure you know what you are doing and what you are getting into before signing in the dotted line. Choosing your next property based on your heart and not giving your head a look in can be a recipe for disaster and lead to you making a huge financial mistake.
But with so many things to consider when buying your next property, be it commercial or residential, what are some things buyers tend to overlook?
Future Development
People go out and look to buy a house as it stands now. But can oftentimes fail to consider any plans for that area by companies or current residents to develop on any land owned and make changes that can impact you. This is especially important in areas you are considering buying in that are currently undergoing regeneration.
Look at any plans for the area that directly impact your home. Are there going to be neighbouring properties being built that will remove privacy and result in your home and garden being overlooked? Are there going to be more neighbours developing their homes and adding to the existing building, meaning it impacts the sunlight your property gets or even houses close to your boundary lines their ohm becomes? All of these factors can affect your enjoyment of the property in years to come, so look at any plans for the area and, if there are any, how they impact you.
Environmental Changes
Is the area you are looking at buying at flood risk, or has the area been identified as an area that could suffer from this in the future? What type of land has your home been constructed on, and is it likely to cause you any issues going forward? Do you back out onto a hill or steep drop next to a road or motorway, and the land has the potential to shift, causing damage to your property or reducing the size of the land you own?
From knowing things like What Is Radon and how this can impact your health if it’s present in your home in large quantities to the likelihood of your home not standing the test of time due to poor foundations or being impacted by extreme weather, you need to know how the local environment will impact your purchase and what it means for you should you choose to buy.
Commute
We’ve all seen the property shows where people have to make compromises to get the house they want. be it downsizing from their original requests or moving further afield to afford what they want and so on.
But you need to be realistic about how easy it is to get to the places you need to be from your new home. Are you extending your commute to work or school? Can you easily get to the required transport, e.g. bus or rail stations or motorway links? What will a typical journey look like, how much longer will it take, and what situations will you likely encounter? This is doubly important if you are moving to an entirely new area, not just the other side of town. While it might sound easy enough on paper to add an extra half hour of your commute, but if you are facing heavy traffic day in and day out, this half-hour could easily become an hour or more and leave you frustrated with little time to enjoy the purchase you have just made.
Size Of The Home
Not only does a bigger house mean you pay more for your mortgage, but it also comes with other costs, such as heating bills, electricity costs, increased council tax bands, and higher insurance premiums. This is before you get to the upkeep of the property.
Do you really need all those bathrooms and bedrooms, and will you be able to manage the day-to-day cleaning and maintenance of the house? The same goes for any land you acquire with the house, too. Can you reasonably maintain the land, and do you need it all anyway? Buying a property that is going to give you a lot of work just to keep up simply because you feel you might grow into it, or the idea of having loads of room is enticing, isn’t always a good idea. It can end up being a problem down the line if you aren’t prepared for the type of work a bigger house brings.
The same goes for the flip side of buying a home that is too small to save on costs. Sure, it might be cheaper, but sacrificing space you desperately need will only impact your quality of life, and sometimes it is not a sacrifice worth making.
Freehold or Leasehold
When buying certain properties, it’s important to double-check whether the property is freehold or leasehold.Â
With freehold properties, you own both the building and the land that it is built on. Because you own the land, you don’t have to pay any ground rent to anyone. Most houses are freehold.Â
With leasehold properties, you own the property for a fixed period, but not the land. Properties like flats are more likely to be leasehold and you will have to pay ground rent and service charges on top of your mortgage when purchasing these properties (something that you need to be certain you can afford). It’s worth noting that there are also other conditions like share of freehold, where you own a share of the land your property is on. This is also more common with flats and may result in lower ground rent.