There are so many things to think about when you’re buying a house. The size, location, budget and a million other things will all come into play. We all have a wishlist of the kinds of things we want in a home, here are some of the things you could add to yours when you’re going to viewings.

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A Good State of Repair

While properties which show signs of disrepair will hugely lower the price, don’t be too tempted by this unless you’re planning on doing a full renovation. Keep an eye on signs of pests, structural damage or other issues that will be very expensive to put right. Even if things look ok, it’s worth having a survey or home inspection done. Companies like Solex Group professional home inspection offer this, it can give you peace of mind and make sure you know you’ve made the right decision about a property. The last thing you want is to be stung with pricey repairs a few months down the line where you overlooked something.

The Area

You’re not just moving into a home, but an area or community. Make sure you do plenty of research on this before buying a home to make sure it matches up with what you want. You could look into things like crime rates and unemployment levels. You could see what parks and amenities are nearby, whether there are good transport links and what the schools are like. It’s easy to be bamboozled with a gorgeous property especially if you’ve found what you think is ‘the one’. But you can never change the area you’ve moved into, so make sure this is as good as the house.

The Garden

While you can landscape and change the garden itself, the size is something you’re stuck with. In fact, if you want to extend the home later down the line this will take space from the garden and make it even smaller. Therefore you need to make sure the size is something you’re going to be happy with. If you have kids and pets, is there enough space for them to run around and play? If you have a big family and like to host garden parties, will there be enough room for everyone?

Eco-Friendly Features

We all know how important it is to reduce our carbon footprint, and making changes at home is one of the biggest ways we can go about this. Therefore properties which have eco-friendly features are certainly worth considering over those that don’t. Solar panels, cavity wall and loft insulation and energy efficient windows and doors for example will reduce the amounts of fossil fuels we use. And as a bonus, your energy bills will be cheaper too. It’s something to ask when you view properties, that way if you’re tied between two and aren’t sure what to pick the eco-friendly home has an advantage.

What kinds of things are on your checklist when you’re looking for your next home?

More and more people are choosing to build their own home. Are you fed up of searching for properties, or have you got a vision you want to bring to life? If so, designing and building your own home could be the perfect option. Taking on a building project isn’t easy, and there may be times when everything isn’t plain sailing. Here are some tips to help you reduce costs and prevent unexpected delays.

Focus on the planning process

Planning is essential for a successful build. If you haven’t planned properly, you’re much more likely to encounter issues once the build is underway. It’s never as simple as buying a piece of land and then drawing up some proposals. You’ll have to liaise with architects, building firms and planning officers to make sure your dream home is a viable reality. Don’t cut corners at the planning stage, even if you think it will save you money. If things go wrong later on, it could end up costing you a lot more.

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Stick to a budget

Budgeting is incredibly important when you’re managing a home build. Before you even start thinking about colors or styles, work out exactly how much the project will cost. Factor in building costs, the cost of the land, and decoration and interior design. You’ll also need to add wages and extras, such as fork lifts hire. When you’ve got a budget in mind, you’ll have a good idea where your money is going, and what you have available as a contingency.

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Put in the hours

Most people don’t have expert building skills, but they can navigate their way around basic tools and simple jobs without any issues. If you’re looking to reduce spending and save time, do some work yourself. You can get involved in clearing debris from the site, laboring and helping out around the site. A couple of hours a few days a week could make a massive difference over a prolonged period.

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Decide on a contractor

If you’re going to employ a contractor, make sure they have a good reputation, and you trust them to do a good job. If you’re going to manage the project, ensure you have time available to give it the attention it requires. As the main contractor, you are responsible for making all the important decisions. If you’re not confident in your management skills, or you have a full-time job, you may be better taking on a contractor.

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Be realistic about your timeframe

Building a house isn’t as simple as laying foundations and putting up walls. It requires diligent planning and complex building processes. When you start, make sure you have realistic expectations of how long the project will take. Sit down with the parties involved and discuss the individual stages in detail. Plan each step, and this will help to prevent delays and ensure the process runs smoothly.

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Managing a home build is not a piece of cake. But there are ways of bringing your dream home to life on time and within budget. Pay attention to planning, and make sure every eventuality is covered. Recruit professionals with excellent reputations, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Good luck!

Hiring real estate is a very complex procedure. There are so many details that need to be looked after, forms to be filled out, information to be processed and meetings that need to be assembled. It is difficult to find your dream home on your own, which is why it is advantageous to hire a professional real estate agent. An experienced real estate agent will guide you through the home buying process and help you to avoid any costly mistakes that could get in the way of you finding the home of your dreams. A good real estate agent has closed on hundreds of deals and they will know how to get you exactly what you want in a home – at the right price.

So what are the main benefits of hiring a professional real estate agent to help you purchase your home? Here are some of the advantages:

They Have Pricing Experience

A real estate agent will have the knowledge and experience to be able to price a home accurately according to its market, knowing the historic and predicted future values in the local neighbourhood. When you are buying a house, this means that they will be able to tell you if a specific house is under-priced or over-priced. They will bring years of experience watching waves on transactions to the neighbourhood.

Identifying Possible Repairs

A real estate agent will be able to spot any possible repairs that might be needed and will also be able to recommend a good home inspector who will provide a detailed report on the problems with the house. The agent will know which repairs are reasonable to request and which ones will make or break a deal if the house is otherwise in good condition.

Finding All Available Homes

A good real estate agent will be able to help you find all of the homes that are available – not just the ones that are advertised online. Some sellers don’t want the fact that they are selling their homes to be publicised widely, so only the real estate agents will know about these homes. This means that using a real estate agent gives you the advantage of having access to homes that you would not otherwise see.

Helping You to Understand the Paperwork

Another one of the main advantages that real estate agents offer the way that they help you to understand all of the complex paperwork that comes with buying a house. There are a lot of documents that need to be filled out, which include the written offer, the counter offer and all of the little details such as specific repairs that were included in the sale. All of the paperwork involved in this can be very confusing and tiresome, which is why it is very helpful to have a real estate agent on your side to help you figure it out.

Unbiased Negotiation

It is also an advantage to find a realtor with good negotiation skills so that they can enter into negotiations about a house without being influenced by emotions. Your real estate agent will be totally objective and will not be overly emotional about the deal. When you are making negotiations yourself, it is easy to get caught up in the emotions of the situation which can cause you to make bad choices.

Saving You Time

Another major advantage to working with a real estate agent is that they will be able to save you time when you are looking for a house. They will spend their time looking through listings and contacting sellers so that you don’t have to. They will come up with a short list of properties that are suited to your needs, so that you only have to spend your time looking at those. You probably work full time and have a busy schedule, so having someone take over this for you can be very helpful.

These are just a few of the major benefits of working with a real estate agent when you are buying a home. When you have an experienced and professional real estate agent on your side, they can offer you a lot of advantages that will make the home buying experience go a lot more smoothly.

About the author: 

Kelly Rossi and her husband are looking to buy their first property and they have a specific vision for the home they want. They are currently in the process of choosing a real estate agent who can help them find their dream property. 

Our grandmother is living alone to her own house after she had misunderstanding with our aunt whom they doubt as her favorite daughter.  It was my aunts and uncles who built her a shuck beside our house because she don’t want to stay in someone else house again.

Years passed and our grandmother’s house started to get old and cranky.  So her kids (my father, aunts and uncles) decided to collect money from each other so they can built new house for her. Below is our grandmother’s new house, it was small but it was a lot better than the old house above.

Some of my male cousins slept to our grandma’s house when they can’t go home anymore after attending a drinking party with friends, or sometimes my older female cousin made our grandma’s house as retreat house after misunderstanding with her husband.