Buying your perfect home can be a time-consuming and delicate affair. First you have to choose the location, then you have to decide whether it’s a flat, house or cosy cottage, and then there’s all the other things to think about; interiors, schools, neighbours, the local tavern… the list goes on.
Little wonder then, that it can take between four and eight months to buy a house.
The process mustn’t be rushed though. Your house is going to be your home, and Maslow’s Heirachy of Needs puts home and comfort at the base of the pyramid – an essential ‘must have’ item before the rest of your life can take shape. After all, it’s the place you’ll wake up in every morning, the place you retire to at the end of the day, and ultimately the place you will raise your family in.
So you’ve set a budget and applied for a mortgage, so what’s first? Channel 4’s Kirstie and Phil would definitely say location, location, location.
And location can make all the difference to the price of a property. Want a quick five-minute walk to the train station in the morning? That’ll be 300,000GBP please. Don’t mind a longer walk across town? No problem, take this place: a snip at just 250,000GBP.
It’s the same story when you want to live in a quiet rural area out-of-town. You’ll notice prices rise sharply for the same square-meterage of property compared to a suburban dwelling.
Recently British estate agent Halifax recently released figures that suggest rural properties have soared in price by more than 96% in ten years and are now worth, on average, 35,000GBP more than their urban equivalents. It’s amazing how much a farmyard smell and a couple tractors cost these days.
OK, so you’ve chosen where you want to live, now you have to decide what type of property you can afford. The chances are, unless you are a high-flying CEO of a blue chip company, you won’t be buying that plush mansion in the middle of the Kentish countryside. Try the three-bed semi on the main road if you are looking space, or perhaps think about the one-bed studio flat in the trendy new town. The type of property you choose has a massive impact on the price tag.
Houses are great as they give you more space, more freedom, your own front door and quite often a garden. Flats are perhaps better for people on a smaller budget who have no need (or indeed time) for a garden.
Finally, once you have chosen where you want to live, and what type of home is right for you, you’ve got to consider the local area. Do you have children? Then you’ll be looking to get in the catchment area for the local school. Are you looking to move straight in without having to do any home improvements? Then decor will be a major concern. All these factors make a difference on the price tag, and will ultimately affect the time it takes to find your perfect home.
Jon lives in a house in Kent in the Garden of England with his family and is a keen follower of the local property market.