Purchasing a house is a challenging process, especially when it comes to first home buyers. There are a lot of issues that should be considered and many questions to be answered before you select the right house for you and your family. If you’re in the market for an established house this can get even more tricky as you need to make sure that you aren’t getting ripped off with a bad deal.
Whether you’re experienced in buying homes or just starting out, we aim to give you a better understanding about the issues to be considered during this process and how to pick the best choice. In this article, we’ll outline what you need to look for step by step when evaluating the established homes on the market.
Contents
1. Location
One of the most important point to consider when buying your house is location. Location includes so much more than simply considering the suburb. Here’s a list of factors to consider in relation to location.
The suburb you choose is very important as it’ll determine the type and quality of lifestyle you’ll have in your new home. The number of houses in each suburb, the demographic, age range, average price of a house in the suburb, and the average rent can be found at here https://www.realestate.com.au/neighbourhoods . This information will help you make an informed choice.
There is always a high demand for houses located in good catchment areas, whether you are thinking to live in the house or use it as an investment, as there’s no shortage of parents who would like to send their children to top-ranking schools. To check the schools ranking, there are several great resources such as this site here https://bettereducation.com.au/ that shows the top-ranking primary and high schools.
Public transport includes buses, trains and ferries. The best sources to check the distance to public transport are translink.com.au and google maps. For most people, the proximity to public transport is highly desirable, especially for those who need to travel to work or school. On the flip side, there is such a thing as being ‘too’ close to public transport as this can lead to noise and traffic. This is why there should be a balance between these two. Don’t forget to check the frequency of public transport as this is also an important consideration.
The other issues that need to be considered are the distance from critical locations such as CBD, schools, and shopping centres in terms of walking or using a car, bus, train, or bike. The nearer the property is to these centres, the better it is. However, again there’s a trade-off, as being too near can mean that you’re exposed to traffic and crowds all the time.
You don’t want your property to be in a flood zone because that can reduce the value of the property and also result in higher insurance premiums and so on. Having said that, houses in flood zones are often priced lower than an equivalent house in a non-flood zone. This could result in a bargain buy. To check the Brisbane Flood map, click here.
It’s good to know how your suburb measures up against other suburbs in relation to crime. Safety, after all, is one of the top considerations that people have when choosing a place to live. Statistics regarding the rate and types of crimes in each suburb can be found here. https://qps-ocm.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/index.html
Being located near main roads is a plus as it means easy access to other locations and convenience in getting around. But, main roads are known for being noisy and can be a source of constant annoyance, if you aren’t used to this type of noise. If your house opens to a main road, entering and leaving the garage/ parking can be challenging.
If your potential house is located at the end of a T-junction, you might be exposed to a lot of vehicle noises, like vehicles braking and revving at the junction. Also, the headlights of cars can be an annoyance as you may get the full beam on the front of the house, which is especially difficult if you have a bedroom located in the front of the house. If the T-junction is in a very quiet zone, this should’t be a major problem, but if it’s in an area with considerable traffic, a T-junction might be best avoided.
Houses located at the corner of streets, with views of two streets, will have similar issues as the houses located at T-Junctions.
Noise is a pain point for many people and this can especially be annoying at night time when traffic sounds tend to sound magnified. If you care about noise, make sure you have enough distance from the main roads. It can be checked easily on Google Maps.
2. House Design
Finding the right house design from established houses can be challenging because you may have to make some compromises. It’s unlikely that you’ll love every detail about the house you’re buying, so what’s important is to look at the bigger picture and consider your non-negotiables.
The same house design won’t suit everyone, and it’s important to conside aspects like the number of floors, material used for construction such as wood, brick, or concrete and the overall internal design of the house.
Both of these types of houses have their own benefits. People who prefer a single story generally tend not to like stairs, as going up and down the stairs may not be convenient for them. You might not like the idea of having your bedrooms upstairs and the kitchen downstairs as it can be inconvenient. On the other hand, double storey houses have bigger living areas and are suited for young families with kids.
The materials used in the construction of the house are an indication of how strong the building is. The materials most commonly used to create the external walls of a house are wood, brick, concrete and timber. Although wood is more affordable than brick and concrete, it doesn’t have the strength of brick and concrete and can be affected by termites. The type of roof (such as colorbond or tile) is also important to consider as each has different looks and durability.
Examine the main floor plan of the house, number and location of bedrooms and the size of different areas inside the house. Some things to look for are the size of the kitchen, whether the master bedroom has an en suite, how bright the house is and it’s orientation. You might also want to note that paint used in the house for walls, cabinets, doors and their handles, windows especially if you aren’t planning on doing any renovations or painting for while.
3. Age of Property
The age of the house shows how much maintenance will be required. If the house was built recently and is quite new, you generally don’t need to do much maintenance. However, old houses may require renovation for certain parts of the house and this can all add up in cost, effort and time required.
4. Land Size
Nowadays, land sizes are generally decreasing since there aren’t many large vacant lands available. Of course, the bigger the land, the more space there is fo the internal part of the house and the yard.
If the land is big enough (usually above 800 sqm) with enough frontage (usually minimum 20 m), it can be subdivided into two lands, which is a great choice for investors.
5. Direction
The direction that your house faces is important with relation to how much light and sun you’ll be getting and if you’re a proponent of Feng Shui, the direction also affects the breeze. Sunshine is from east to west during summer and northeast to south-west during winter while breezes are generally from north to south. Having windows facing the east or north can give a lot of light and breezes to your house. On the other hand, having windows towards the west or south leads to very strong sunshine during the afternoon which can be hard to tolerate.
6. Price
The market price of the house should be checked carefully. There are several resources that show the estimated price of the house. Check the price of houses sold in the same area to have a better understanding of the market price and estimate what should be the price of the target house. These sites will help you find this information:
- Domain price guide: https://www.domain.com.au/property-profile
- Real estate: https://www.realestate.com.au/property/
- On the house: https://www.onthehouse.com.au/
- https://www.propertyvalue.com.au/
- Commbank Property App
- St George Bank Estimated Price
To know whether you can afford the house, you need to understand how much your budget is. If you are thinking about a mortgage, check it with banks and brokers to know your maximum borrowing limit. Then you can make a decision for what price range of the house you need to look for.
After considering all these issues, what is next?
No house can satisfy your criteria 100%. If the house satisfies your main criteria, you can move on to the next steps and check the purchasing process.
