5 steps to a stress-free home buying experience!

Buying a house is considered to be one of the “big steps” in life. Unfortunately, the happy moments that come with buying a new home, are often marred by the stress of the process. Studies show that 4 out of every 10 people consider home buying a very stressful experience. However, if you follow these 5 steps, you could eliminate the stress and bring back the joy in your search for a dream home!

In the search for your home, you might come across a general lack of transparency and an environment of misinformation. As someone who does not know about real estate, you have to rely a lot on the realtors, solicitors, sales reps, online property websites, etc. Things tend to become harder when you do not get unbiased expertise from these sources, and you have to make a half-baked decision due to the false sense of urgency created by the sales reps and brokers. It is evident enough that online listings do not help much when it comes to giving detailed insights into properties. Also, the recommended projects are mostly paid for by the developers. Hence, it is important to connect with the right people who can help you in the process. It could be an existing homeowner in the same project (or previous projects of the developer), a solicitor of repute, an architect who has no stake in the project, or an unbiased source of information backed by data.

The list when it comes to buying your home can be never-ending. It can be challenging to meet all your requirements in one project. Hence, do not have high expectations while looking for a home. Understand the factors you can compromise upon and ones that are non-negotiable. Write down your priorities before you start the house hunt so that you have a strong filter to shortlist from the multiple options.

The first rule to home buying is to know your stretched budget and not cross it. The best way to know your affordability is to simply see how much of your savings you are ready to commit and what is your loan eligibility basis of your household income. If you are expecting any additional funds coming in (pay hike, bonus) you can take the same into consideration too. Once you know this, make sure you understand the pricing of the units in detail to avoid any last-minute surprises. Compare the pricing sheet you get from the sales staff with that of other projects and check if any additional items are added or missing. Also, know the budget for post possession expenses such as the renovation, interiors, and professional fees, if any. Also, it is always a good idea to have a pre-approval from a bank in basis of your eligibility for a loan.

Even though you might have the best people helping you find your dream home, always learn some of the key technical terms involved. Such as; Undivided land share, RERA carpet area, Crowd factor, Efficiency (RERA carpet / Saleable area), Loading, FAR/FSI, etc. It might be difficult to understand these initially, but learning them will benefit you in the choices you make. Always remember, self-help is the best help.

There is many a slip between the cup and the lip in home buying. You have found the home of your dreams with a lot of effort. However, the stress does not end there. Paperwork might get delayed, legal issues might crop up, the seller is not responsive, other options are popping up, etc. There are numerous things that could go out of the planned agenda but being patient and handling the same logically will save you a lot of stress and headache later. Always have a neutral advisor to support you during this process as sometimes we are not able to look at things from the right perspective given our emotional involvement in the process.

We hope this article helps reduce the stress and anxiety of home buying and helps you have a joyful experience!