How To Save Money On Your Dream Home Purchase

Save money on the cost of your dream home…it can be done! Image licensed under Creative Commons.

Considering your house is the biggest purchase you’re ever likely to make, it’s not one you give the most of amount of financial consideration beyond saving up your deposit. It’s as if the size of the expense is so overwhelming that you begin to feel the finer details are of less consequence – but that simply isn’t true. There are ways to save significant sums on that dream home purchase – you just have to know how.

Choose Your Agent Carefully

There are lots of factors to consider when you select an estate agent. You can choose to go with a local firm or an online-based company like Purple Bricks – there are pros and cons to each approach. An online outfit allows you to search quickly, but it may be harder to arrange viewings and they may not be as good as a good local firm – they often know of houses in the pipeline that aren’t officially for sale yet and will know the market in your purchase area well. Equally, they will have spent face to face time with the vendor and may be better placed to help you negotiate a good price.

Know Your Property Facts

Once you’ve found a house you love, make it your mission to gather all the detail you can on the property to help you negotiate on the price. Remember that vendors set their price and often overestimate value or sentimentalise or may insist on a higher listing price to allow room for buyers to negotiate them down and still achieve a price they are happy with. Use a site like MousePrice to understand what they paid for it and also what similar properties in the area have sold for recently. Also make sure to pay for a detailed survey as this will identify any issues that may cause expensive problems to fix further down the line. Use all this information to negotiate a fair price and save money.

Polish Your Credit Score

In a mortgage, you are asking to be approved for the single biggest loan you’ll probably ever have – so it makes sense to do everything you can to access the best rates. Even a drop of a few per cent in the rates you are offered can add up to thousands of pounds over the term of the loan. The best rates will be offered to those with a great credit score, so take the time to understand and improve yours. First of all, make it priority ro pay down outstanding credit card balances- lenders will always look at how much credit you already have available. Keep your balance below 15 percent of your limit to improve your score. Steer clear of taking out any additional credit in the run up to a mortgage application, as applications will cause your score to drop, and make sure you don’t miss any payments by setting up direct debits for each month.

By taking these few simple steps, you can significantly reduce the amount you pay out and make that home purchase more of a reality.

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