8 Great Tips for to Reduce Your Home Buying Stress

Buying a house is a complex undertaking. But it doesn’t need to be stressful. Here are 8 great tips to help make your home buying experience into a great one:
Hire a real estate lawyer

There’s a ton of paperwork and documents involved in this transaction. The best way to get on top of all those legal details is to hire a pro, says the Global Property Guide. With the help of a competent real estate attorney, you’ll have an easier time navigating through the processes, letters, and agreements involved. From sending off a letter of offer to getting the sale and purchase agreement signed, you can count on your lawyer to help you through the process. Don’t understand a term, condition or clause? No worries. Your lawyer should readily provide you with all the information you need, from answering all your questions to explaining any parts of the contract you don’t fully understand. With a lawyer by your side, you know you’re legally covered.
Beware when buying units in unfinished projects

It can be tempting to buy new condominium units in residential projects that have yet to be completed. However, be careful since there are cases wherein buyers aren’t protected against default. It’s an issue that the Malaysian House Buyer’s Association has been fighting against. So don’t be a victim. Make sure the property developer can be trusted. If you’re dealing with a new company, you might want to wait it out—no matter how attractive the pre-selling prices for the units are—until the project is finished. That way, you can be sure your investment won’t go down the drain.
Read the fine print – always

Terms and conditions might put you to sleep but when it comes to buying a house, you need to be on top of every detail. And that includes being on top of every document you sign. So go over the fine print, the Free Malaysia Today suggests. That way, you can tag problems, terms or clause you’ve got issues with. There’s still time to negotiate for better terms and conditions so do it. Don’t sign your name without reading the fine print. You might be stepping into a legal quicksand, one that could take you considerable time, money and trouble to fix in the future. To protect yourself and your property, review the document carefully. For added measure, you can ask your lawyer to review it for you. With an eye for any legal loopholes or boggy legal grounds, your lawyer can help you come up with a better contract, one that’s fair to both sides.
Use online tools

There are better and more efficient ways these days to search for a house. Instead of the traditional way of looking up home listings, you could look up online listing sites instead. It’s easy to find a property for sale with sites like PropertyGuru Malaysia. And with photos as well as descriptions, you can easily filter out homes that aren’t a good match for you in terms of location, size, type or price.
Know your financial capability

Are your finances sound? Do you have debt? If you’ve got a pile of credit card bills you’re still trying to work your way through, that’s not a good indication of your financial readiness to buy a home. Plus, if you’ve got unpaid debts that show up on your credit history, then that’s not going to make banks or lending companies in any hurry to approve your financing application. If you live pay day to pay day, are often short on funds or have a huge portion of your income go towards paying for your debt, then you aren’t in the best position to buy a house.
Save up for a down payment

Setting aside enough for a down payment every month is a good way to get your Home Fund started. After all, unless you start socking away for you down payment today, you aren’t going to get anywhere. Not unless your income is large enough to allow to get the home you want on only a few months’ worth of earnings. Also, the bigger the down payment you have, the less you need to pay for your monthly mortgage. Some people go for the minimum down payment allowed and spend the next few years paying for the monthly mortgage. But that means you pay more interest as well. If you can’t abide the thought of spending too much on interest, then opt for the maximum down payment allowable instead. If you can, opt for the shortest loan possible. This way, you don’t have to pay more interest than you have to.
…but not just a down payment

A lot of homeowners make the mistake of thinking that a down payment is all they need to buy a home. As soon as they have enough saved up, they start shopping for a house right away. Remember, though, that you aren’t just paying for the down payment. There are plenty of costs that come with buying a home. You also need to calculate for fees paid to the lawyers and notaries along with the registration fees and even the agent’s fees, among other things.
Inspect the property thoroughly

The Star says a lot of homebuyers fail to carefully inspect the property. They buy with their hearts and not their heads. Most move in, only to find out that someone died in the property. Others don’t pay enough attention so they miss the signs of termite infestation in the home, leaky roofs and faulty plumbing. All these are major problems and if you fail to catch them, you could end up footing the bill to get these problems fixed as soon as you sign on the dotted line. So be sure to check. That way, you can renegotiate terms with the seller and see if s/he can spring for the repairs or termite extermination bills.
So know as much as you can to get the stress out of your home buying experience. With these handy tips, you’ll find it easier to find and own the home you’ve always wanted.