(Brought to you in association with Tesco Bank)
Before we moved to Devon and embarked on our plan to get a bit more settled and – hopefully – buy a house, someone gave me a wise piece of advice. “Expect everything to cost way more than you planned for – and don’t forget the home insurance.”
That advice is still ringing in my ears as we embark on our next adventure and start to think about the whole house-buying process. Very early on, I have already discovered there are other things you need to know when you buy a house that, with the benefit of hindsight, may help you stay calm.
1) Everyone wants your money
No one is in it for free, obviously. From the person selling you their house to the estate agent looking for commission, to the lender wanting your interest to the surveyor wanting your business, everyone wants your cash. Keep this in mind when taking advice from people who want your money and remember that, ultimately, they are probably telling you this because a) they want your money and b) they want your money.
2) Everything takes a million years
Don’t expect to see a house on a property website, arrange a viewing the next day and buy it a few weeks later. Oh no, that would be far too easy. Go in with the expectation that it will take at least a week to arrange a viewing, another week to arrange a second viewing and then at least two more weeks to negotiate a price. Oh – and once that’s been agreed, remember that there’s probably someone hiding in the bushes waiting to gazump you just as you thought you’d struck a deal.
3) You will fill in a thousand and one forms
You thought signing your child up for school involved forms? That’s nothing. Buying a house is the most tedious process ever for the uninitiated in form filling. Factor in the possibility you may have a small child nipping at your toes and the process takes at least three times longer. Forget about getting anything else done while the forms of doom sit on your kitchen table, there won’t be time for anything else but that piece of paper.
4) Things always go wrong
Whether it’s the mortgage being approved, a gazzumper hiding in the bushes or a vendor who suddenly develops cold feet, things always go wrong when buying a house. While the actual statistic shows that 15% of house purchases in England fall through, it’s easier to expect to be in the 15% rather than the other 85%, because it will save on heartache later on.
5) It’s not fun until you’ve got the keys
Until you’re sitting in that new living room, holding the keys in your hand, the house is not yours. So put aside any plans to paint the bathroom or lay a patio on the lawn, they will just cause havoc with your sense of calm and leave you devastated if the whole thing falls through. Buying a house is not fun until you’ve got those keys in your pocket.