Do your research

There are so many properties out there to choose from that you really need to know what you actually want from your next home. This means doing your research, knowing what’s important to you and identifying the areas you’re willing to be flexible on. It also means not making snap decisions about a home.

Research doesn’t mean just searching online for homes – though it’s a good place to start. It means getting out and seeing plenty of homes and exploring different neighbourhoods. Know what you want from a home and stick with it. Don’t sacrifice a bedroom because a home you’ve just seen has an amazing pool, or swap a big garden for a games room. Get your priorities right. Is the location or size more important to you? Does the property’s age or architectural style matter most? These are questions you should be thinking about before you start viewings.

Create ‘must-have’, ‘preferred’ and ‘bonus’ lists of features. To do this, think about how you’re going to use your house - which rooms will you use most, will it be a first or second home, and how much storage will you need?

Once you know what you’re looking for, get out and view some properties. An E.ON survey found that on average we view eight properties before choosing the right one, yet 7% of us would buy a home even if it was the only one we’d seen. A Barratt Homes survey found that 13% buy a property without even visiting it.

But the more homes you see, the more you’ll know what’s best for you. It can be hard to get a sense of a neighbourhood just by searching online - especially when it comes to city property markets where single roads divide vastly different areas. Walk the streets and get a feel for a place you could end up spending decades of your life living.

And speak with the experts. Give them your lists of features and sit down with your estate agent to go through the options. It might be that your lists aren’t realistic, or that by compromising on one aspect – location, south facing garden etc – you could find the perfect home.

Narrowing it down

Make a shortlist of a few homes then delve deeper into whether they’re the perfect home for you. And don’t feel rushed into making a bid – check every aspect on the properties from whether you’d have nice neighbours to unresolved issues that could rear their ugly head after you’ve moved in.

Once you’ve narrowed your list down to a handful of potential homes, the first thing to do is to stop looking. New homes come onto the market every day and you could spend your life waiting for the ‘right one’.

But even if you have found the perfect home, don’t rush into submitting bids right away. Speak with the agents involved and tell them you’re interested and that you’d like to be kept informed of any bids made.

Just because you have a budget and may have found your dream home for a price you can afford, it doesn’t mean that the home is actually worth that money. If you’re not happy with the valuation, get your own sorted and base your potential bid around that.

Then it’s time to go back for some more views. Harron Homes found that 43.1% of homebuyers made a decision on a property within the first 5 minutes of viewing a property. Barratt Homes found that people spent more time deciding to buy a car or a pair of jean.

These are easy mistakes to make as many people make choices on homes based on instinct. ‘It’s the right home’, ‘It feels like the one’, and ‘I just knew…’ are commonly heard phrases among estate agents. But these can lead to buyer’s remorse. While buying a home is exciting – and should be – it’s also a huge investment. Not just financially, but emotionally and logistically. So you should become an expert in the homes you’re going to look at.

Check every aspect that’s important to you - and ones that aren’t. This includes speaking with the neighbours, checking commuting times, or looking for hidden problems like gardens that flood or poorly fitted windows and doors. Take a builder or surveyor with you to help you view the property. If you do find any problems, get an agreement with seller to get them resolved before bidding.

Remember, that what might seem like a bright peaceful home in the middle of summer on a Sunday afternoon could be very different on a wet Wednesday in February when rush hour traffic is flying past your front room.

And you’ve got to plan for the future. Don’t just think what the home is going to be used for when you move in, try and think of what reasons you’d have for moving out. Will it be big enough for a growing family, or will you eventually want to move it the countryside? This helps you plan your whole time in the property and whether it’s suitable for your changing needs.

Finally, be willing to walk away if you’re not 100% happy. Until you’ve put the deposit down and exchanged contracts you’re not legally bound to buy.

If there are problems that raise their head late in the game, you might have a case for pulling out even if you have parted with some cash. These include surveys uncovering major issues, problems with the deeds such as misleading boundary lines, or undisclosed easements giving someone else the right to use the property. Speak with your lawyer and agent if you have any concerns.

Check the finances work

Don’t put the cart before the horse. You need to set a budget before deciding what type of home you can afford, not the other way round. And you need to make sure your finances are in order and you know your spending limits.

Setting a budget is the first step on buying a new home. Nearly half of homebuyers want to spend under 35% of their monthly income on financing their new home, according to our Housing Futures report. The budget shouldn’t cover what you can buy, but what you can actually afford. This means checking that you can meet the monthly payments even if interest rates go up.

Simon Checkley, Director of Private Finance Ltd, says your mortgage should complement your financial planning strategies and a good broker will make sure it’s delivered on competitive terms.

Guidance should be provided on how the mortgage is to be structured, such as whether it’s a capital and interest repayment mortgage, an interest-only mortgage or a ‘bullet’ style, where everything is paid at the end of the loan term. Advice on interest rate choices will help you decide between the various periods of fixed rates, trackers, discounts and caps, or even a combination of these.

It’s good to be familiar with your overall financial situation because it can often throw up roadblocks when applying for a mortgage. But don’t worry if your circumstances don’t fit in with what high street lenders require or the house has some unique features. Simon Checkley says many lenders adopt a ‘computer says no’ approach. But a mortgage broker can draw upon a network of decision making contacts to find a solution.

Features of the property, for example, could present challenges, such as unique types of construction, the overall acreage, its condition, or length of lease. These could lead to a high street lender rejecting an application. Other reasons might relate your age, nationality and credit history.

Also, you might know that a large expense item is going to be coming to an end soon, such as school fees, or that a new income source will be kicking in. Factors like this could have a big impact on your affordability and improve your risk profile in the eyes of the lender. Being aware of all these factors and including them in your budget are key to finding the perfect home at the right price.

Strutt & Parker has an affiliation with Private Finance, our recommended independent third-party provider of bespoke mortgage advice.