How To Set Your Property Criteria When Buying the Family Home
Buying your dream family home is a significant life decision that requires careful consideration and planning. This decision could be for your first upgrade or possibly even to your forever home, so it’s critical that you get it right.
To ensure you make the right choice, it's crucial to set clear property criteria that align with your family's needs and financial situation. Here’s how we help our clients clarify their criteria before we commence the property search.
1. Confirm Your Budget
It goes without saying, although before diving into the world of real estate listings and open houses, it's essential to have a solid understanding of your budget. Determining how much you can comfortably afford is the first step in setting your property criteria and here are a few tips to get started:
Assess Your Finances: Take a close look at your income, savings, and existing debts. A Mortgage Broker or Financial Adviser will be your largest asset in clarifying your affordability.
Pre-Approval: Obtaining a mortgage pre-approval will not only give you a realistic budget but also make you a more competitive buyer in the market. We strongly encourage our clients to obtain pre-approval before we commence the property search.
Factor in Additional Costs: Remember to account for stamp duty, insurance, maintenance, your Buyers Agent fees and closing costs in your budget calculations. Again, your Mortgage Broker or Financial Adviser are going to be very valuable here.
2. Identify Your Needs
Every family is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Identifying your family's specific needs is crucial when setting property criteria. Consider the following factors:
Size
Determine the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you need to comfortably accommodate your family members. If you’ve been inspecting properties already, you may notice that one house may feel cramped compared to another, even though both have three bedrooms. We have a general rule of thumb that bedrooms should be at least 3m x 3m in size, and the internal floorspace of the average three bedroom home would be between 110-130m2 without considering any garaging. A four bedroom house can be around 160m2 although some dual/tri living homes can be as large as 250m2+ internally.
Location
Now it’s time to put your thinking cap on. How long would you ideally like to be commuting to work/school during the mornings and evenings? Which sporting team will your kids be joining if you live in a certain suburb? Which school zone will you find yourself in? How long will it take to ‘pick up a few things for dinner’ after work? We ask these questions and many more in our Align To Buy meeting, where our clients begin to truly understand the pro’s & con’s of each individual suburb for their lifestyle.
Non-Negotiables
A non-negotiable is something you absolutely cannot live with/without. Typically this may be living on a train line, or with your master bedroom right next to a main road. Other possible non-negotiables may be the need for a pool, or backyard space for pets. These are things that will tell you in an instant whether a property is worth further investigation.
Preferences
On the flip side, a preference is a nice-to-have, but not a dealbreaker. This is the fun part because in asking the right questions, we tend to uncover key preferences for our clients that they never knew they had. Knowing these aspects upfront is a game-changer when it comes to sifting through property listings, because when you know what you like, the right property will stand out instantly. The ultimate winner here is you, because you spend less time inspecting properties that were never suitable.
3. Review the Market
So, you’ve got your budget and you’ve clarified your needs, now its time to see how far your budget will take you. Understanding the local real estate market is essential for setting realistic property criteria, and the most important thing to remember is that you must rely on facts, not opinions.
To do this effectively, always complete your market research by reviewing recently sold properties, not properties that are currently on the market. The reason for this is because a price guide is an opinion, while a sales price is a fact. We’ve seen properties sell for hundreds of thousands above, and hundreds of thousands below a price guide, so always focus exclusively on recently sold prices.
To do this effectively, start with the macro location and then move into the micro. First, review your suburbs list and assess all sold properties in those areas. Do you see properties that you feel you would have bought in your budget? Or maybe you don’t find any?
Next, take a deeper look at properties that you would have bought. Are they in a challenging location within the suburb? Is that area low-lying and subject to flood? These considerations may have played a role in the sale price, and its important to understand those components before you get your sites set on a street or suburb.
Lastly, if you find multiple properties that suit your needs and fall within your budget, you can move forward with confidence. If not, it might be time to revisit your needs and change either your suburbs list, or your preferences.
4. Property Brief
Now that you have a solid grasp of your budget, needs, and the market, it's time to define your property criteria. Here’s what we list out for our clients:
Budget
Property Type
B/B/C
Suburbs
Purchase Type
Property Condition
Preferences
Non-Negotiables
Examples of properties client has missed out on or flagged with us
By setting clear and well-defined property criteria, you'll streamline your home search and increase the likelihood of finding the perfect family home that meets your needs and budget. Remember that working with a knowledgeable Buyers Agent can be a valuable resource throughout the process, helping you navigate the complexities of the market and find the ideal property for your family. If you’re struggling with setting your property brief, contact us for help.