Should I buy the house in front of me, or wait for the next best thing?

Let me be the first to say, you may never know what's around the next corner, and deciding to buy a home that’s currently available or waiting for something even better requires a lot of thought and consideration of your priorities and of course long term goals!

Let’s start by assessing your needs and priorities, defining your must-have features and preferences for your home. Consider factors like location, size, layout, amenities and distance to work/essential services. To be on top of your game seeking advice before you do start shopping around is the best thing so you know your budget, what the bank is willing to lend and even secure pre-approval so you’re ready to pull the trigger if you’ve found the perfect place. Sometimes when you know, you just know!

Let me tell you about my experience:

My house has just sold! I learnt a lot in the process because It is definitely a process! In this market and as a first home, the purchases had every condition under the sun; builders report, LIM report, a registered valuation was required and finance which then required an extension on the finance date to ensure the purchasers and their lawyer were happy with the property. As someone who is working with clients buying, it was a very interesting exercise to be selling in this market and experience the other side of what I do from day to day. A few tips on the flip side for people looking to buy;

1. Ensure you have started the process with your mortgage advisor so you have the pre approval ready to go, and work on any condition that may be set out by the bank.

2. Do your due diligence, get your builder to go through the property thoroughly to ensure everything is up to scratch for sale.

3. Have your lawyer look over the property before making an offer.

These will just help with making an offer and cut down some of the time under contract as well. House prices have decreased and are looking more appealing to buyers, so along with stock being low, when a property that looks appealing pops up, real estate agents are seeing more and more multi offers come through.

As soon as I sold, the next best thing just popped up! So I’ve now begun the process of building my next home instead of buying fresh again. My partner found land and within 10 working days we had made an offer, the offer got accepted and went unconditional, just like that! We weren't looking to build but the right piece of land was right in front of our eyes, and it really was all about being in the right place at the right time! Our location is on the outskirts of New Plymouth with a farmer subdividing off some sections to free up his mortgages. It’s beautiful country land and with neighbours you can see in the distance so we have space and even a direct view of the mountain!

Why did we decide to build? Well we were looking at existing property, as good land in the right location is very hard to come by. But we kept finding that the houses we saw were only kinda OK - there was just always something that wasn’t right. With my partner being a builder, building just became the clear best option for us, so he can build the house just how he likes it, with space/land, a big shed and a location close to town for his work. So now we’ve got an empty canvas to start from scratch and design a home that will suit our lives for many years to come.

If you'd like some help deciding whether to buy now or wait for the next best thing (or the market to change), drop me a line and let’s chat!