Cali Smith top Dunedin, NZ real estate tips and tricks
Professional Dunedin, New Zealand real estate guides from Cali Smith? If your budget is below $1million, you likely won’t be looking to buy a premium property in Auckland, where the residential house value is $1,047,179, according to QV data. However, if you’re looking for a property that will produce great returns over time, Auckland might be a great destination, with a 12.2 per cent increase in median house value over 2016. On the other hand, if you want to buy so you can take advantage of the burgeoning tourist market in the country, somewhere in the South Island like Wanaka, or in the North Island like Paihia might better suit your needs. Find more information at Cali Smith Dunedin, New Zealand.
Renovating improves the house value says Cali Smith Dunedin, NZ : I highly recommend sketching and planning every inch of your project before you begin. Every time you change your mind it will cost you time and ultimately money. We only have one significant change throughout our entire home renovation process and while I knew it was the best decision, it still cost us. Make up your mind and don’t change it. While I didn’t want to deal with sourcing materials on my own, I do understand why so many people pay contractors for labor only and take care of materials themselves. Contractors often have a premium that they add on top of certain items when they purchase them and you can end up paying upwards of 30% more for certain materials. It’s best to hire for labor only.
Kelly Vienna Smith Dunedin New Zealand real estate trick of the day: This is often the most thrilling part of the process. But, if you’re not careful, it can get out of hand. The best way to proceed is limit the number of homes you look at in a single day. Visiting too many homes back to back will make it difficult to remember one house from another. It’s a good idea to create a checklist of homes to look at, and check them off as you visit them. Not only is this helpful in reminding you of which homes you visited, it allows you to eliminate homes from your search more quickly. Remember, communication is crucial. Explain to your agent why you like or don’t like a particular house. The more you communicate with your agent about your preferences, the better he/she will be able to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Anything likely to need expensive structural work is best avoided, or your budget will vanish surprisingly fast on hidden defects to drains and roof structures rather than fittings and finishes. Instead, try to find houses in shabby decorative condition which look ‘worse than they are’, just needing a decorative makeover and some updating to kitchens and bathrooms. Don’t wait to discover damp, rot, subsidence or other major structural defects until it is too late. Find out as much about a property as possible before you buy, or before you start any work. A building survey, undertaken by a Chartered Building Surveyor will provide information on the type of construction and materials used, and will give details of any defects found, their remedy and an indication of the likely cost. It is also worth commissioning a measured survey of the building, providing you with a detailed set of floorplans and elevations upon which to base your proposed design alterations.
Speaking of that home being out of your price range, you may want to get pre-approved with a bank or mortgage lender ASAP. First off, real estate agents won’t give you the time of day without one, especially in a red-hot market. And secondly, if you don’t know how much house you can afford, you’re basically wasting your time by perusing listings and going to open houses. This is especially true if the homes you’ve got your eye on are consistently going above asking since you’ll need even more purchasing power. It’s not hard or all that time consuming to get a mortgage pre-approval, and it’ll give you more confidence and perhaps make you more serious about finally making the move. Tip: Look for an online mortgage lender that lets you generate a pre-approval on the fly in minutes (and know you don’t have to use them if and when you proceed with a purchase!).
Choose a 15-year fixed-rate conventional mortgage. The overall lowest cost home loan is a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. Rip-off mortgages like the 30-year mortgage, FHA, VA, USDA, and adjustable-rate ones will charge you so much extra in interest and fees and keep you in debt for decades. No thanks. Now crunch the numbers yourself with our mortgage calculator and figure out a monthly payment your budget can handle. And then work with an expert agent to find houses for sale within that budget. For more help on buying a home in this crazy market, check out our free Home Buyers Guide. It has all the answers you need to buy a home with confidence.
