The average age for home buying in India has come down to 30-35 years in the last few years. More and more Indians are looking to buy a home. Yet, the process is often not easy. Gunjan Goel shares her top tips for aspiring homebuyers that will make that process a little less stressful.
Draw up a budget and stick to it
Consider a scenario where you are interested in a property but are unsure whether it is within your budget. Not an ideal situation, right? So, before you start exploring, iron out a budget and sort out your finances.
Check your credit score as it is one of the most important factors in qualifying for a home loan.
Make sure you maintain it by paying your credit-card bills and other loan payments on time. Not just this, even your credit utilisation ratio (amount of credit you’re using compared with your available credit limit) plays a major part in your overall credit score.
Make sure it is low and also evaluate your assets and liabilities so that you know what is owed and what is coming in. Also, thoroughly understand the home loan procedure, organise all the documents, and figure out your down payment before starting the process.
For this, you can use an online mortgage calculator to determine the maximum monthly payment you can afford based on the price of the home after you put down a down payment over a 30-year-mortgage.
Make a list of your non-negotiables
Decide upon things like location, space requirements, amenities, and other aspects you desire from your house beforehand.
Location, especially, plays a very important role. For instance, if you are a working professional, you would want to invest in a place that is close to your office, has sufficient public transport, and is in proximity to social infrastructures like malls, multiplexes, and restaurants.
Hire a good agent
Your property agent can either make or break your home buying experience. Therefore, it is imperative that you hire a realtor, who knows the area, understands the market and is capable of executing your requirements.
Check the credibility of your developer
Nowadays, most information about the developer is available online, making it easier to track their financial and project card report.
Doing proper research and groundwork can go a long way in ascertaining the market reputation of developers and understand their product portfolio.
(Read here to find out more about choosing the right developer).
Always explore multiple options
Follow your agent while exploring properties but never restrict yourself to them.
Always be on the lookout for better homes and deals. Also look at comparable houses (once you decide over a property) in the area you want to live. This will help you get a better idea of the pricing and in making the right decision.
This article is contributed by Gunjan Goel, Director, Media & Marketing Communications, Goel Ganga Developments.
The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of RoofandFloor.
It is an interesting article to read and even share. Now a days there is a lot of reading material available on developer website, you tube videos, and since the inception of RERA, one can also check for legal document approvals. So in short one can do the homework in advance and focus on more reliable questions.