Buying An Existing Property vs Building Your Dream Home

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By In The Playroom

Before researching the pros and cons of buying an existing property versus building the home of your dreams, it would be a good idea to determine how much you will be able to afford as a starting point. This can be done with the help of habito online mortgage calculators. Once you are aware of just how much you will be able to afford, you can then compare your options.

Be Financially Prepared 

You are pre-qualified based on all the personal financial information you provide to the lender. This gives the lender a good idea of your creditworthiness. Your assets, liabilities, joint income, and monthly expenses are provided to them, by you.

Pre-approval is granted based on the above and additional financial checks done by the lender such as credit checks. If they are happy with their affordability calculations, only then will full financial backing be fully approved. It would be best to put house hunting on hold until later as any potential for disappointment may dampen your enthusiasm.

Buying An Established Home

An established house and garden mean you can just move in if you fall in love with the building and grounds, but established is the keyword here. Is there room for extensions or modifications to the house so you can accommodate a growing family? Remember to keep a financial cushion if you are planning any alterations. These alterations to the home can take time, which means that you would need to consider whether or not you are prepared to live with construction dust and dirt covering your home for the duration. 

Determine the costs of any maintenance needed while taking the age of the property into consideration. This means investigating the heating and cooling as well as the plumbing and the electrical wiring of the property. You could make use of professional help to get this done most accurately. The cost of all of this can sneak up on you after moving in, which would leave you confronting massive financial implications. So if you find your dream house, bare this in mind and make sure you have kept a financial cushion to afford the alterations.

Building Your Dream Home

Building means you can look for land in your preferred area and have full control over the construction plans, layout, fittings, paint and final finishings. Everything will be unique to you as you would be building the home based on your own specifications, which would allow you to determine a property layout that would accommodate a new child in the future. However, the land will need to be landscaped, and things like fittings, features, and paint can add up cost-wise.  

The actual construction of the house and the final finishing features means that you will have a long wait to finally move into your dream house compared to buying an established home. However, the long wait may prove beneficial to preparing your family for the move. Building from scratch instead of buying can also mean less wriggle room when it comes to negotiating with vendors on pricing. 

  

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Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.

2 thoughts on “Buying An Existing Property vs Building Your Dream Home”

  1. Yes, by improving and customizing the established house, you can really spend a lot of your savings. When estimating cost, look at what items you could save on and which ones you shouldn’t save on. For example, it doesn’t make sense to buy expensive electrical appliances for your home, such as the latest models of refrigerators and coffee machines. The only thing you should pay attention to is their energy efficiency. But don’t skimp on things like windows, front doors, wall and furniture paints. In this case, price and quality are interrelated.

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