Eight Essential First Home Buyer Tips

September 20, 2020

First Home Buyer Tips

Buying your first home can be a little overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. There’s plenty of great advice out there to help you through; we’ve put together eight of the best first home buyer tips from our home buying and building experts to help you get started.

1. The first and most vital first home buyer tip is to work out your budget for both house and land before you start, so you know what you can afford. When you’re working out how much deposit you will need and what and monthly mortgage payments you can afford, consider your current financial circumstances and think about future costs. For example, if you’re planning a family and might need to rely on one wage for a while. Remember that extra costs can increase the amount of money you may need upfront (such as conveyancing, bank fees or mortgage insurance), so bear that in mind when you’re working out what you can afford to spend.

2. Find a Finance/ mortgage broker. Brokers provide expert first home buyer tips on a range of borrowing options, so choosing the right broker for you is essential because they will guide you through the loan application process. They will be able to tell you what you can borrow, as well as help you calculate what deposit you will need and help you find the right mortgage for you.

3. Once you have a firm idea of what you can afford and you’ve checked your borrowing capacity, make sure you explore your full range of options in terms of where you want to live, as well as the kind of house you want and can afford. Consider where you want to live, what amenities you will be needing and what you absolutely must have in your local area. You may find you can get better bang for your buck by extending your search radius slightly.

4. When you’re deciding on the style and size of house you want, make sure you look at a wide range of display homes. Be realistic about size and the number of rooms you need, and things like bedroom size.

5. Make sure you find the right builder for you. Visit display homes, talk to as many reps as possible, research builders online, and ask for recommendations from any friends or family who have built a house.

6. Once you have picked a house design, make sure the land you choose will suit the design of the home you want to build or vice versa. Review any planning provisions or design guidelines that may be applicable to your chosen lot.

7. If you are building a new home, check the building specifications and inclusions. What fittings, fixtures and works are included and what is not? For example, are all floor coverings included? Are window coverings (such as blinds) included?

8. And our final first home buyers tip is, set a bit of money aside for landscaping. If you buy or build a new home, you will need a little extra money to create a garden.

North Harbour Display Village

If you’d like to visit us, North Harbour’s Display Village is open seven days a week, 10am-5pm*. It is located on the corner of Buckley Road and Fraser Drive in Burpengary East with the North Harbour Sales & Information Centre and North Harbour Cafe. North Harbour Display Village offers 30 designs available to view from 15 of Australia’s best new home builders including:

• Bold Living
• Burbank Homes
• Coral Homes
• GJ Gardner Homes
• Hallmark Homes
• Homes by CMA
• Integrale Homes
• Invision Homes
• McLachlan Homes
• Metricon Homes
• Oracle Platinum Homes
• Orbit Homes
• Pantha Homes
• Stroud Homes
• Stylemaster

We also have a display home by Villa World available to view in another area of North Harbour, near Riparian Park; Villa World has brand new, completed homes for sale and more are planned to be constructed this year. To find out more about Villa World at North Harbour including contact details and location, please click here.

If you are interested in finding more first home buyers tips we have plenty to offer on our website, www.northharbour.com.au, and social media:

• YouTube Channel
• Blogs
• Facebook

You can also contact us by phone, 07 5433 1111, or email info@northharbour.com.au. Our office is open 10am-5pm every day. And, if required, we can work through the buying process with you by phone, email and electronic document transfer. You can view latest land releases, house and land packages and general information on our website www.northharbour.com.au, and walk through videos of all 30 display village homes at North Harbour are online here.

*Display Village Builder hours may vary from our general opening hours due to staffing availability so if you are interested in seeing a particular home design or builder, we recommend calling ahead to check opening times. Builder contact details can be found here.