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Do your research

When you’re a first home buyer, there’s always a sneaking suspicion in the back of your mind that you might have missed something, a critical flaw in the property that you’re buying that you’ve missed. You’re operating at a disadvantage; in a world where information is power, you’re up against people who have a lot more experience than you. There’s no single go-to place where you can get all of the information you need.

Do your research (1)If you don’t do your research, there’s a real risk of buying a home that is going to cost you thousands in repairs, or getting stuck with an un-sellable property because there’s something majorly wrong with it.

In an ideal world, you could just click a button and get a comprehensive report of every single detail about the property you’re about to buy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work that way. However, in this chapter you’re going to get the next best thing: a simple process for researching and validating every important aspect of your potential new home.

Taking these extra steps does cost you time and money, but the payoff is massive.

Let’s look at an example.

Charlotte reached out to us at Hunter Galloway to get a pre-approval for a home she was about to put an offer on. She had done a bit of research online, and had paid for a building and pest report to make sure there weren’t any major structural issues with the house. But she was missing a few critical pieces of the puzzle.

As we got to talking, we found out that Charlotte hadn’t checked any flood reports. We walked her through the process and it turns out that her property had a high risk of flooding in the future. Flood risks can drastically affect resale value, and insurance costs can be double or triple the normal amount. In the end, she went ahead with the property purchase, but was able to secure a significant discount off the asking price.

flood zones brisbane

In the real estate game, information is absolutely everything. By doing your research, you can save tens of thousands of dollars, either by avoiding properties with hidden flaws or by leveraging your knowledge to secure a discount.