When I was younger, as soon as I saw the first Christmas decorations go up, all my thoughts turned to Santa Claus coming to visit. I would look at the Argos catalogue every day to pick out presents, beg my Mum and Dad to put the tree up, and pinch the chocolates out of my advent calendar early so that it felt like Christmas was coming earlier.
These days, the build up to the festive season is more of a worry. A growing number of family members to buy presents for, the strategic mind game of making sure I don’t spend less on my partner than she does on me, and then the worry that I might eat so much, I can’t get myself out of bed for work on January 2nd.
This made me think, as an adult, will I ever get the same excited feeling, that I had when I was young. Then I realised that’s exactly how I felt when I bought my house. I spent all my free time thinking about buying my first house, looking on Rightmove.com whenever I got chance, and again browsing the catalogues, but this time looking at what to put in my house instead of toys, and I’m sure if I could have got hold of a chocolate moving day countdown calendar I would have done.
It’s good to be excited about things, but at the same time we shouldn’t let this cloud our judgement. Buying a house is probably the biggest financial commitment we will ever make, and like with all financial commitments, you need to make sure you think them through carefully and make an educated decision.
It’s easy to get carried away and want to rush into things, but great care should be taken, because the house you buy could be your home for many years to come. There are lots of examples of when having patience can pay dividends in this respect. Firstly, consider saving for longer so that you can gather a bigger deposit and benefit from both a lower mortgage and potentially better mortgage deals. Secondly, if you are aware of any upcoming pay rises, it may be worth considering delaying things so that you have more options available to you, as a greater number of mortgage lenders are willing to lend you the money you need. Thirdly, make sure the house you buy is right for you. If there are no houses on the market that tick all the boxes, then maybe it’s worth waiting a few months until the right one comes up. Finally, make sure the price is right. It’s a buyers market and if you overpay for a property because your heart tells you to, you could be as good as giving money away.
It’s easier said than done though, and we are only human after all. Your heart may well win the battle over your head. The main thing is that you have given yourself enough time to think it through, talk to the right people for advice, and make your choice based on reasoning and not just emotion.
Kieron Bassett Financial Services has two Independent Financial Advisers who specialise in mortgages and investment advice. Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or visit www.kieronbassett.com.
Jason Hinde DipPFS
26th November 2012
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