Buying a property is always going to be stressful but now the British market is going absolutely bonkers.
Soaring demand and a lack of supply in the housing market is creating a vortex of competition for homes and prices are rising astronomically as a result.
Things are so out of control that the price of a property could rise by thousands of pounds from the moment you put the offer in up to the time you move in.
Latest data from Britain's Office for National Statistics shows that the average house price in the UK is £292,000. In London it is nearly double that at £551,000.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) also added that prices are soaring because the number of new buyers coming to the market rose for the fifth month in succession.
But as of April 1, stamp duty taxes are going up for people buying an additional home. This means buyers could be in a sweet spot for buying a place because analysts forecast a stagnation or dip in prices for a while — before rising again — as buy to let investors hold off on making purchases for a while.
This is good news for the ordinary Briton.
So, if you're thinking of buying a property soon, here are some top tips to not only make your life easier but to also help you secure that dream property without any regrets.
Get an IFA.
Before you even set foot through an estate agent's door, you need to lay down the fundamental groundwork for buying the property — the finance.
I cannot emphasis enough how incredibly stress-alleviating it is to get an independent financial advisor as a way of securing the best possible deals on the market.
IFAs can help with everything from the mortgage to the insurance related to the home. They also have access to vast platforms of mortgage options that the person on the street wouldn't. On top of that, they actually speak to humans when looking for a deal for you or working through problems you may come across when applying by yourself.
And guess what? You don't pay them commission because the law says so.
Don't get Help to Buy unless you're desperate.
When you look to buy a property, always think long term. It doesn't matter that it's your first home and you're willing to get a pokey small starter flat or a house — your mortgage can break you.
Help to Buy is a government scheme where a buyer could only have to put down a 5% deposit while the government makes up a further 15%. This sounds fantastic right? Well, you first of all have less equity in your home and secondly the mortgage products are more expensive. In other words, you could be paying more per month in interest on your home because of this scheme.
Also, if you're finding it a struggle to raise more than a 5% deposit, you've got to ask yourself whether you're financially fluid enough to keep up with payments should interest rates rise.
Realistically think about whether you could afford an interest rate rise.
This may sound like a boring topic but there's no point in bagging a property, only to lose it because you're too broke to keep up with payments.
Us Brits have stayed rather comfortable since interest rates fell to 0.5% in 2009 — but this isn't going to last forever. Really think about whether, even if you get a great mortgage deal, that you would be able to cope with hundreds of pounds more a month in payments.
Realistically thinking about your financial situation now as well as your career trajectory and earning power is vitally important.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider