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Purchasing Your First Home

Prepare Yourself Before You Go To The Market

Buying a home is one of the unwritten targets for any family. No matter how comfortable you get with rental houses, there will always be an itch that will keep bothering you until you have a place of your own.

After living on rent for 3 years and getting a permanent residency, we also decided to take a plunge. It was more difficult than we had imagined.

Every person we talked to had a different perspective. They all felt their suburbs were the best ones to reside in. And so, one of the most important things we learned is that it is absolutely important to write down your own priorities, requirements, and preferences.

There are a number of factors you must consider before buying a house. While our experience is particularly for the city of Melbourne, there may be similarities applicable to other cities around the world.

Factor 1: Safe Neighborhood

This aspect can be challenging to gauge, but it’s essential to factor it in because living in an unsafe neighborhood won’t let you sleep in peace.

Some suburbs may be more troublesome than others with reports of frequent thefts and vandalism.

Factor 2: Education

Education in Melbourne is a big issue. Some public schools may have such low quality that you may consider homeschooling as a more viable option. Public school teachers aren’t paid much hence, the quality issue.

Eastern suburbs are known to have good public schools which has caused the house prices in the surrounding areas or zones to go to the roof.

The competition in the selective school exams is increasing every year. It is getting tougher to get entry via selective schools.

If you have young kids who are about to start school, you have two choices:

• Consider buying in the zone of a better public school.
• Assess if your household income will allow you to send them to grammar schools.

Factor 3: Getting to Work

Melbourne has one of the best public transport in the world. But just like in any other city, parking at the suburban stations is becoming an issue.

Driving all the way to the city would mean you will have to bear the parking cost of nearly $10 a day in addition to the fuel costs.

So if you are required to travel to the city for work, it would mean you should purchase your home closer to a suburban train station, preferably within walking distance.

Factor 4: Proximity to Friends and Family

With kids, weekdays often don’t go as planned or expected. It is important to have your family and friends close to you. Knowing that you have a reliable backup plan in place will provide you peace of mind.

It will make the journey of parenthood a bit smoother and more manageable.

Factor 5: Proximity to Nature

Lakes, trees, hills, mountains, nature reserves, and beaches nearby have the potential to transform your perspective on life.

Seeing these beautiful sights on your way back home after a stressful day can help you reduce stress to a great extent.

Factor 6: New house vs. Resale

When we looked at a few built-up houses, none of them ticked all of our requirement boxes. So, we decided to get a house built as per our own needs.

It is easy to get carried away with all the display homes and your friends’ homes you visit. The decorations are quite attractive but they are probably too flashy for daily viewing.

For us, we wanted our house to look like a home, not like a hotel.

You should note down specifics for what you are looking for.

• No. of bedrooms (In addition to your kids, think of your parents, guests, and friends, and how frequently they will come and stay with you).
• Location of Master Bedroom (Front or Back or Elsewhere)
• Storeys (Double-storeyed homes will mean frequently needing to navigate the stairs and cleaning will be harder).
• No. of bathrooms (2 minimum)
• Pantry and Kitchen (If you are like me who loves cooking then it becomes important to have a bigger kitchen, a wider sink (preferably 2 sinks), and a bigger pantry for storage)

Factor 7: Budget

“Of course”, you may say! “Why is this not at the top of the list?”, you may even ask.

Without a budget, nothing can go ahead. Nonetheless, I’ve placed it at number 7 because, at times, it may not be entirely within your control. If you have a set upper limit, you simply can’t exceed it.

Above was Step 0 to finalize what you actually want. The next steps will help you get what you want.

Step 1: Determine the Suburb

For each of the first 6 factors, score it from 1 to 10, with 1 being not important at all and 10 being the most important factor for you. This exercise will help you in identifying the suburb you want to live in.

Shortlist at least 5 suburbs to have the flexibility.

Step 1a: Stay on rent for a short period

It may be highly impractical but do assess if you have an option of staying in your shortlisted suburb for a few months.

This will give you a clear picture of what to expect while staying in your chosen suburb.

Step 2: Buyer Agent (Optional)

Searching for a home (especially a resale one) is the most difficult step in the entire process.

There are buyer agents in Melbourne who can work with you and look for the best deals as per your requirements. They will charge a fee but you will also get expert advice and access to the off-market properties.

Note: I am not affiliated with any buyer agent. And this is my personal opinion. You may have to do your own research to determine if this is a good option for you.

Step 3: Decision

You are making a big decision. One of the biggest decisions you have ever made. However, all of the checks that need to be performed must be done much before the last stage.

You will have a very short window for making a proposal. If all your boxes are ticked, don’t hesitate to say Yes.

Hope you learned something valuable. Good luck 🥀

Shoutouts to Shameem Anwar and Jenny Lim for their amazing stories