Ten things I've learnt from buying property

Buying property is never straightforward. Here are ten of the lessons I have learnt....

I’m currently in the process of trying to sell my flat with the aim of buying a bigger place outside London. However, this time I am feeling a little more confident about what I am doing – buying first time round was a more challenging prospect.

So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to share with you some of the lessons I’ve learnt from buying property. (I’d like to point out that I was not a personal finance writer at the time of buying my first home – before you all shout at me for not knowing better!)

Before I go on, I’m not saying here that I have made all of these mistakes, but they are certainly aspects that I am far more aware of now I am on the property ladder. So here goes...

1. Don’t buy at the peak of the market

This is definitely lesson number one. If you can avoid it, don’t buy property at the peak of the market. It’s not always possible to predict when house prices will crash, but it’s well worth having a read around on the subject before you buy so you get a better idea about what's going on in the property market.

This isn’t so important if you’re planning to stay put for several years. But if you’re hoping to make a profit on your property and move on after a fairly short period of time, buying at the peak of the market will be depressing. After all, a couple of years down the track you’ll realise that you paid too much for your property and now you have to simply watch its value slide.

And in the worst case scenario, you could end up in negative equity.

Of course, in some cases you will want or need to buy a property despite all of this. In my case, the time was right for my now-husband and I to buy our first place together. And if we hadn’t, we’d only have been wasting money on renting.

2. Don’t buy at the stamp duty level

You might not give this much thought when you’re buying – I certainly didn’t. After all, if you’ve managed to get a property that’s just under the stamp duty level, you’ll probably be too busy celebrating how much money you’ve saved to really think about it.

But when you come to sell, you’ll find that if the property market is rather unstable, however much you’ve spent to improve your home, you won’t get this money back because no one will want to pay that extra stamp duty.

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And that’s exactly the situation I am in. My husband and I have improved our flat dramatically from when we moved in – a new boiler, new bathroom, new front door, new flooring throughout – all of which we thought would add value to our flat.

And yet we’re still unlikely to get anything above the stamp duty level, meaning that all of our hard work will have been in vain. (Violins, please.)

3. Don’t be too hasty

Never be too hasty when buying a property. Make sure you go back for second and third viewings. View it at different times of the day because things can change. What was a quiet neighbourhood in the afternoon, might become extremely noisy in the evening. (Fortunately, my neighbourhood is lovely – thank you very much for asking.)

Ask the estate agent and present occupiers (if they are there) as many questions as possible. What’s it like living there? Is it a quiet neighbourhood? Are white goods included in the sale? How old is the boiler?

On the flipside, there is such a thing as waiting too long... Yes, you might be looking for a perfect property, but there’s a good chance it doesn’t exist.

4. Carefully think about what needs doing to the property

When you’re viewing properties it’s important to take into account exactly what you will need to do to it to make it feel like your own. Obviously there may be some cosmetic improvements to make – such as a fresh lick of paint and new carpets - but when it comes to a new bathroom/boiler/kitchen, the costs can soon stack up.

So take this into consideration. If you think you’re going to need to do a lot to the property, it’s worth seeing whether you can get a lower price for it.

5. Never fall in love with a property

It can be easy to fall in love with a property and think it’s your dream home. But try to avoid getting too attached because even when it looks as if the deal is done, it could still fall through.

Sellers can change their minds, or they may suddenly get a better offer elsewhere, so try to stay detached!

6. Don't believe the estate agent

Yes, I will admit I’ve fallen for this one. When I bought my flat and put in a lower offer than the asking price, the estate agent made out that someone else was very interested in the flat and was likely to offer the full asking price that very day.

However, providing I increased my offer to match this, the property would be mine.

Don’t follow my bad example – stick to your guns and keep your fingers crossed. There’s a good chance the estate agent is feeding you a load of rubbish!

7. Location counts

This is one thing I got right! Hurrah! When you’re viewing properties, don’t solely think about the building itself – consider where it is. Luckily as I was only living down the road at the time, I knew a lot about the area.

And now, while I am trying to sell the flat, I can be confident knowing it’s in a fantastic location – it’s a stone’s throw away from the station which has great transport links into the heart of London and beyond and it’s close to a wide range of amenities. As a result, it’s a popular area, demand is high and house prices haven’t fallen as much as they could have done.

8. It’s expensive!

Everyone knows that buying a property is an expensive process. But until you’ve actually bought one, you probably won’t realise just how expensive.

There’s the deposit, stamp duty, legal fees, survey and valuation fees, removals... the list is never-ending. So make sure you factor all of this into the equation.

To find out how to keep the costs to a minimum, read Five ways to cut the cost of moving home.

9. Be careful about fixing your mortgage for too long

Personally, I like to know exactly how much I am paying out each month towards my mortgage. I am not particularly keen on change. As a result, I plumped for a five-year fixed rate mortgage, and at the time, that seemed like the right thing to do as the base rate was on the up.

Little did I know that the base rate would soon plummet to an all time low of 0.5%. And now I wish I had only fixed for two years. But unfortunately, without a crystal ball, I couldn’t have predicted this.

Second time round and I am weighing up my options far more carefully and I’m talking to a mortgage broker right here at lovemoney.com!

You can also seek advice from our fee-free mortgage team via email, over the phone or even on instant messenger – just head over to our mortgage centre.

10. A property isn’t always an investment

It’s nice to know that when you sell on your property you might make some money out of it. But that won’t always be the case. And as disappointing as that might be, you should always remember that your property is your home – first and foremost. It’s a roof over your head, and it belongs to you – so enjoy it!

More: The dos and don’ts of buying property abroad | The street where homes cost £6.4m