Buying a home can be one of the most important decisions of your life. If you plan correctly and decide pragmatically, buying a home will be a pleasurable activity; if not, then you may be saddled with a home you do not want to live in.



Advantages of owning a home:-

Owning a home brings with it many advantages. Some of these advantages are:

•If you own real estate, your financial credibility goes up considerably in society.

•Your own home gives you the freedom to do what you like with it. For example, you can paint walls, keep pets and do many other things that you may not be able or willing to do in a rented apartment/villa/house. Remember, you can carry out any kind of home improvements in your own home, whereas you will not be willing to improve upon a rented home.

•Investment in real estate always appreciates with time. One of the main reasons for the appreciation is that there are far too many people and our world and far too less built space available to accommodate them. The market value of your real estate may bring you windfall gains in case you decide to sell it at a later date. Plus, owning a home will guard you against real-estate inflation.

•Owning a piece of real estate in any form secures you emotionally – Your home-ownership will fill you with pride and satisfaction.

•Over and above all these, you may enjoy some tax advantages because you own a home.

Searching for a home:-

Before you start your search for a home, you must at least make up your mind about the neighborhood you want to live in. If you’re migrating, then you must choose a neighborhood that is close to your workplace or your child/s’ schools. There are so many different factors that can influence your choice and ultimately it all depends upon you. Once you make up your mind where you’d like your real estate to be located, here’s what you must do:

•Always look up real estate online classified listings on real estate portals first. The online classified ads on the Internet cover a vast area and real estate portals such as ours’ – www.GO-Globe.com – cover numerous localities in different countries. You can try out niche neighborhood online classified ads too by running up a search on your favorite search engine. These online classified ads will not only give you an idea of the real market value in an area, they may land you with a super deal. On web portals, you can see the pictures of the property and you can figure out their location in a jiffy because the map will be given – this feature is missing in newspapers.

•Newspaper ads are a good source of information and many newspapers publish property pullouts or supplements, which clue you on to registration fees, taxes, mortgages, etc.

•Plan your finances well in advance. If you’re taking a loan, choose your preferred lender beforehand.

•Next in line are real estate brokers. If you run a scan on the Internet you will most likely find a reputed real estate broker who has published his listings online. Contact him and dig for more information.

•Now make a list about things to ask when you actually establish telephonic or Internet contact: these would be location, price, pictures, utilities, amenities, taxes and whether the property is mortgaged, the kind of community (schools, shopping), the construction nitty-gritty (electric, plumbing, heating/cooling, etc.).

Home inspection tips:-

Okay, now we assume you have frozen on your neighborhood and you have started looking at some real estate. Here’s what you must check:

•Check the toilets, sinks, tubs, tiles and the plumbing in the bathroom. Look for breakages, ultra-used equipment and leakages. Similarly, check the kitchen’s sink.

•Check the woodwork in the house and look for termite-invasions, excessive use, poor quality of wood, etc.

•Do a general check on electrical appliances, windows, electrical outlets and the garage.

•Take a close look at the exterior of the house: look for cracks, damaged gutters, water seepages and the ventilation.

•While inspecting the interiors take a hard look at the quality of the flooring, cracks inside the house, loose tiles and water stains.

It is important to ensure that your home is well built and in top habitable condition. You may also think of appointing a home inspection specialist who may find more faults than you.

Final paperwork:-

Once you have selected your home and have completed all the inspections needed, you are now ready to buy it. Every country has a different set of property laws and it will be prudent that you see your lawyer for all the paperwork involved for the closure of the deal.

A wise man once said, “A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams." and a wisecrack once remarked, “Home is where you can scratch where it itches". Both these statements are oh-so-true and so relevant, that their importance cannot be overemphasized.

If you’re planning to buy a property, go ahead and follow our guide – it will pay you rich dividends.

This Home Buying Guide is brought to you by www.GO-Globe.com , an international free online classifieds real estate portal, developed in Dubai, Europe, India.

You can save yourself a whole lot of cash when you register your property or when you search for your dream home on our site. We currently have over 4000 properties listed on our site.