What type of house do you want?

Defining the criteria for the home you want to buy is a step that should not be overlooked. The more you refine your needs and desires, the more effective you can be in your search for the ideal home.

Whether you are looking alone or through a real estate agency or a notary, all the answers to these questions will save you time in selection.

The answers to these questions are not so obvious, especially if you are buying two. We will have to find compromises between the wishes of each.

What budget do you have to finance this purchase?

House prices are very high. Before looking for houses that strongly correspond to your criteria, you must first check if you have the necessary budget for this type of purchase.

At this point, you now know what you want, you know  how much money you have for this acquisition , you must now take as much information as possible on the real estate market in the city or the targeted district.

Learn about your local real estate market

There are thousands of real estate micro-markets. Finding out about general real estate trends in France is therefore not enough when you are about to buy.

Scrutinize the real estate ad sites, bearing in mind that the prices displayed correspond only to the prices desired by the sellers and that they are therefore higher than the actual transaction prices.

Knowing recent prices will make it easier for you to identify good deals and avoid paying too much for your home.

Efficiently sort the properties offered in real estate advertisements

Real estate ad sites are sufficiently developed today to allow you to carry out precise searches for houses according to your criteria and your budget.

You can start by doing very specific searches with most of your criteria. In the event of low offers on this type of house, you can always broaden your target (geographically, by removing some restrictions, etc.). Remember to create email alerts. This will allow you to follow news and changes.

Take all the necessary information during the visits

A first visit will allow you to check that all the essential points are present and to make a first impression. Do not hesitate to ask as many questions as possible and to take notes of the information collected. After visiting several houses, it’s hard to remember everything without mixing anything up.

At the end of this first visit, you will know if you are eliminating this house or if it requires a more in-depth study. With the permission of the owner, take some pictures of the main rooms. This will allow you to take stock in peace with all the elements collected.

Ask the seller or his representative about the price of the property tax, the condominium fees for houses in subdivisions managed in condominiums, the mode of heating and its average annual cost, etc.

Negotiate the price wisely

During steps 3, 4 and 5, you have gathered a lot of information. These will be of great help to you in deciding what price seems fair to you for the houses selected.

Most sellers add a negotiation margin when setting their selling price. Moreover, many of them overestimate, voluntarily or not, their price and thus hope to sell above the market price.

The differences between the initial price announced by the seller and the final price that is actually paid can be considerable. To find out more, read our article ”  How much can you negotiate the price of a property?” “.

The price at which you buy your house will have a considerable impact on the total cost of your project. Indeed, apart from the cost of buying the house, all the other costs of a real estate purchase are linked to the price of the house:

Make an offer to purchase taking your precautions

In the case of a purchase at the price of the mandate, you can directly  sign a sales agreement . But it costs you nothing to make an offer at a lower price than the seller asks.

As soon as an agreement is reached with the owner, you will have to go to a notary to formalize the purchase. This is a mandatory step to register the change of owner and be subject to the payment of various taxes. These are an integral part of the  notary fees .

Look for the best possible financing (credit and borrower insurance)

You now know the final price you will have to pay to acquire this house. You have a few weeks to obtain your credit to finance it.

Getting a good rate isn’t everything. There are many other parameters that can increase the bill (duration of the loan, variable rate, compulsory insurance or optional guarantees, guarantee costs, etc.). This is what we demonstrate in this article on calculating the cost of a home loan .

To insure your loan, you have the right to request a delegation of insurance . This means that you have the possibility of taking out your borrower insurance in an establishment other than the bank which grants you the credit. You might as well compare more than 40 borrower insurance policies  and choose the least expensive with identical protection.

Collect the keys to your new home and settle in!

That’s it, it’s D-Day! You will obtain the final deed of sale and above all the keys to your future home. Be aware that there is a delay of about 3 months between the signing of a sales agreement with the notary and the final obtaining of the property. You will be able to arrange it to your liking and move into your new home.