Common mistakes first-time home buyers should avoid

For most people, buying a home is the largest and most significant investment in their lifetime. Yet, this journey could be fraught with pitfalls, since swinging between the excitement and the stress, you are liable to make novice mistakes by overlooking critical details like the right location and the ideal home loan option. Most of the mistakes first-time home buyers make could be prevented if they seek expert advice, something we at Pioneer Property are well-equipped to provide.

Some common mistakes and preventing those:

# Not fixing a budget: It is extremely important to arrive at a budget for your home after taking into account all your other commitments and your income, before you even set foot on your house-hunting journey. If you are not clear on how much you can safely afford, it might land you in a soup going forward. If your house cost eats into a lion’s share of your earnings, it can cause an enormous amount of stress.

# Not enough research: Doing your homework before entering the fray is crucial. From understanding market trends and the basket of options available in your preferred location, to doing a proper due diligence on the developers with stocks in the market that suit your needs, the planning and construction quality, possible encumbrances, you must educate yourself well before taking the plunge. Pioneer Property, with its vast catalogue of projects and years of domain experience, can help you in this familiarization journey so that you can find your dream home without breaking sweat.

# Failing to compare loan options: For most of us, a large chunk of our working life goes in repaying our home loans. Hence, we must spend adequate time to inform ourselves. Choosing the right borrower and the optimum terms is not an easy task. It requires a bit of deep-diving into the interest rates, the loan product, repayment window options, including pre-payment, etc. Here again, with our in-built tie-ups with the major home loan companies, we are well-placed to guide you.

# Failing to check eligibility for loans: Talking about home loans, it is always wise to know where you stand in terms of your loan entitlement (your credit score). It’s almost a given that you will need to borrow, most of us do. The initial payout itself can constitute up to one-fourth of the property price. So, if you set yourself a timeframe and plan properly, you can achieve a higher borrowing limit, which gives you access to a wider basket of products to choose from. Please remember, it’s never wise to overshoot.

# Tax implications: Your new home will both give and take in terms of tax implications, and it becomes absolutely imperative for you to understand the nitty-gritty. While making a home purchase, there are tax outgoes in the shape of stamp duty, registration fees, etc. At the same time, you can avail of rebates and benefits of property purchase in various sections of the Income-Tax Act. Our team of experts at Pioneer can demystify the entire tax conundrum for you so that you don’t fret.

# Failing to check legal documents: Buying a home entails a plethora of legal procedures and approvals. So, apart from being cognizant of the stamp duty, registration and lawyer fees, etc., it is also very important to seek critical documents including the title deed, sale deed, occupancy certificate, encumbrance certificate, commencement certificate and RERA certification.