Moving house and buying a home is always stressful no matter how many times you’ve done it.
It’s especially difficult the first time. Not only are you vulnerable to mistakes, oversights, and overspending, you also do not have that wealth of experience to draw from to give you a helping hand.
Whilst we’re always sure to research things with a fine-tooth comb from the best removal company right down to the best pest control in our area, there are always more subtle details that we forget about. This is to be expected, as buying your first home encompasses many different facets, most of which you’ll be working on simultaneously. It’s easy to get lost in the whirlwind of house-moving, and the whole process can leave you drained and stressed beyond belief.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at 5 of the smaller things you need to keep in mind when securing your first home. With so much going on, it can be easy to forget the little things.
- Watch Your Spending
Although this sounds patently obvious it is easy to get carried away on the material and superficial aspects of your new home. A quick, routine shopping trip can soon get out of hand as you get carried away buying every household item under the sun. You soon find yourself way over-budget due to purchasing items that you don’t really need.
This is a very common situation for a lot of home-owners, not just first-time ones. The adrenaline, anticipation, and excitement are tough things to battle through. It’s important to fight the materialistic urge as much as possible and use your willpower to invest that money elsewhere. One of the reasons why moving house is so stressful is because there’s often sudden costs and fees that weren’t obvious before. Things can suddenly pop up out of nowhere and leave you scrambling around for money when you least expect it.
Whilst going over-budget is inevitable sometimes, try to keep track of your finances as much as you possibly can. It will definitely help you in the long-run.
- Stop Seeking Perfection
Buying your first home is a special event. It’s one of those rite-of-passage moments in life that everybody should be proud of. As momentous as the occasion is, it will never be perfect. Like everything else in life, you can only make your home as good as you possibly can. There are always likely to be minute details or features that you may not always be 100% happy with and that’s perfectly OK.
You don’t need to fix every tiny flaw in your home – and it’s likely that you will change your mind about its decor and appearance at some point during your residency there. The important thing is to keep things in perspective and focus on the bigger picture of you managing to secure your first home. A home you’re happy with and likely to remain in for several years. It’s an amazing achievement and isn’t worth sabotaging because there are a few minor details that you aren’t the happiest with.
Take the pressure off yourself to deliver perfection and life will feel so much easier.
- Prepare For Setbacks
My mantra for moving house is ‘’expect the unexpected.’’
There’s always going to be something that goes pear-shaped when you’re moving house. Even the most meticulous plans can go awry and it’s often small things we forget about. For example, the painters could arrive with the wrong shade of white for your bathroom, or the removal men at your old house could call and say they’ve been delayed. It’s frustrating, stressful, but there’s nothing you can do about it.
You may as well resign yourself from getting too infuriated about these things. As annoying as they are, they’re par the course and everybody who has moved houses has been there before. Rather than causing yourself even more stress, try to keep level-headed as much as possible. You’ll be able to make calmer, more calculated decisions and you won’t be doing tasks under pressure.
Something’s going to go wrong – but it’s all part of the learning curve.
- Get Knowledgeable
Nobody’s expecting you to be a real estate expert when you’re buying your first home.
You won’t be judged for not knowing certain things, and the estate agents are there to answer any questions no matter how big or small they are. If you have no idea how loans or downpayments work, say. It’s better to know rather than commit to something you had too much pride to say you knew nothing about. Keep in mind that everybody starts somewhere and you won’t be judged for asking questions or appearing naive. You’ll develop knowledge and insight as you go, but if it’s your first home it’s likely that you won’t have a huge amount of expertise to draw from.
There’s nothing wrong with that, either. Always ask if you’re not sure. It’s better to know and find out than not know and keep quiet.
- It’s Going To Take Ages
Buying a house isn’t like buying a car.
Rather, it’s akin to an overly-complicated game of chess where you, as a first-time buyer, are a pawn in the game. It can take months for deals to through, weeks for responses to arrive, and days of hearing nothing at all from others involved.
Things can be delayed, canceled, or approved without your knowledge, and you’ll be left wondering whether this whole agonizing process was even worth it. Again, you don’t have previous experience to draw from and the foresight to know that everything seems to take much longer than you think. Moving house is one of the most taxing, stressful experiences out there and it is likely to impact and completely dominate your life for a considerable amount of time.
Get ready for the long-haul and remember that the whole process, complete with its ups and downs, is worth it. Not only will you have your first home, but you’ll also have a wealth of experience to draw from when it’s time to move again.
Keep these smaller things in mind and you’ll be better prepared for whatever the house-moving process throws at you. It may be a long and bumpy road, but it will all pass eventually.
