Buying a house: the steps to take such an important step
Your dream is about to come true: you have decided to buy a house! But how do you get to the fateful moment of delivery of the keys? We will be frank from the beginning: you need to arm yourself with a lot of patience and face all the purchase phases trying not to let yourself down by the difficulty. We are sure it will be worth it, also because then the beauty comes: a new house to furnish you. wait! Find out some useful tips in this video.
Buying a house: preliminary information
Deciding to buy your first home is an important moment, as it can positively mark a real turning point in our life. There are many reasons that lead us to this decision: you want to find a stable place to start a family, you want to invest part of your assets or simply, after years of renting or sharing the house with your parents, you want to a space all to yourself to customize and adapt to your needs. The current times when it comes to buying and selling real estate are not easy, but this cannot be a reason to be discouraged. Those who want to buy a home, in most cases do not know where to start, which is why we have compiled this useful guide.
It all starts with the choice of the area: there are those who decide not to stray too far from the place where they already live and those who, on the contrary, completely upset their routine by opting for a house in the countryside or in any case outside built-up areas. start looking for a house, ask yourself what your needs really are (get closer to work, relatives, children's school, etc.), only after that you can have a clear picture and begin to explore the area in search of the perfect home.
If you have found the most functional area for you, it is time to understand, based on your needs, if you need a small, medium or large house. You will never know what will happen in the future, whether the family will expand or not, our advice is to opt for a classic well-divided three-room apartment: in the future with some small renovation work you can also decide to expand it.
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Who to contact for the purchase of the property?
Having said that, let's try to understand who we should contact to start visiting some house of our interest. Three different scenarios can be defined.
Buying a house from a builder
The first option is to buy a house directly from the builder, in this case it will be a property still under construction which has the advantage of saving on the one hand (the selling price from the builder is notoriously lower), on the other. the disadvantage of having to choose your home on paper, without the possibility of visiting it, not just the possibility of customizing it to your liking before the work is completed.
Buying a house from a private individual
By choosing to buy a house from a private citizen, in the first place it can be useful to save agency commissions, but in this case you will have to deal independently with all the bureaucratic documentation useful for becoming owners. Unless we are practical and are able to inform ourselves about all aspects of the house, we could find ourselves some post-purchase surprises. In our opinion, avoiding to involve the agency is okay only when we know very well who is selling.
Buying a house from a "real estate agency."
The agency has on its side the fact of carrying out strict checks on the house, drawing on cadastral data and avoiding unwelcome surprises such as mortgages and so on. In this case, however, you will have to pay a commission if you decide to rely on them, which can range from 2 to 4% of the property price. Not exactly cheap, to be precise! Furthermore, another aspect that can be seen as an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time, is that by relying on the agency you will not have contact with the seller, and it will be difficult to understand the real reasons why the property was put up for sale. .
The intermediate steps in buying and selling a house
You have chosen the area, you have visited more than one house and among all there is one that has stolen your heart: it is the right one! How can you not let it slip away?
The very first thing to do is the purchase proposal. It is an agreement between the selling party and the buying party and in case you are waiting to get the loan, the clause "of the ineffectiveness of the obligation to buy " which protects the buyer in the event that the loan is not granted.
The compromise, on the other hand, also known as a preliminary sales contract, is the step that follows after the purchase proposal has been approved by the seller. It is essential to commit the seller and buyer to conclude the transfer of ownership of the house in question, in view of the final contract.
It can be drawn up through a private agreement and even after the signature, the seller remains the owner of the property rights on the property, which will remain his until the date of the deed. Be careful: if you decide to compromise, know that neither party he may withdraw, under penalty of double payment of the check given in the compromise phase.
Finally, the deed is the actual deed through which the house passes from the old owner to the new one. It is done in the presence of a notary who draws it up and reads it to both parties, the buyer and the seller, explaining the steps crucial and verifying the correctness of the documentation. On this occasion the seller is required to deliver all the copies of the keys of the property to the party who is buying.
How to apply for and obtain a mortgage
Today, given the economic situation in Italy, it is not so easy to get a mortgage to buy your home. But it must be said that most people, especially for their first home, need the bank to grant them the loan to be able to buy. What to do? Before thinking about the purchase, contact your bank explaining the situation and asking a mortgage simulation to understand if given your economic condition, if you can get it without problems.
Here are some important things to know before applying for a mortgage.
- Have no debt
Having outstanding debts could be a first obstacle to obtaining the mortgage. Also, if you have other active loans, the home loan could significantly affect your income, so the bank would think twice before granting it.
- Don't be a bad payer
If you have been reported as a bad payer in the past, the bank will know by investigating your account and it will be difficult for them to approve the mortgage. Also, for financial reasons, consider that the installment you are going to pay must not exceed 25-30% of your salary, so if the bank realizes that in your case the installment is too high, it will not lend you the money.
- Have a fixed salary
Having a stable employment contract, preferably a permanent one, is a point in your favor and you shouldn't have any problems getting a mortgage. Even better if there are two of you at home who have a fixed salary.
- Having a guarantor (but it doesn't always help!)
The guarantor is a person like you who should make up for the payment of the loan installment if you find yourself unable to pay it. If in the past the figure of the guarantor really had the role just described, today often those we choose as guarantor cannot make up for the our inability to pay too high an installment. In most cases it is a relative who perhaps works in the same family business as you: in this case the possibility of obtaining the loan decreases further, as the source of income would be the same.
Expenses and concessions for the first home
It is useless to go around it, when you buy a house there are several expenses to be taken into account. Let's see which are the main ones. In addition to the various taxes (registry, cadastral, mortgage and VAT), we must add the cost of the notary, which is an essential and mandatory figure by law, and the fee to be paid to the real estate agency.
In all this, however, those who buy their first home can enjoy the Prima Casa Bonus, according to which when you buy the property from a private person or other person, the tax value is 2% and is calculated on the cadastral value. of the property and not on the market.
You bought a house: what to do next?
You have finally received the keys to your apartment, what are the first things to check? First of all you have to get a clear explanation of where the water, electricity and gas meters are located and make sure you can access them. Then you can proceed with the transfers: it is a simple change of the holder of the bills, to be done to the current manager of your utilities. Check that everything is in order in the house, try the windows, shutters, the boiler and if you notice something out of place, tell the previous owner. Also, if you have opted for a condominium, contact the administrator's office immediately to stay updated on any condominium meetings and in general to point out that you are now the new owner. Finally, do a dress rehearsal of all the keys that have been given to you and change the lock as soon as possible, especially if someone else has already lived in the house.
