SEEK GOOD ADVICE Home often life’s biggest purchase

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32972, 19 July 1972, Page 1 (Supplement)

SEEK GOOD ADVICE Home often life’s biggest purchase

(By our property reporter)

For most people, buying a home is their biggest personal business transaction. It is usually their largest investment, and it has a big influence on their way of life.

Whether it be a family home, an ownership flat for retirement, a section on which to build your “dream house”—you will spend a lot of time there.

A well-chosen property will not be just a place to eat, a mere roof overhead; it should be a haven, a place where you are happy, and others can be, too.

After the big decision to buy a house, or to sell one to buy another, it is wise to think out carefully just what you are aiming for, and what price you can sensibly afford to pay. Ownership of a home should be a pleasure but there is little enjoyment in struggling to meet payments which are too high in relation to income.

Property is one of the best investments and, because so much money is involved, sound advice should be obtained. Solicitors, members of the Real Estate Institute, property officers with building societies or banks or insurance companies, registered valuers—all these are good people to consult. Much better than asking Uncle Bill or the chap at the club, who may know little more than you do but will probably try to sound like an expert. Loan likely Few people can pay the full price of a property in cash; most have to borrow on mortgage. This just means getting a loan and giving the lender a charge against the property as security. A real estate agent or solicitor will advise on where mortgage money may be obtained, and the types and terms of loans available. Having decided what price you can pay, it is then a good idea to make a list of requirements such as number of bedrooms, section size, must the property be near a school, should it be on a bus route? Main needs Try to list these items in order of importance — no home yet built satisfies all

requirements. Because each person’s needs and tastes are different, the buying of a home must inevitably result in some degree of compromise.

Do you prefer a front section where you can see what is going on, or the privacy of a “drive in” or rear section? For those keen on gardening, the condition of the section can seem important. Yet it is rather short-sighted to reject a property with a badly laidout or neglected garden for this reason alone. A few dollars worth of shrubs, plants, and manure can soon make such a difference. Near shops? Depending on what transport you use, how far away are the shops, how far will it be to go to work each day? Is it worth while to live five, seven, eight miles from work in a particular district when another area much closer is probably just as pleasant, and more convenient? It costs about 10 cents a mile to run a car, and bus fares soon mount up. Will you want to be near a church, sports clubs, kindergarten, university? Or away from the in-laws? Must it have a fireplace, insulation, central heating; permanent

materials or wood; older, gracious type of house or ultra-modern; one storey or two, or either? And so on. After sorting out some of this details, read the property advertisements in your newspaper. Select one or more which seem nearest to what you are looking for, in the price bracket you decided. Probably the property will be advertised by a member of the Real Estate Institute—very few properties are sold privately. Make appointment Ring and make an appointment to see the real estate agent either at his office or in your home. This is better than trying to discuss

too much over the telephone. When you meet, explain the reasons why the particular property advertised appealed, and also seek the agent’s advice. He is an expert in his field, he sees hundreds of homes every year, and always has a long list of properties which are on the market.

An important part of the agent’s role is to advise buyers which properties are more likely to meet their requirements, and so save people a lot of time which might be spent looking at places which are quite unsuitable.