Things to keep in mind when buying real estate for the first time

Not carefully considering financial capacity; carelessness when considering completion progress, payment time, interest rate coefficient; being unclear about investor capacity... are common mistakes for first-time home buyers.

Timhome has just published its latest real estate report and recommended 9 common mistakes to help home buyers be aware of potential risks when approaching primary real estate.

1. Not considering financial capacity

Many people fall into a situation of being unable to pay because they do not consider or break their budget. For example, when they see a house that they like but is beyond their financial capacity, some people choose to borrow (from banks, friends, relatives) with a higher loan amount than originally planned. This causes a lot of trouble, especially when there is an incident and you cannot pay. Therefore, you should choose suitable real estate so that the accumulated money you have is equivalent to 50-70% of the value of that real estate.

2. Not thoroughly researching the investor

In the bustling real estate market, besides reputable developers and investors, there are many “problematic” units, even those with signs of fraud. Choosing the wrong place to “send gold” can push customers into the situation of buying a house on paper when the project has not completed procedures, has not been cleared or has not completed the clearance agreement… These are risks that many people encounter due to choosing the wrong unreliable developers.

3. Not paying attention to liquidity

For secondary investors, the liquidity of real estate is an important factor in determining whether they will "prosper" or lose. But if you think that you only buy to live in and do not care about this, you are wrong. Life is always full of surprises, the possibility of moving house is not completely impossible. If you buy real estate with high liquidity, you will sell quickly. If the opposite happens, things will get worse.

4. Not carefully considering the surrounding infrastructure

Many people do not consider the surrounding infrastructure: is the road convenient, is there frequent flooding or traffic jams, is it convenient to travel to your workplace, school and family members, is it close to utilities such as supermarkets, hospitals, schools...? These things can cause inconvenience to your family and make you feel that the house/apartment is the wrong choice after only a short time living there.

Not carefully considering financial capacity and being unclear about the investor's reputation and capacity are the most common mistakes home buyers are making. Photo: Vu Le

5. Lack of attention to construction progress, payment time and interest rate coefficient

This is a common mistake for those who buy apartments in apartment projects. Normally, with project apartments, you will pay in installments. If you do not pay attention to the payment time, you may have trouble managing the money when the due date comes. Buyers may also be forced to pay earlier than the State's regulations (State regulations on payment for future real estate purchases and leases. For example: the first time must not exceed 30% of the contract value, the next times must be consistent with the progress of real estate construction but the total must not exceed 70% of the contract value when the house has not been handed over). In addition, if you are not alert to the interest rate coefficient of the unpaid amount, you may have to pay an amount much higher than the real value of the house, or even lose the ability to pay.

6. Lack of knowledge or lack of advice on filtering documents to ensure legality

Legal documents such as land use right certificates, land allocation documents of the local city/province People's Committee, Project Investment License, Construction License; Basic design appraisal, height, density, Decision to allow project implementation of the city/province People's Committee... are documents you need to consider before buying a project apartment. If you do not check the legality of the property many times, you may end up losing both because the project is revoked or entangled with other legal factors.

7. Lack of transparency in fees

Many people make the mistake of ignoring or not paying attention to monthly apartment fees such as apartment management fees, parking fees, garbage collection fees, living fees for common properties and public utilities, electricity, water, cable, internet, etc. If transparency of these fees is not required, the possibility of having to "swallow the bitter pill" because of sky-high fees is entirely possible.

8. Accepting handover when the project has not been accepted

The troubles that residents at Bay Hien Tower encountered in June (electricity and water cut off, having to live in a "large construction site" when many items were not yet completed...) are a warning about the mistake of accepting the handover when the project has not been accepted and legal procedures have not been completed. In addition, if there are problems arising (increased management fees, number of rooms per floor, number of floors in the project is not as committed...), do not ignore them because of the impatience to receive the house. That is a mistake that can lead you to legal trouble for your property later.

9. Not paying attention to the area and interior when the apartment is handed over

Subjectively not re-measuring the area to see if it is in accordance with the contract, whether the interior is as committed in the contract... is also a mistake that many people make. In addition, carefully check the electrical and water systems, other equipment (doors, kitchen cabinets, kitchen shelves...) before signing the handover minutes.

The consulting unit believes that, in order to avoid mistakes when buying primary real estate, buyers should pay attention and be careful in every step, especially regarding the legality of the real estate to avoid unfortunate disputes. If possible, ask real estate experts to check and advise before deciding on the transaction.

According to VNE