So, you've decided to buy your first home - congratulations!

Up there with getting married and having your first baby, this purchase will be one of the biggest, and most crucial, decisions of your life.

As a first-home buyer, it's easy to get caught up in the house-hunting blues. But chin up, it can be done!

Can I buy a home if I'm not good with finances?

If you can save and you don't consistently max out your credit cards, then you can buy a home.'

What should I do?

Find at least one person close to you - preferably a few - who is a financial whizz, and preferably someone who has bought and sold properties numerous times.

The internet can be a huge help for such assistance too.

It's important to remember too that your conveyancer and lender will do a lot of the hard financial (and legal) yards for you in the home-buying process.

If you have an accountant, you can also ask them for advice and support.

Can I buy a first home if I'm over 40?

You bet you can!

Backing you up against 20 and 30-year-old buyers are your savings, your employment history, and your overall life experience - including higher confidence in yourself and your needs.

What should I do?

Be prepared to pay off your home loan in a shorter space of time than those young ones competing for the same home beside you.

Expect lenders to consider you a higher-risk borrower and to write you a shorter-term loan. 

At the same time, trust in your older assets and have confidence in them, and push these against any objections lenders might have to your home-buying journey.

Can I buy a home if I get easily stressed and scared?

Of course, you can, but again, the house-buying journey may be a little harder - or at the very least, quite different - than those with cool, calm, and logical personalities.

What should I do?

As with financial assistance, ask friends and family members to help you keep calm and carry on throughout your house-hunting journey.

Such people may not have bought a home themselves (although it will help you if they have) but that's OK.

What you need is plenty of sympathetic, supportive encouragement from people who know your needs and will help you laugh amidst the stressors you encounter.

These people also need to be sensible, (gently) pointing out any faults or flaws they detect in both the properties you examine and your house-hunting actions.

Can I buy a home if I don't know anything about real estate?

Yes, definitely!

You certainly wouldn't be the first person who has plunged into the fray of house buying with little knowledge of the complex industry behind this decision.

What should I do?

It''s crucial to do your research especially when it comes to such headline points as rising interest rates.

The internet can help you immensely when it comes to exploring the ins and outs of particular locations or property types, including school catchment zones and amenities.

Also remember that no one knows your exact, everyday needs as well as you and these are more important than what a home looks like or how many bedrooms it has.

So again, trust in and be confident about such needs, and aim to listen most to people whose needs and wants are similar, rather than being swayed by people who live completely different lives.

"Know yourself ... because the unexamined life is not worth living"

It's highly doubtful that the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates had house-buying in mind when he famously wrote this phrase at his trial in 399 BC.

But house buying with all its stressors and excitement brings with it a high chance of self-examination and this can be more worthwhile than the most highly valued piece of bricks and mortar.

Certainly, for the 'older', insecure and fearful crowd, who loathe numbers let alone research and paperwork, property purchasing forces us out of our careful and comfortable boxes.

As a result, it's highly possible you'll find yourself a very different person at the end of your house-buying travels, with completely unexamined and unexpected details within and without.

Along with your new property may come a push into a new life that - while it may initially be harder to swallow - could definitely be more worth living than the pre-buying one.

So when you finally collapse in your property, take the time to celebrate both your new home and your newly examined life over a glass of champagne.

Who are you now? 

What have you come to learn about yourself?

How have you surprised yourself (in good ways) and those around you?

Will your act or voice things differently in the future, based on your house-buying experiences?

Cheers!

We're here to help

Whatever home loan road you wish to take, Lending Loop would love to help you travel it!

We’ve brought all the services you need altogether, under one roof, so we can find you the best home loans from more than 40 of Australia’s biggest banks and specialist lenders.

Plus, we can also help you refinance your loan to help you keep more money in your pocket.

So, give us a call today at Lending Loop.