Five Common Mistakes Single People Make When Buying a Property

Avoiding these errors which single people commonly make, helps distinguish you as a savvy home buyer.As an unpartnered individual, you might be faced with some peculiar complexities that live-in partners don’t need to tackle when buying a house. How you navigate the bends of being unable to forecast the number of people in your household in a couple of years, or not being able to predict specific space needs in your home, will determine if you end up making some of these common mistakes:1. Buying a Tiny Apartment

As a bachelor/spinster, your current needs might not require owning a large property. You might be tempted to go for a tiny apartment because of how cute it looks, and because it serves you well at the moment, without considering your future needs.

The problem with this decision is that the tide might change pretty fast, and you’d be stuck with a property that is unrealistic for building a family. This is especially true because small places are harder to sell because of the relatively low demand for such properties when compared to larger apartment spaces.

To avoid making such mistakes, it’d be wise to project into the future and consider if you may be moving in with a partner in future. If this is likely, consider renting or buying at least a one bedroom apartment that has enough room for at least 2 people i.e. a couple. 2. Upsizing Your Living Space Without Advance Planning

In contrast to living in a tiny apartment, choosing a 2 bedroom apartment that’s too big for your current needs without making plans for what the extra space would be used for, is another mistake you should avoid. If you can afford a 2-bedroom apartment but you know you wouldn’t be needing the extra space at the moment, plan to have a roommate or to perhaps, rent the extra space out at short intervals e.g. Airbnb. This is a win-win situation because you’d be making additional income from rent, and should you need the extra space later on, you can end the rental contract. 3. Rushing to Buy a House as an Adventurous Person

The decision to buy a house shouldn’t be made in a rush and first time home buyers should do their homeworks before buying their first property. First, consider your personality. If you’re very adventurous/restless, it might be difficult to stay in one place for up to 5 years. In this case, buying a house might not serve you well. Instead, consider renting a property so that you can move to newer, more exciting locations in future without any regrets!4. Buying a Property Which Has a Policy Against Pets

Own a pet? Then you should find out what the policy states, for any building you plan to buy an apartment in, since some properties have policies against pets- and you’d want to keep your pet next to you at all times. This is particularly common with condo apartments, so if you plan to buy one, check the building policy painstakingly. With a top local realtor guiding you through the home-buying process, you should be able to access valuable information about the management policies for different buildings. To find an experienced local realtor in the US and Canada, you can use real estate platforms of Homelight and Wowa respectively where you can check the previous transactions of the realtors on the map. 5. Not Saving Enough Money for Down Payment

The single life makes you prone to some degree of financial indiscipline (as you don’t have a significant other as a financial accountability partner), and as such, you might not have saved up enough money for purchase of your first home. While it is possible to buy a house with a 5% down payment in Canada (check minimum down payment calculator in Canada) or 3.5% in US and subsequent monthly mortgage payments, it is highly recommended that you have saved up to 20% of the property’s value for the down payment. This way, you would be able to avoid CMHC default insurance cost in Canada and if you are living in the USA you will have access to better mortgages- as your lender trusts you more. As a person who is looking to get mortgage in future, it is important to improve your credit score by paying all your bills on time. Even if you don’t have a plan to buy a property in future soon, you should pay attention to the fact that even landlords do the tenant background check to ensure their tenant ability to pay rents. Conclusion

Not having a current partner shouldn’t stop you from making wise real estate choices. While we do not recommend that you buy a super-tiny apartment, before buying a 2-bedroom apartment you should make plans for what the extra space would be used for. Additionally, do not rush to buy a home if you aren’t ready to settle down in a place for at least five years, and ensure you check out what the building’s policy states with regards to pets. Lastly, it’s best to make a down payment that is 20% of the property value because of the benefits attached to a high down payment so start saving for your 1st home down payment by investing in safe financial products such as ETFs.