How to save money when buying a home?

Are you looking for buying a new home but are a bit tight on the budget? Are you not sure where to spend your money while buying your new home? Bodla Group is here to help you in making a better financial decision.

As people get ways of earning more money, they upgrade their lifestyles. A few common areas where people tend to invest money is buying a better house, car, etc. to name a few. However, with the devaluation of Pakistani Rupee and sky-high inflation it can get a bit challenging. Going in the market to purchase a house without knowing your needs can get you ripped off. This is a common mistake people make. Thus, before starting your house hunt you need to be well informed about this industry. No need to get overwhelmed. This blog talks in detail about all the things you need to know before buying a house.

Set your budget:

Before you do anything, set a budget, and don’t go over it. This is a good place to start as it narrows down your options. This way you can make a better decision based on your budget and the options you have in it. Buying a new home can be challenging for a lot of people. Specially in times when inflation is at its all time high. Thus, setting aside a budget gives you a better perspective of the three W’s, the What, the Where and the When.

This is a simple rule that can help you tremendously and save you from getting scammed. For Example: You have a budget of Rupees 2 Crores. Knowing this information makes your decision making easy. Just implement the three W’s as follows:

1. What kind of house can I buy in the budget I have? Can I get a single-story house, or a double story house or one with a basement? How big of a house can I afford?
2. Where can I buy my house? For Example, in our case with a budget of Rupees 2 Crores can I buy a house in Defense Housing Authority (DHA), or should I look for a more budget friendly option?
3. When should I purchase a house?

These questions will make your decision making easy and do 90% of the work for you.

Don’t extend your budget for things you don’t “need”

Wishing for a big bungalow loaded with state-of-the-art things and a big lawn is a dream for many. However, while spending your money on a house you should always remain in your budget. A common mistake people make is that they keep extending their budget for small things. For Example: A more expensive tile, fancy faucets, extravagant designs, etc. All these things add to an unreasonably expensive house at the end.

List down things that you absolutely need, things you cannot compromise on. These things do not include electricity switches. First fulfill all the necessary items. Then if you’re left with some money, spend it on the rest of the stuff. Another thing to remember is, simple is always better. You don’t need expensive tiles, fancy faucets, extravagant false ceilings, etc. Always go with the simple approach. It not only is affordable, but also looks good.

When you go on a house hunt, people will always try to sell you expensive houses. They show off “unnecessary things” as features. These kinds of houses are always expensive than the ones that are simple. For Example, the price for a house with a lot of chandeliers will always be more than that of one with no chandeliers.

What are the things you should look for while buying a house?

While purchasing a house, you should always look for the following things:

        1. What kind of society is the house in?

This is a good place to start. Finding a reasonably priced house in an expensive society, will get you nowhere. Do some research prior to visiting the society. Questions such as, “who is the builder of the society”, “what is the average cost of houses in the society” go a long way.

        2. How old is the house in question?

Buying a 30-year-old house just because it looks newish is not a good thing to do. You should try to buy a house that is no more than 15 years old. Older houses need a lot of repairs. This can exhaust money that you never planned on spending.

Suppose you find a house that lies in your budget. The society is also good. However, you still want to save money. This can be done by avoiding the following things:

        1. Buying a corner house.

Corner houses usually sell for more than non-corner ones. That is mainly because of the easy access they have to the outer main road. Also because of the non-obstructed side view they get, they are considered valuable. Try avoiding a corner house and buy one that is in the middle. Middle houses are a bit cheaper than corner ones.

        2. Buying a house near commercial areas

A good rule of thumb while buying a house is to find a place where the commercial area is near-by. This is because it is very convenient. However, if you’re on a budget and want to save as much money as possible you should look for a place that is a bit far. Although it does add inconvenience, but it is also cheaper. Houses that are near commercial area are a bit more expensive because of the convenience factor. While on a budget, one should avoid houses that are near the commercial area. You can use the money you saved where it is more needed.

Should you go for property agents?

Property agents know everything about their area. They know about the available houses and can get you in direct contact with the owners of the house. This comes in handy specially for people that are busy and don’t have a lot of spare time on their hands. Property market is very active in terms of sale and purchase. Specially in a country like Pakistan, it is considered a good activity. People buy plots, construct houses, and sell them later for profit. If you go for online platforms, the prices aren’t much flexible. Property agents can help in getting the price knocked down a little bit.

However great the benefits of hiring property agents are, it consumes a chunk of your budget. These agents usually ask for some percentage of the total amount of the house. Although it is not “cost efficient”, but it is very helpful as they can get you pretty amazing deals. Moreover, they know about all the available houses in the area. So, it would be a good thing if you save money on fancy faucets and invest it on a good property dealer. They make your house hunt that much easy and save you from all the hassle. As opposed to the online market where you have to manage everything yourself, property agents do everything for you. Which can be a very important thing for people who are busy most of their time.

Is building a house more cost efficient than buying an already built house?

Building a house, yourself is more cost efficient than buying an already constructed house. It may sound a bit bizarre but here are the reasons why:

1. You have total freedom over the quality and quantity of material to be used in building a house. You can find good deals in materials such as cement etc. Wholesale providers usually provide good rates and hence it is more cost friendly.
2. A lot of people build houses for the sake of flipping them for profit. This is a good way of making money if you’re patient and have the resources. However, it is not a cost-effective solution for people who want to build a house for the sake of living. That is because such houses are sold after keeping a profit margin. To avoid paying for this profit margin, you can build your house yourself.
3. A lot of people put a lot of fancy things in their houses for making them look beautiful. As we have discussed, by avoiding these things you can save up a ton of money. Thus while building your own house, you can keep these things in mind and save up money by avoiding them.

Apart from cost effectiveness, building your own house has an added benefit of designing it how you like. You have total control over how you want the layout of the house, design etc. Moreover, a new house is much better than a 16 – 20-year-old house. As these houses are new, they do not require any maintenance if built properly.

However, building a house on your own is not easy. It requires full time supervision and a good knowledge of places where you can get the materials on an overall cheap cost. People who have jobs or even businessmen do not have that much flexibility in their work as well as time. To avoid these issues, you can hire building companies that build houses. They charge some amount according to the type of construction job. This can be a good way of making sure your house has all the supervision while still saving some money.

Building companies not only provide with supervisory teams but also with all the material that is going to be used in the construction of your house. They then, build your house according to your liking. The benefit of such companies is that you don’t have to worry about anything. Everything is taken care of by the building company.

How can Bodla Group help you in getting your dream home?

There is no better feeling in the world than having a home of your own. A sanctuary where you can live your life your way. Accompanied by the love of your family and blessings of Allah Almighty and living in peace is still a dream for many. However, good quality homes often come at the expense of money. We understand that saving large sums of money currently is very difficult. We are one of the industry’s top builders. We have an excellent legacy of amazing projects in DHA Multan. We do all things from procuring land to construction work. Our standards have set an image in the industry that sets us apart from our competition. We construct affordable homes that are less in no way. If you are looking for premium quality homes in Multan that are light on the wallet, we can help you achieve that dream of yours. Getting your dream home has never been this easy. Book an appointment today and let us build the house of your dreams for you.