When you’re in the market to invest in a luxury home, either as an asset or to make your new family home, we’re sure you’ll agree with us when we say this is more than just an ‘expensive house.’
That in mind, you are likely interested in a home that offers a lifestyle of luxury and helps to foster the living environment you’d always seen yourself living.
Getting into it, a majority of luxury homes offer a few great things; impressive and intelligent design, incredible landscaping as well as state of the art technologies, appliances and lifestyle-supporting amenities.
With those key points in mind, you’re always going to want to invest in a luxury home and not an expensive home — there is a big difference.
Let’s take a look into a few things to do before you purchase a luxury home.
1. Find an Agent You Can Trust
Off the top, you’re always going to want to be on the lookout for real estate agents that have your interests in mind.
You want someone who is able to navigate the luxury home market with ease, rather than get caught up in deciphering the differences between expensive and luxury, for example. And with that in mind, we suggest taking a look at their sales portfolio or at least some metrics on their past performance.
You’re going to want to be able to rely on these people[1] to find you a home that encourages you to live the life you’re planning on, and without the correct person on your books for this, you might be left in the lurch.
To end, always be sure you look at testimonials or reach out to people who have worked alongside your agent in the past and go from there.
2. Be Intelligent About Financing
When we invest in luxury homes, we’re not out to be throwing money away.
As we are sure you already know, luxury homes require substantial financial movements and it’s always good to be as intelligent with your finances as possible.
From applying or enquiring about insurance from providers like NRMA through to agent fees and household upkeep, it’s good to be as prepared and ready as possible for your investment in a luxury home.
In some cases, sellers are also going to want to know your financial standing or your financial history prior to even allowing you to enter their home for viewings, and with that in mind, one of our top tips before purchasing a luxury home is to gain pre-approval from banks or lenders.
On top of this, you should always have a statement that is as up to date as possible and shows as much detail as is requested, or as much as you want. Make sure to black out some personal information here though.
3. Know What You’re After
If you’ve followed our earlier tip of finding a great agent, then you’ll want to do your end of the work by understanding and making a list of what you’re looking for, and this means not rushing and taking your time to describe what you want.
Of course, a good fit for your family’s lifestyle is understandable for you — though your agent will need to have this information carefully explained to them.
That in mind, go into as much detail as possible about what you’re looking for in a luxury home and your agent will be able to do their job a whole lot more effectively.
4. Inspect the Area Too
Our final major thing to do before purchasing a luxury home is taking a look around the area you’ll be living in.
Of course, a luxury home is just that, a home. The area you’re surrounded by can make or break this investment and even devalue it over time, and so we suggest doing as much research into the location as possible.
This task includes taking a look at schools, country clubs and recreational centres, for example, but also future developments, income, crime statistics and more.
You may also be able to ask your agent a few of these things, and so keep this in mind when viewing homes.
Conclusion
With all of our tips above, you’ll agree with us when we say a luxury home isn’t an expensive home; it’s a lifestyle-fostering one.
These homes come with rather high price tags for a reason, and you’ll always want to be sure you’re investing in something that gives you great results and a good lifestyle for yourself and your family.
Consider your financials, the area you’re living in as well as essentials like insurance and you’re on track to a smoother luxury home buying experience.
