Deciding to purchase a home is an exciting step in life. One that most people look forward to and prepare for for a considerable amount of time. But joy and excitement can quickly turn to disappointment when you begin your property search and discover you can’t afford the suburb you love, the place you’ve been daydreaming about and a place you always thought you would call home.

Rather than allow your home buying dreams fade, here are 4 practical tips for you can implement immediately and begin to love the suburb you can afford.

Buy a Home – Steping Stone into the Market

If you’re adamant about sticking to your favoured location and really want to crack the property market, consider buying a quality unit, villa or townhouse, steppin dtone into the proeprty market. If you can afford a two bedroom property right now and will live in it comfortably for the next five years then this is a great time to get into the market. This also gives you time to continue to save towards a larger property while gaining capital value in your current home. At that point, you can use the equity and additional savings to upsize into a family home with a yard. Or sell up and use the capital gains to launch into a forever home.

As buyer advocates, we employ a checklist of items to ensure you buy the ideal property to meet your needs for now and into the future.

Broaden Yur Horizons

Firstly, be open to other areas of the city. There are literally dozens of lifestyle locations that offer great value. Head out to find places that other singles, couples and families, people like you, have made home. Check out the local cafe, parks and shopping strips and see who lives in the area. Ask a local why they like living there.

Become and Investor

If you can’t afford to buy the type of property you want or the location you desire, you can become an investor while you continue to rent in your favourite suburb. Buying an A grade investment property will give you a great start in the property market and allow you to leapfrog into a more desirable location at a later stage. So long as you park your money in a property type and area that will perform, your money will work harder for you than having it sit in a bank. With demand for rental accommodation increasing this is a great option worth considering and it gives you scope to buy anywhere across Australia.

Fixer Upper

If you or family members are handy and you’re not afraid of a bit of hard work, consider purchasing a home you can afford and turn it into a home you will love over time. Remember there are things you can easily change when it comes to the appearance of a house but you cannot easily change the location or the size of the property without considerable and costly alterations. So look for a home that ticks the location, size and orientation boxes, buy in at a lower price and get to work turning it into a place you will feel proud to call home.

If finding a new area to explore or buying an investment property seems daunting to you, considering getting help from a Buyers Advocate. A professional property buyer, also known as a buyer agent will employ a multiple checkpoint process to help you select the right property in the right location for good rental returns and capital growth and will help you uncover areas you may not have even heard of.