If you are looking for a brand new home – be it a condo, house, or holiday villa – you can find a lot of new home sales on property sites such as DDProperty. However, if you’re new to the property market or haven’t bought a new home before, the process can be daunting if you’re used to renting, or even if you have bought older houses in the past. Here is a quick guide to take you through all the steps of choosing, moving into, and maintaining your new home, which should make the process easier and simpler.

1. Choosing a New Home

With so much real estate and new developments listed online, it can be difficult to decide which the right one for you is. You probably won’t have the time to visit and view each home that takes your interest. Instead, shortlist the houses you want to view based on the following criteria:

• Budget
• Location
• Size
• Household amenities (swimming pool, community room, etc.)
• Furnishings
• Local amenities (supermarkets, restaurants, schools, etc.)

By deciding what type of home and neighbourhood you want, procuring listings carefully, and eliminating any that don’t meet what you need, you will shorten your list of properties to view to a reasonable number.

2. Viewing

Contact real estate agents and set up viewings for the homes you have shortlisted in the above step. If the projects are still in development you may be visiting the show homes. In any case, this is the time to have a good long look at your prospective house to shorten your list even further. Many house buyers don’t bother too much with this step and sign off on a mortgage without viewing everything properly or looking around at what is on the market. ThisisMoney estimates that buyers only spend a total of half an hour before settling on a decision of which home to buy. Houses are such a large investment and intended as the place you want to live permanently so it is unwise to spend such a short amount of time on such an important decision.

Don’t be tempted to snap up a competitive property for fear you will miss out on it. Instead, take your time on viewings to look into every nook and cranny of the house, investigate the neighbourhood, talk with local residents, and enquire with the seller. It is best to visit the property you are considering a few times before you commit to signing the papers so that you won’t be regretting your decision a few years down the road.

3. Moving

This is the most stressful part of the house buying process but this stress can be eliminated with careful planning and organization. Make up a list of everything that needs to be done and spread it across the weeks or months you have before moving to ensure that nothing is left to the last minute.

Even if you are moving into a brand new property that hasn’t been used before and which has been inspected fully, it is best to clean it up before moving as a layer of dust might have built up while it was sitting empty. Careless builders might have also left residue behind and failed to clean it up. It is much easier to do this cleaning while the house is still empty, without having to navigate around furniture and boxes.

It is also recommended to have the property inspected, even if this was provided by the real estate agent, to check for any issues which weren’t noticed before. It is rare that they will occur but failure to spot them can be costly.

Finally, ensure that services such as water, electricity, gas, and internet connection have all been set up before your moving day. Start calling these service providers as soon as you know your moving date so that you can ensure you will have them on the day. If you are using your current providers than arrange to have your services transferred to your new address. Keep the names and numbers of all of these companies on hand on your moving day as well in case you have to call them with an emergency.

There are numerous sites online which can offer useful tips on packing up and decluttering for your move. RealSimple has a simplified guide, which boils down to using the right packing materials, packing boxes correctly, and taking extra care with valuable or fragile items. If you really don’t have the time, you can even hire private companies to do the packing for you. Your moving company should be able to help as well and can sometimes provide boxes and packing tape.

One commonly recommended tip is to keep a full inventory of what you are packing in which box and labelling your boxes appropriately. This ensures that nothing is lost, all boxes go to the right place, and it is easy to find essential items such as bedding when you are in your new house.

4. After Moving

If you have followed the above tips about organizing your move correctly, then you shouldn’t have too much trouble in your new home after your move.

Deciding how you want to furnish your new home and where you are going to place your current furniture before you move in will save you a lot of time and hassle. You could even ask for a floor plan to map it out yourself.

Moving into a brand new place may seem like an easier and more stress free option than moving into an older one, but there are still many considerations to be made. The advantage is that your home will be a blank canvas that you can do whatever you want with, which is worth any hassle it may involve. By using the above tips and being organized and careful, you can find and furnish a brand new home which is perfect for you and your family.