If you’re chasing your dream of owning a property, there are important questions you should ask yourself to prepare for what’s to come. While we touch on finances throughout this article here, we wanted to ask some bigger picture questions so you understand where you are in your journey.

“Do I feel obligated to buy a home?”

We’ve all heard about the Great Australian Dream. We’ve probably all dreamt about it, having a spacious home, enough bedrooms to have a spare, a few bathrooms and a nice backyard for the kids to play in. Financially, we’re told that this dream will tick both boxes when it comes to stability and security to help set us up for the rest of our lives.

It’s a concept that has been drilled into many of us from a young age, and it’s been around for decades. I can tell you that a variation of this dream still lives within me, and it might be your dream too.

However, what if this dream doesn’t resonate with you? It’s good to know whether buying a home is something you really want for yourself, or whether it’s something you feel like you have to do.

Buying a home is a huge commitment, where priorities, lifestyle and goals may need to change drastically to save as much as possible. With such important changes to make, it’s important to realise if this journey feels like an obligation.

“Can I *really* afford it?”

Again, there is a significant financial aspect to knowing whether homeownership is for you. But, what’s equally important is to understand the changes it could make to your lifestyle.

Budgeting is incredibly helpful and I’m sure you’ve heard the whole ‘you need to create a budget’ as a financial tip for some time now. Really, budgeting gives you an overall picture of how well you can handle your money – and this is important with regards to your lifestyle.

Mortgage repayments are just the beginning, where homeownership costs can come in many forms. Be realistic with what you can afford to not stretch yourself too thin, to help eliminate stress and ensure you don’t end up living in a way you’re not enjoying.

“Do I know the whole picture?”

The costs can really depend on which state you’re looking to buy in and it includes more than just the deposit itself.

You’ll need to factor in the stamp duty costs, legal and conveyancing fees, application fees and more. If you’d like an in depth breakdown of these costs, check out our article ‘Hidden costs of buying a home’.

This may mean you’ll need to buckle down and save for a bit longer, or it may be time to explore other options on how to enter the property market.

“Where do I want to live?”

If you close your eyes and picture where you’d ideally like to live, is the area affordable for you? Or are you happy with living a little further away to ensure it fits into your budget nicely?

These are important questions to ask yourself, as you can change just about anything with regards to your place – apart from the location.

It may also change your lifestyle, for example, the commute being longer than you wanted and your work day has increased by a few hours.

When you’re looking for that perfect place, it can be an exhausting process – especially if you want it to meet all of your expectations. Read our article ‘What to do when you can’t buy a home where you want to’ for some ideas on what to do if you find yourself in this situation.

Whatever you end up deciding for yourself, it’s important to know the reasons behind why you’re doing what you are. Buying a home is a commitment and it’s a rewarding experience – just make sure it’s a good fit for you!

There are plenty of variations when it comes to your living situation, whether renting is a good fit, rentvesting, buying an investment property first and just staying home for a little longer.