I’ve owned and had 4 houses and 4 different mortgages in my life. And I’m not that old yet.  It’s interesting now to look back, in a landscape of change and information overload, at how people’s approach and view on mortgages and home ownership has changed. 
 
I bet that most of you have parents who took out and held onto their old mortgage for 25 or 30 years, and expected that it would take that long to pay it off.  So their dream was that when they retired, they would finally pay off that home. 
 
How many of our 30-50yos have that same approach today – that is - one mortgage and one home for life? 
 
I’m sure if we ran a survey the numbers wouldn’t reflect the same attitude. With access to information and a competitive market, the average length of a mortgage is now just 7 years. Now, most home owners change mortgage providers every time they change homes. And the new laws allowing easier and penalty free switching have made changing mortgages and comparing different mortgages much easier than ever before.  
 
In fact, this was one of the reasons we started HomeSource … knowing that home owners – mostly themselves mortgagees – have more challenges than ever before with buying, selling, and searching for houses up to 4 or 5 times in their lives.  We do it more times than most of our grandparents did in a lifetime. 
 
And this in itself brings more stresses than we ever anticipated. 
 
Finding the time to commit is one of those stresses we don’t even consider.  The average time it takes someone to find a new home can be as little as a few weeks if you’re lucky, or months depending on the area where you’re searching, the price and how long you’ve made your wishlist. All this means committing time in a world where time is something we all need to find more of and there is never enough. 
 
It means when you find that dream home or investment property, you could be facing the horrible and common issue of ‘being guzzumped’ and missing out at auction,  resulting in more Australians than ever refusing to pay for house building inspections before they buy.  After all each building inspection could cost you $500 and that’s with all the disclaimers they usually bring.  
 
You also have that overwhelming job of finding the next mortgage, or making sure your bank supports you in your move to your new dream home!  And that means having all your paperwork in order.  
 
It also means knowing you will have unexpected costs to pay if you misjudged the house and didn’t get a building inspection before purchase or chose a dodgy builder who didn’t give a written quote they are willing to stand by. 
 
Research says that moving home is more stressful than the death of a close relative.  And we certainly agree with that which is why many people are looking to extend rather than move. And that brings with it its own set of stresses and challenges. But more on this issue in our next blog! 
 
These are all things that we help home owners and property owners with at HomeSource.   
 
For example, if you need a builder or tradesman we offer a trades finder where they are all checked for licences, insurances, workers compensation and any other requirements to their trade.  We hold all of that information online and know when it’s expiring. 
 
For home buyers our innovative Home Owner or Home Buyer Cover offers cover against failing appliances, blocked drains, broken locks, lost keys, old wiring, a damaged roof etc which are all everyday occurrences.  Getting them repaired or replaced can be time consuming, risky and have a major impact on you bank balance.  
 
We offer an alternative. With Home Buyer/Owner Cover, you have just one number to call when things go wrong, no searching for trades people that cost the earth or don't turn up. That means when you feel guilty about another building inspection you’ve failed to arrange, you can take out Home Buyer (or Owner) Cover and insure the essential elements of your newly purchased home against unexpected emergencies and appliance failures.
 

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