By Nur Adilah adilah@mystar.com.my

There are many homebuyer’s guides that are easily accessible through numerous property online portals or agents, all offering similar information. 

But how effective are these guides to first-time homebuyers? As a novice in home buying affairs, referring to guides is necessary for sorting out priorities before purchasing a home, such as financing, incentives offered by property developers and amenities preferred in a housing area.

Property portals are created to guide and provide insights to potential homebuyers like the methods to improve the chances of loan eligibility.

While many generally say the guides do help, a chunk of potential homebuyers still seek out other sources.

For research assistant Wee Wei Joe, his preference was to seek home buying advice from his parents since they have experienced the once-in-a-lifetime process.

Other than property portals, young homebuyers may confer with parents pertaining to home purchasing matters for convenience, he said.

The 25-year-old added that he would also seek more advice from his peers or seniors. 

Wee prefers to listen to his parents’ advice.

The second question that arises from the homebuyer’s guides is whether they prove to be effective in convincing the younger generation to buy a home?

Internal auditor Kirbarupni Vasanthakumar, 29, begged to differ. She acknowledged that the guides did help but was relatively upset with some property portals which displayed inconsistent home prices. The prices displayed in some sites were different from the actual ones. 

On a positive note, insights from a variety of guides are undeniably helpful in decision-making, she concurred. 

Supplementary offers from property developers, namely rebates, discounts and no legal fees are highly favoured as it means more savings, she said.

Kirbarupni questioned the accuracy of the information provided by online portals.

For 25-year old electronic engineer Wong Jih Horng, he agreed that the offers and stimuli presented by a property agent affected his decision in purchasing a home. 

Kirbarupni, however, did not share the same sentiment since she had an unpleasant experience dealing with contradicting information from the property portals. As a result, she preferred to visit a residential property that she favoured based on the location rather than information shared by the portals.

Wong feels more convinced to buy a home after seeking guidance from a property agent.

Young homebuyers who have long-term commitments like educational and vehicle loans cannot bear the additional burden of a home loan.

“My main concern regards financing -the loan amount to be approved, the interest to be paid as well as the duration. They have to be reasonable and realistic,” Wee said.

He added that since many potential young homebuyers are in the dark about buying a property, more home expositions and seminars to educate them on this issue at the tertiary education level to create a new generation of savvy property owners.

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