Buying a home is commonly classed as one of the more stressful experiences in life. It's important that, before you start the process of buying a home, you acknowledge that you're most-likley going to hit bumps along the way.  
Here are some of the areas you may need to consider: -

Focus on the end-goal Before you start anything, make sure that you are very clear about what you are trying to achieve – build a mental picture of your new home, it’s features and benefits.  When you start to look for a new home, and get the odd hiccup, it’s easy to lose sight of what you’re striving for – keep the focus on the end-goal.

Don’t rush Especially when you start to look at houses on the market. It’s really easy to fall in love with the first thing you see. Make sure that you’ve had a good look at the alternatives before you set the buying wheels in motion.

Don’t get despondent! The other end of the spectrum is that you’ve just spent a whole weekend looking at properties on the market and can’t find anything you like - You’ve done your research, set your budget limits, you’re fully prepared, you know exactly what you want ….. but it’s just not out there. This is not uncommon. The point is that new homes appear on the market on a daily basis – You need to understand this, and have the tools and contacts lined up that ensure you’re notified as soon as they appear (more on this later).

At In Conjunction Real Estate we will actively go looking for properties that meet your needs if what you want isn’t out there yet.

Have a contingency budget Make sure you have money set aside for the financial issues that can crop up unexpectedly!

You may have made an offer, exchanged contracts, and then during the "cooling off" period as a result of a routine building inspection you find that the home has major structural problems. You decide to pull out forfeiting 0.25% of the purchase price as well as the cost of the building inspection.

You forgot to budget for the costs of mortgage insurance. 

Having a contingency budget set aside helps cope with the financial hiccups.

Have a Timeline. Break up the process into a timeline that’s most likely for your situation, and try to avoid situations that force you into a quick decision. It’s hard to answer the question “how long will it take to buy my new home” as each situation needs to be assessed individually. If you have very specific needs then the search process can take many months, whereas if you are looking for a property with features that are commonly available, then the search time may be much shorter. 

Remember that ‘the team’ are all human As with most things in life, you can rarely control everything. Most buyers and sellers experience the emotional roller coaster associated with buying and selling properties. Each has their own expectations of the process and it can be a demanding time for everyone with the need to rely on agents, solicitors / conveyancers, building and pest inspectors, financial institutions and many others. So, when you’ve spent months preparing, looking for the perfect home and you have successfully negotiated a price, you now have all these other parties to rely on with their own timelines, their own motivations...  This is where your man-management skills and patience can get stretched to the limit. Be prepared for this, be clear with all parties, complete all paperwork methodically, and make sure you know what to expect from each of them.

Make time for relaxation and fun Throughout all of this - don’t let house-hunting consume you. Make sure to have time away from it – take a break, play your favourite sport or hobby, whatever it is you do for fun, keep doing it! Let life go on normally.