There are few decisions in life that are as difficult as buying a new house – and few decisions that are more important. Here are some questions that you may need to ask yourself so you can find the perfect home.

What Do You Need From Your New Home?

First and foremost, you should ask yourself what exactly you needfrom your new home. This list should be things that are not negotiable – for instance, you need enough bedrooms for all your kids, maybe you need a guestroom for when your parents come to stay, you need to stay near the school that your kids love, you need to have space for a home office when you work from home. You may need to be near work but you may be concerned as you think you need to have a big suburban house. If that’s the case, check out townhouse design so you can see that you can actually get a lot of space for your money even in the city.

What Do You Want From Your New Home?

Next, you should ask yourself what exactly you want from your new home. It’s very easy to get your wants mixed up with your needs. Maybe you think you need a big back yard for your dog, but you’ll actually be fine with a mid-sized back garden if there’s a good dog park nearby. Maybe you think you need a double garage for two cars, but if there’s ample driveway space that won’t be necessary. Maybe you think you need certain things from your new kitchen, but you’re also willing to build a new kitchen, so those things maybe aren’t completely necessary to have on the day you move in.

What Will Prevent You From Buying A New Home?

You should also consider what aspects of a house are dealbreakers for you, so that you can rule out houses quickly and make relatively fast decisions. It’s definitely impossible to find a house that’s entirely perfect, but at the same time you shouldn’t have to live with a home that you don’t actually particularly like and that has a lot of dealbreakers that you don’t want to live with. Just remember that a lot of things are fixable – if you want a big utility room, you can build one. If you want an extra big guest room, you can convert the basement. Things are often changeable and this will depend on what exactly your budget is.

What About Work?

Remember that you need to consider your job and the job that your partner has when it comes to buying a house, for many reasons. First, an extra long commute will lessen the day to day enjoyment of life, so you need to prioritise. Maybe a smaller home closer to the office is better than a bigger home further out in the suburbs, for the extra time that you get to spend together as a family. If you take public transport to work, remember that you need to be placed near a transport hub – if you can walk, that’s great. An extra bus ride or car trip every day can be costly both in time and money. Finally, consider whether or not you can work at home, and how the layout of your house works for that. For example, if you work at home but you also have a childminder looking after your kids in the house at the same time, an open plan office may not work for you because your kids may not settle and might interrupt you frequently.

What About The Area?

Of course, everyone checks the crime rates of whatever area they are considering moving to. If you need to walk home from the metro at night, of course you need to check that it’s a safe area and that you aren’t likely to get mugged or feel threatened on your way home. It’s also important to know whether or not there are a lot of break-ins in the area – if so, you may need to get a dog or beef up your home security system. But aside from safety, you need to check out the area for other reasons. Will your kids be close to their friends, or will you spend hours driving to different kids’ birthday parties at the weekend? Will you be able to walk to the store to pick up milk, or is it a long and inconvenient drive? Will you be able to stay in touch with your families easily? Is there a gym or a pool so you can keep up with regular exercise?

 

There are a lot of decisions you need to make when it comes to getting a new home, but these ideas should help you find the best new place for you.

 

*Collaborative post