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Learn how to make the best decision to buy your next dream house.
Before making any decision on the type of home that will be perfect for your family, it is worthwhile spending a little time considering both your short-term and long-term expectations.
There are a lot of things that you need to have in mind regard to career, family and lifestyle to determine the size of the house, how much room you’ll eventually need or the neighbourhood that will better fit you.
The first thing you need to do is list your priorities and your future plans such as having children over the next few years or if you’re an entrepreneur or work from home, office space may be required. You may not feel you need extra space at this point in your life, but you may in the near future. Do your best to anticipate any big changes over the next few years.
Bigger houses offer more bedrooms, bathrooms, living spaces, and bonus rooms like a home office, crafts room, playroom or game room but also impact a number of things including utility bills, operating costs, and even the expense of furnishings.
Smaller houses are more affordable to heat, furnish, and maintain and easier to clean but if you plan to have kids or your parents plans to move in after retirement, it will not fit in the near future.
To help you plan what is the best house for you, we list 5 things you need to think about before making your decision to buy a house.
- Family size and age
How many children do you have? How old are they? Do you plan to have more kids?
If they are babies, you might prefer to have them next to your room with easy access to the bathroom, and if they are older and going to school and college, it’s good to think about having more than one bathroom in the house.
- Accessibility
If your parents, older family members or someone with a disability live in the house, it’s very important to think about accessibility. You need to think about extra space. Take care about narrow hallways, doorways and houses with a lot of stairs and steps.
- Lifestyle
Make a list of everything you want to have in your new house. Make a list and put it by priority: Start by what is essential for your family such as the number of rooms, place to work, accessibility and all the important things that are important to you and your family to have.
At the end of this list, put what is not essential but would be a tiebreaker issue to choose the right place: barbecue space, balcony, external area or a big living room.
- Budget
This step is very important to know how much you can afford. This will help you to determine your priorities and at which points you will need to be more flexible to make it fit in your pocket.
- Neighbourhood
Your family size, family age, lifestyle and budget will determine the best neighbourhood.
- If you have children, it’s better to choose neighbourhoods with good schools, if you have parents or older family members living with you, it’s good to choose a quiet area
- Think about your family lifestyle. Do they want to play sports, walking on the street to exercise, meeting at local coffee shops, or make friends with the neighbours? You might think of what’s the best neighbourhood to fit your family needs
- What would be better: live in the city centre or in the countryside? Live near your work? Our just a cheaper neighbourhood?
List the best neighbourhood for you to make it easier to filter where to look for your future house