Trying to find your perfect home? Five most important things to keep in mind
When you are investing your savings and emotions in buying a home, no wonder you want it to be perfect – for you as well as your family. But “what does a perfect home look like” is a question that no one seems to have an answer to.
The reality is the definition of a perfect home is subjective. A two-bedroom condo will fit this definition for some, while for others; it will be a bungalow somewhere on a quiet beach.
Most homebuyers can’t decide which type of a home they should buy. Well, it depends on a variety of things which we will talk about in this blog post:
Knowing the difference between must-have and nice-to-have
You may be dreaming of a home with a large swimming pool and your own golf course in the background, but will it be a perfect home for you given your budget and lifestyle. If you are a single working mom, will you be able to maintain a big house (even if you can afford it)?
Before you hit the market looking for a home, you should make a list of all the must-haves and nice-to-haves. While your perfect home will have must-have features, which nice-to-have features, it should have, will depend on your budget and lifestyle.
Will you be able to remodel it?
You can find bargain deals if you are willing to buy properties ‘as-is’. Two of the most important things about a building are its foundation and floor plan. If you find a home that has a perfect floor plan (number of bedrooms, bathrooms and their size) and don’t have any structural defects, you can buy it and later do some cosmetic changes to make it perfect for you.
Think about the potential of the house. Would painting and new wood floors turn it into your dream house? How about a kitchen or bathroom remodel? There are many easy fix-ups such as adding new light fixtures and painting that can turn your house into the perfect home.
Location
‘Location! Location! Location!’ – this is one of the most popular phrases in the real estate world and with good reason. A perfect house is not all about its exterior and interior features. You have to also take into account the neighborhood and community you are buying into. You should buy in a good school district and low crime rate area. It should be an established community and have all necessary amenities like parks.
Do you due diligence
Even if a house looks perfect at first glance, don’t rely on your gut feelings and take decisions in a hurry. Have a professional home inspection performed to know if there are any structural defects with the property. You or your agent should also perform a comperative market analysis (CMA). It is a study of comparable homes (similar size, location and condition ) that were sold in your target neighborhood recently.
Return on investment
Buying a home is a major investment, so you should buy in an area that promises good return on your investment if you had to sell the property in the future due to special circumstances like marriage, divorce or job change. Find out how the market was affected by the 2007-08 housing crisis and how well it has recovered from its remefications. Familiarize youself with basic investment metrics like cap rate and find out the rate of price growth. The rate of job growth and population are also some of the indicators that can help you determine the potential of an area’s development in the future.
Conclusion
The most important thing to keep in mind is that when you walk into the home, you should be able to picture you and your family living there comfortably. And always remember most houses aren’t perfect to begin with. So you should have reasonable expectations.