When you’re house shopping and have a list of ideal home features in mind, it can be hard to give the elements of your dream home. You may need to sacrifice some of these perfect home features in competitive markets to find a house. When you’re sacrificing home qualities to accommodate the available home inventory, you may wonder if the home is really the home for you. Read on for criteria to help determine if the house you’re making an offer on is the best fit for you.
Outline housing needs vs. wants
Clearly outlining your needs and wants will help you stay focused on the features you require to live comfortably in your home versus the elements that would be nice to have but aren’t required. This may mean you can only look at five-bed, six-bath homes, but you’re flexible on the amount of acreage on which the home sits. This list will help you look at the houses that suit your needs and eliminate any second-guessing.
View the house with the future in mind
While a home may not check off the boxes to accommodate your essential needs, it’s also helpful to consider immediate housing needs and what needs you can adjust with a future renovation. For example, if the house doesn’t have a mudroom and this is an item on your must-have list, is there space to build a mudroom in the future? In addition, projects like adding walls, removing walls, or kitchen and bathroom renovations should all be considered during your home search.
Consider the upkeep
If the house you fall in love with sits on extensive acreage, has a beautiful garden, or has amenities such as a pool or tennis court, these features can be incredibly appealing. However, be honest with yourself if you have the time, motivation and resources for the upkeep. These amenities all take significant management, time and financial investments.
Factor in lifestyle
When you’re home searching, looking at houses through the lens of your aspirational lifestyle versus your actual lifestyle can happen. For example, you might find a house that is ideal for entertaining and has a spacious backyard but is farther away from the schools, transportation, the local downtown and other key destinations. However, do you entertain enough to make this distance worthwhile? Remember to keep your actual lifestyle instead of your ideal lifestyle in mind as you search.
Narrow your search parameters
While it may feel counterintuitive, narrowing your search location will help you focus on the area where you want to live. Whether these factors are based around the school district, the proximity to your place of work, the local downtown area, or public transportation, searching within your desired location will prevent you from searching too far from your desired location. In addition, staying within your ideal boundaries while you’re home searching will prevent potential regret if you buy a home outside of this area.
While it’s wise to remain flexible during the home search process, being too relaxed may result in you buying a house that doesn’t meet your ideal home criteria.
