When choosing a new home, it’s important to take your future into consideration.
Perhaps the most important thing to take into consideration when purchasing a home is your future there. It’s so easy to get caught up in the marketing and finance of it all, but the truth is that you have to live there – presumably long-term – so taking your ultimate happiness into consideration is critical to your ultimate success.
Location, Location, Location
This point can’t be stressed enough: make sure you choose a location that you’re truly going to be happy. If you’re a country kid who enjoys the outdoors and grew up on double-digit acreage, you probably won’t love living in a subdivision or a busy downtown condo, no matter how beautiful the interior. If you love a walkable neighborhood and thrive in a social and convenient setting, a farmhouse with character won’t change that. Finding your perfect fit in a neighborhood is just as important as finding a home that you can fall in love with.
Don’t Forget the Building Plans
When purchasing a home, typically building plans for the original structure are still on file if you look in the right place. Your Realtor® should be able to help you locate these plans easily when you ask for them. You may learn a lot about your new potential property by looking at these plans – from understanding where you might be able to easily add a bathroom based on current plumbing to understanding where your load bearing walls are. If you’re hoping to make updates and renovations after buying your home, these plans can tell you whether your dreams are doable – and at what cost.
Read HOA Documents
Understanding what you’re getting yourself into with your potential future homeowner’s association can be a critical piece of understanding the future development plans of your home. If you want to erect an addition or an outbuilding, who do you need to ask permission from? What added costs will be applied to your other bills for the convenience of having a homeowners association? These questions and more are answered in the HOA documentation.
Before you choose your perfect home, be sure to take your future plans for yourself and your home into consideration. Ask your Realtor® what other factors may affect your plans in each home that you’re considering.