Purchasing a new home can be a tiring process, even for someone who has gone through it multiple times. For new home buyers this search can be even more frustrating as they come to grips with market realities that might put their dream home out of reach. It is important for any person or couple in the hunt for a new house to keep their expectations grounded and their minds somewhat flexible with regards to the homes that they are open to. For the new home buyer there are several things they can do in order to make this process as smooth as possible.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is they fail to adequately assess their wants and needs before they begin their home search. It should be pointed out here that there is a distinct difference between what a "want" is and what a "need" is. A buyer may want 2.5 baths in their new home, but that is most likely not an actual need. Needs are those things that a person or family could not live without. A "want" is something that a person would like to have in their home in order to increase their overall comfort. Clearly dividing a line between these two categories is important because the "needs" are those things that the buyers must be able to afford in the home while the "wants" are things that will increase the cost of getting into a given house.
Take for example a family of four with two adults and two older children. It is likely that this family in order to function and cooperate with one another would need to have a 3 bedroom and one bath house. This allows for the parents and each of the children to have one bedroom. In an ideal situation a 4 bedroom 2 bath house would be nice because they have an extra room to use as an office and an extra bathroom to decrease friction over the main bath.
The first house features everything that the family would need. While the second house has some add-on features that would make living more comfortable. The question that the home buyers must consider is whether or not the added cost of those extra features is affordable, and if so, worth paying for.
When thinking about these factors the buyers should not just consider the present, but also keep in mind the future. The same family described above could ultimately decide that the larger 4 bedroom 2 bath house was in fact something that they need if they were planning on having another child or running a business from a home office.
The search for a new home is almost always a compromise between these competing desires. The buyers may want both an extra bedroom and extra bath, but find that they can only afford one of those additions. To make this type of decision easier it is a good idea to rank the "wants" by order of importance. Taking the time to do this will save both the home buyers and their real estate agent a tremendous amount of time in not looking at homes that would be out of reach.
Another compromise the buyers need to be willing to make with regards to a new home is with the location. Being able to walk to work, a nice park, or some other desirable location might be ideal, but if a willingness to drive a scant 20 minutes to reach those places knocks $100,000 off the price tag of the house, the buyers need to seriously consider how much the shorter walkable commute is worth to them.
Having these types of conversations prior to the house search will save the couple a tremendous amount of time and cut back on arguments. It can help to avoid the unfortunate scenario where one person falls in love with a house and the other finds that it falls short of their expectations. Ultimately the search for a new home is not something t
hat should be rushed into. It needs to be approached with a great deal of patience and consideration. Home buyers will always be happier in the long run when they let rational though rule their decision making process, rather than runaway emotions.
For any other questions regarding your home purchase, contact us at Real Estate Waco Texas Trusts.
