Choosing Your Next Home

When the time comes to consider moving, you may be surprised to learn how many options are available. Choosing a home that will be best for you now, and to determine how it will serve you best in the future will be an important task. With today's housing market catering to so many different personal, professional and family needs, you'll want to conduct an evaluation of your major choices before starting your specific home search. Draw up a list of all your options (such as those listed below), then note the pros and cons of each choice relative to your own needs. With those results you can begin a more efficient search.

Location
This is an essential priority, one way or another, because we are usually compelled to live within a specific geographic region in order to be accessible to work, close to family, or invested in a preferred area. Experts advise us to buy into the most desirable area affordable, but there could be obvious personal cost attached, so some compromise is inevitable. Nonetheless, when you decide you want to more, the location will be the single most important deciding factor, either because of the market, the neighbourhood, or the specific site. Whenever evaluating a location, try to be open minded and objective.

Layout and Lifestyle
Think of the way you live now, and how that will likely change in the future. Try to anticipate how evolving schedules could affect your home's traffic flow, and how lifestyle changes could require major improvements. For example, think of a family you know with babies or teenagers, or one whose children have moved out. If you review such factors before you make your move, you can save money now and in the future. Also, you should always evaluate a property's resale potential, regardless of how long you want to live there.

Resale Homes
With a resale home, you don't need a great deal of faith or imagination to envision how it will suit you. Plus, once you have had a home inspection, there will be little or no uncertainty about what you're buying. Essentially, you're getting an established home in an established neighbourhood or community. When you need to make changes, you can choose your own preferred upgrades and improvements that meet your own budget and style.

New Construction
Model suites always look fabulous, and chances are you will like most of the options a builder offers. However, be mindful that you are buying an unfinished product, so it will take a leap of faith to measure what you gain from a new versus resale home. Also, bear in mind that purchasing a newly built home has unique financial obligations, such as upgrades which must be paid in advance and variable closing dates due to delayed materials or labour interruptions. Even if you're prepared for such possibilities and you're sure the builder is reputable, legal advice from a lawyer or firm with previous experience in new home purchases is essential before you sign.

Types of Homes
Rather than eliminate homes of a specific type, shoes from the widest possible range of homes capable if meeting your needs. With so many well designed and renovated property types on the market today, you could find yourself in a dream home you otherwise would not have imagined.

Condominiums originally appealed only to a minority, but the list of interested buyers has grown considerably. Condos often offer both the desirable location, and multiple amenities that appeal to a wide ranger of buyers, in both urban and suburban areas, When considering a condo, compare as many buildings and units as you can, and be sure to ask yourself the following questions: Will the building be managed wisely? Am I protected from unreasonable fee hikes? Will I utilize the services and comforts I pay for? Will another building block my view one day?

Townhouses may be the great compromise between a low maintenance, enclosed community home like a condo, and a single family home with property, like a semi-detached house. One way you can get the best of both worlds is to look for a townhouse end unit, which while similar to a semi-detached house, will likely be more affordable.

Semi-detached homes have often been considered a "stepping stone" up in price from a condo or townhouse, or down from a detached homes. However, many semis offer as much house as most detached homes, at a considerably lower cost.

Detached homes are still considered the most preferred home, because theyr offer more privacy inside (die to freestanding walls), and outside (due to the provision of "buffer" space between neighbours). They also tend to have more expandable space, because they have more exterior walls. Interestingly, detached homes are becoming a less likely choice for a homeowners' last purchase, now that there are other options for various stages in life. Just ask any single parent, empty-nester or retiree.

In Real Estate, compromise is not a negative, but a working reality. Even if you think you are certain about your choices, many things can affect your decision, including pricing and pre-arranged financing. Ultimately, it's all about adjusting some of your preferences in order to maintain the highest priorities, and attain the highest value. With planning and assistance, you can accomplish more than your original expectations. So if you start your checklist now, you'll be ready for the right opportunity as soon as it becomes available.

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