Love at first sight. This is something many potential buyers experience when seeing a home they absolutely love. However, they forget to take a variety of things into consideration. The kitchen may be the best one you have ever seen in your life, but is it practical for your family? Consider the following brief checklist before falling in love with your next house.
- Size and Storage – Keep in mind the size of your family. Are you a single person who will have the entire house to yourself? Or, do you have a large family? When considering a home the first thing you need to decide is if every family member, including pets, will fit comfortably in the home. You will also want to consider storage and closet options. They need to be large enough to store your belongings, or there needs to be an area within a room or somewhere in the house where storage furniture can be added.
- The Neighborhood – You live a specific lifestyle, your new house has to fit your personality and your family’s needs. This means the neighborhood has to be safe enough to walk your dog every day, the schools need to be up to your standards and suit your children’s learning skills, a grocery store and gas station need to be located at a specific distance, plus any other needs you require to live your life comfortably.
- Renovation Potential – You and your family may agree a specific house is absolutely perfect with the exception of one or two things. Perhaps the kitchen needs remodeling or the backyard needs to have the pool repaired. Keep in mind renovations are possible. However, they will need to fit into your budget and be suitable for the home. If you plan to install a state of the art kitchen that will make the rest of the house look less than appealing compared to the remodel, you may want to scale down the remodel to fit into the overall look of the house. Otherwise, you can end up remodeling the entire house room by room and going over budget.
Choosing the right house takes time. While it is easy to fall in love with the first house you see and get the buying process over as quickly as possible, you want to consider your long-term happiness as well. This means, even if you truly want the first house you see, still take a look at a few others. You may be surprised and choose another house and neighborhood than your original choice.
Brandon Alvarez is a Miami based realtor serving the South Florida market and is passionate about making sure that your dream home acquisition becomes a reality. He can be reached at 305-926-1335 or via email at ba@welcometomiami.us.
