Have you ever searched houses for sale or rent? If your answer is “yes”, you probably know that buying or renting a house for the first time can be challenging. You don’t have enough experience and you don’t know which criteria to use when choosing your first home. Here we offer several tips to help newbies to make the right choice.
Pragmatism and Intuition
Buying or renting a home is not just a routine decision because you will spend a lot of time there. Therefore, making the right choice will require all your concentration possible. Basically, you have to combine your pragmatism and intuition to succeed. There are millions of houses to rent or buy, but only one will become your future home.
Tip 1: Price
First, you need to identify your budget. This can be your monthly mortgage payment or rent, but you should know your financial limits. So, before starting to imagine you shopping for a new curtain in the ikea storage, get back to the basics. Ask your relatives and friends, make an internet research or call to a real estate agency. When you decide about your maximum price, you should contact your lender or mortgage agent to get to know whether you can buy or rent a house at this price. This way, you can ensure you can afford a home you liked. Now you can start to search for the house that fits your expectations and budget. Houses in suburbs are usually cheaper than those in the downtown area. Don’t forget to allocate some money for moving and closing costs. Also, additional costs may be required for renovations.
Tip 2: Location
The location of your house is very important. All cities, districts and streets are different. Also, people’s needs vary. For example, a student and a family with two kids will have different needs. A student needs to rent a house near the university. Also, they will probably prefer to have a pub or cafe near home to be able to communicate with friends. On the contrary, a family with 2 kids will probably need a public school and a supermarket in the neighbourhood. Similarly, other characteristics of the location you consider for living like a park, a crime rate, and availability of public transportation, a sports club or pool can be essential. Make a list of the facilities and characteristics you would prefer to have within walking distance of your future house and then start your search using these criteria.
Tip 3: Type of Houses
Once you decided on the location, you need to make another important decision about the type of your house. This can be:
It depends on your needs and preferences which of them to choose. If you like to grow plants and flowers, you will probably choose a house with a large backyard, a green lawn, and trees. A large house with a garden is a good choice for a family with kids. A condo is a good option for students: some space to live with minimum cleaning. Think about what you would like to see in your house and near it because often we don’t realize what we really need. This will help you make the right choice. Write down your desires and requests on a sheet of paper to avoid forgetting.
Tip 4: Technical Characteristics
Technical characteristics of the house are also very important. You will not like to face your grown-up children in a one-bedroom home when you need some personal space. Also, your 15-year old daughter and 12-year old son may not probably like to share one bedroom. According to buy cheap coursework writing, personal space is very important for people.
Bedrooms
So, think about how much space each of your family members will need. You may wish to have one bedroom for two boys or two bedrooms for children of different genders or an additional bedroom for guests. Also, you may consider an opportunity to convert technical rooms into a playroom for children or a guest room. Two children of the same or near the same age of the same gender may wish to have a large shared bedroom rather than two small separated bedrooms. You need to consider all these factors before making a purchasing decision.
Bathrooms
One or two? Inside the house or in the basement? Bathtub or shower? Maybe you would like to have a bathroom for guests or an accessible bathroom on the basement floor. Think how it will be in the morning when all family members will prepare themselves for school and work.
Kitchen
People are different: you may like to cook or prefer to dine out. This will make an impact on the decision about your future kitchen. If you’re a well-known chief within your family, you will prefer to have a large kitchen with a lot of space for storing crockery. Those who like to dine out will not probably need all this stuff. It’s also important if you used to dine in the kitchen or in the dining room. This will influence your choice as well. Pay attention to the quality of kitchen appliances like oven, fridge, stove and dishwashing machine. If these appliances are outdated, you will need to renew them. So, some additional money will be needed.
Dining Room
Dining rooms in houses are often combined with kitchens. It’s comfortable because of availability of additional space to receive guests. In addition, you can convert your dining room into a living room if you need.
Parking
Parking space is essential if you have a car. Check the availability of parking space on the street near the house, garage, or driveway. More storage space is needed for those families having several cars. What if you have guests? Can they park their cars near your home once you get together one day? A garage or a driveway makes the process of bringing food and other things inside of a house easier. A driveway will help you to keep small children away from cars as they tend to run on the road.
Energy Efficiency
You will save a lot of money and prevent environmental damage if your house will be energy-efficient. A house equipped with a great number of windows looks spacious. Also, you save on electricity because of having enough natural light. Insulation is also important to save on electricity and gas bills. Solar panels are a wonderful solution for the regions with abundant sunlight during the year.
Tip 5: Follow Your Intuition
Be attentive to the reactions of your body and mind:
It’s very important to feel comfortable at home as this will be the place where you can escape from the whole world. Therefore, your inner feelings are even more important than the technical characteristics of your future home. If you feel well there, make your documents ready!
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