It Looks Perfect, But Is It Really The Right Home For You? 3 Questions To Ask
Posted on: 28 August 2019
As homebuyers scan through the available single-family homes for sale in their area, it can be difficult to remain fully focused on their list of must-have features. Instead, they may find themselves falling in love with a photo of a home that seems to be perfect from the marketing information provided by the listing agent.
If you find that you have fallen hard and fast for a particular listing, consider asking yourself the following three questions to make sure its the right one before you make a commitment to purchase it.
Will it be convenient for your family?
The exact definition of convenience can be different for every homebuyer. A few general points to consider might include:
- commuting time to and from work or school
- within walking distance of playgrounds or other recreational areas
- access to grocery stores, drug stores, hospitals, and other basic needs
If the home will not be convenient for your family in these or other important areas, then it may not be as perfect for you as you initially believed.
Are the home's recurring costs of ownership within your budget?
It is possible to purchase a home for a great price only to find out later that you have to struggle each month to pay for associated costs that are much more than you had planned.
To avoid this, buyers must consider not only the initial cost of the home, but also the amounts they will be required to pay for real estate taxes, homeowner's insurance, utilities, updates, routine maintenance, and big-ticket repair costs, like the HVAC system or the roof.
Before making a decision to buy, always make sure you find out as much as you can about these costs so you can make sure they will fit comfortably into your after-purchase housing budget.
Does the home offer resale potential?
Most families move several times during their lives, so resale value is always a smart consideration when buying a home. One way to help get a good idea about the potential resale value is to speak with a trusted real estate professional about past and future real estate market trends for the area and any planned changes to the community that could affect property values in either a positive or negative manner.
Your real estate agent can also provide you with a list of recent single-family home listings and sales in the immediate area that will help you to see where the home ranks and if there is room for growth in value in the future.
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