When most people purchase a home, they are under the impression that bigger is better. The more bathrooms, bedrooms, and square footage they can acquire, the happier they will be. That’s not always true. In fact, spending too much on a property can be a burden.
What To Consider When House Hunting
When looking for where to invest your money, you’ll need to consider several factors before making a decision. Buying a house requires a lot of planning and foresight. Otherwise, you might wind up making some costly mistakes.
Personal Financial Outlook
The first thing you’ll want to consider is your personal financial outlook. Think about how your finances will evolve, and whether you will have enough money going forward to pay the mortgage. Remember, the amount you earn is likely to rise in the future as your mortgage payments fall.
The median price per square foot of a house on today’s market is $184. Therefore, if you buy a bigger house, you’ll have to put more money down. When looking for a new house, always look for what you can afford. Always consider the capital cost of the deposit, too. That is, how much money could you have made if you invested the funds in, say, stocks instead?
Family Size
You’ll also need to consider the size of your family. How many people do you intend to live within your home in the future?
If you plan on keeping your family the same size, then you won’t need to plan for growth. However, if you want more children in the future, extra bedrooms and bathrooms are essential. You might also want to have a multi-generational family. Your father and mother, for instance, could come and live with you. Again, you’ll need more space.
Home Design
The design of villas is often dramatically different from conventional homes. Therefore, the layout is important. Think about the shape of the property you want to live in, and the way it feels, as part of its overall size. It’s not just the square footage that matters, but also how you use it.
For example, you might have a couple of four-bedroom properties in mind. The first might allocate more space to bedrooms, while the second shifts in favor of bathrooms. It’s essentially up to you which allocation of space is more important.
Storage Space Needs
You’ll also want to think about how much storage space your family needs. If you’re quite minimalist, you need to consider this at all. However, if you’re the sort of person who never has enough space for everything, you may need an attic, garden shed, garage, cupboard under the stairs, and plenty of kitchen cabinets.
Conclusion
The factors that contribute to working out how much you should spend on a property are considerable. You need to think about:
- How many bedrooms do you need
- How many bathrooms do you need
- Whether you need a master bedroom or bathroom
- How large your living room needs to be
It’s a good idea to write down your minimum requirements and then find the most affordable property that fulfills all of them.