How to Find Your Dream Home: Separating Your Needs and Wants

Many people get extremely excited when they consider finding their dream home and this can mean that they can become unrealistic about the features that they want. At times this can simply lead to them feeling a little disappointed when they purchase a more realistic home, and at other times it can lead to them overextending themselves on a home that they can’t truly afford. Before actually going into the market to buy a new home a potential home buyer should make sure that they know the difference between what they want and what they need.

Make a List

The first thing a future homeowner should do is make a list of the things that they would desire or need in a home. This list should be comprehensive and include absolutely everything that they have ever thought of wanting. After they have created this list they should study the list and cross out anything that they know they could live happily without. The remaining list will be the items that the home buyer truly needs and cannot compromise on. This list should be relatively short.

Consider the Costs

Once the home buyer has a list of the things that they absolutely need in a house they should research the base price for installing these items themselves. This will come in handy later on in the process. Once the buyer starts seeing homes they may find homes that are inexpensive but lacking one key component. If the price of installing that key component is trivial or the amount in total would still be less than the price of the next best house then it may be possible to purchase an inexpensive home, remodel it and still end up with a dream home.

Look at Alternatives

If a home buyer has been looking but still can’t find a dream home within their price range they may need to select an item to compromise on such as the location of the home. Expanding the search parameters can greatly increase the amount of properties that could match the home buyer’s specifications. While it is not an ideal situation, sometimes compromises do have to be made.

Learn When to Wait

Buying a home is a serious commitment and it should not be taken lightly. If a home buyer truly feels that they have not found a property that they like or that they would enjoy owning then they should wait until they find the property that they like rather than jumping into the market. To do otherwise will often just set the home buyer up to be unhappy until they eventually end up moving regardless. Finding the right piece of real estate can take a lot of time and research which means that a prospective home buyer needs to be patient.