Finding the Perfect Home for Your Family

When you decide that it's the right time for you and your family to finally take the plunge and buy a new home, it's important to keep a goal in mind while you're looking. Ideally, you're going to want to find a home that you and your family can reside in comfortably for quite some time; to accomplish this you need to keep in mind not only what needs your family has but also what you can afford to buy and make monthly payments on in the future.

The first thing you need to look at is what your price range is for homes. Your monthly cost will include mortgage, maintenance, taxes, strata, insurance, trash/water/sewer; ideally you want this cost to under a third of your income so that you have enough money for other expenses and savings.

The next thing that you're going to check is if the home has enough space for your family to live in. Does the home have enough bedrooms for everyone, or can you frame in a room in the unfinished bedroom for your teenager who's learning to play the drums to help accommodate? Make sure that the home has enough space to store all of your holiday decorations, your recreational vehicle(s), and your second car, if you have one. Also, make sure that the yard has enough room for things like children's play area, dog run, or a garden. Is there enough parking either in the driveway or on the street? Some areas have parking only for residents, but some areas don't have that designation and it may be difficult to park after certain times of the day.

Make sure that your house either has any specialty features that you want in a home or the space to add those features later. If one of the most important things in a home for you is space for entertaining, then make sure that your kitchen is going to serve your needs properly or has the space for you to potentially renovate it.

The health of the home that you're looking to buy is a very important factor as well. Some repairs and upgrades aren't prohibitively expensive and give you good returns when you go to sell your home; some are very costly and don't add a financial return to your investment. Talk to your real estate agent about what kinds of upgrades would give a good return on homes when you're looking at them so you can pick ones with the best potential. You may not want to get involved with a home that's had a long term roof leak and extensive water damage due to the scope of the repairs that might need to be done, but a home that needs a kitchen renovation is easier done and can provide a good return later on.

When you decide that you're going to buy a home, don't get too caught up in the excitement and just dash out and start looking; sit down with your realtor and approach the project rationally and logically. It is easy to get burnt out and exhausted while looking for a home if you're not sure exactly what your needs are so that you can easily weed out the properties that aren't right for you and your family. Do yourself a favor and take your time to make a plan to follow.