Choosing a new home for you and your family can be tricky and there are lots of factors to consider. You’re looking for somewhere where you’ll all feel safe and comfortable to grow over a long time, so there can be a lot of pressure to get it right – this guide is here to help you make that important decision in a practical way.
Prioritisation
Knowing what is most important to your family will help to narrow down your options when choosing a new home. Do you need extra space? Do you work from home and require a suitable office? Have your children just started school and you need to be close by?
Ensure that you’re looking for a house that best suits all of your requirements. This in turn will help to save you money in the long run, especially if you choose to move within a short commuting distance from local amenities and schools, saving you from having to travel long distances for those essentials.
Budgeting
While the costs of your rent or mortgage, down payments and bonds are the most obvious expenses when moving house, it’s important to make sure that you factor in any work that may need doing when you first move in, however big or small this may be.
Create a savings pot for your home improvements and slowly build this up over time for when you need to make an emergency payment on a rainy day. Alternatively, you could take out an alternative to a bad credit loan to cover any small repairs that you might struggle to pay upfront.
Sometimes we can’t always pay for problems that occur on the spot, so spreading your payments across several months will offer you some peace of mind.
Think about the future
Are you planning to grow your family, get pets or have older relatives move in with you at a later date? Whatever your growth plans may be, consider this when choosing your new home.
By choosing a house that can be easily adapted to work with your future plans, this will ensure that you can stay in your forever home for as long as possible, allowing you to feel more comfortable and at ease from the very first day on which you step through the door.
Outside space
Whilst you’ll be spending most of your time inside your new house, the outdoor space is just as important, especially when the summer months come around.
Being able to invite your friends and family over for barbecues or letting your children roam free and play around in your garden is a good sign that you’re in the right home. Having the right amount of space for your family inside and outside will ensure that everyone is happy.
