Finding The Perfect Home

Of course there is no such thing as the perfect house, but is important to find the best one you possibly can.

As is often said, a house is the most expensive thing that anybody is ever likely to buy. This is just one reason why finding the best one possible is an absolutely top priority. If you make an error you not only have to live with your mistake, you have to live in it.

Cast your net wide

One of the the biggest mistakes that you can make when house hunting is to only look at too narrow an area. There are many advantages to having an open mind about location, not least of which is that looking at the wider market will give you a good feel for what are reasonable prices.

How far you are willing to commute is an important factor in selecting a property. Having to commute however should not be a deal breaker. If you can get a much better place for your money in the next town over it could be worth it. The key here is to factor in the cost of commuting into your calculations.

When you are working out the possible cost of  it is a good idea to give a cash value to the time that you would spend actually travelling (your hourly rate at work for instance). You should also bear in mind that this would be a long term arrangement and that the costs of both rail and road travel tend to increase beyond the rate of inflation.

Think family

You might not have kids, or even want to start a family in the future, but for the purposes of selecting a property you should try to think like you do. The reason for this is that having the kinds of amenities that appeal to families with children nearby can help increase the desirability and value of a property over time. Look for places that are well served for schools, parks and that kind of thing.

Of course in some areas the presence of schools can have a disproportionate impact on prices. Some parents are so desperate to get their children into a particular school that they will pay tens of thousands of pounds extra for a house that falls into the catchment area for it. If this does not affect you then you can  pay less for a house a few streets over that falls outside it!

Don't fall in love too soon

Be prepared to look at absolutely loads of different places. Don't get too carried away with the idea of living in any particular place. If you do then you can end up overlooking severe problems or paying far over the odds just because you have your heart set on it. That said it is a good idea to be able to act swiftly when the right place is found. Already having approval for a mortgage is a good way to speed up this process.

Although it can seem like searching for a needle in a haystack at times, the right property for you is out there somewhere!