If you’re preparing to buy your first family home, this might be the single most important purchase you’ll ever have to make. It’s probably one you have waited to make your whole life too. This is a very exciting moment, but you can’t let excitement affect your judgment. You will have to take your time and look at more than a home’s aesthetics when choosing one. There might be details you didn’t think about that could affect which house(s) you should consider. Let’s take a look at a few things you need to do to find the perfect family home.
Identify Your Needs
Before you look at properties, you need to know what you’re looking for. You have to identify things that absolutely need to be there. How many rooms should the house have? Does it need to have an attic, and should it be converted or not? How big does the backyard need to be and what kind of landscape should it have? How big is the kitchen? Are you fine with one bathroom or do you need to have two?
Next, you can start looking at things that would be nice but aren’t absolutely necessary. These could be special rooms like a game room or a cellar, a pool or a patio area, special features in the bathroom or kitchen, possibilities to expand, etc. Once you have everything lined up, you can officially start your search.
Where Do You Want to Live?
Next, you’ll need to look at where you want the property to be. If you’re not completely satisfied with where you live and don’t feel like it’s the best place for families, or if you feel like family homes are out of your reach there, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to think about relocating.
There are so many great places in the country that beg to be discovered and that could be perfect for your family. You don’t need to relocate to the other side of the country either. If you live in a major market either on the east coast, the west coast, the south, or the Midwest, we can guarantee you that you could easily find better deals and better locations by looking at nearby states.
If you live in the south, for instance, places like North Carolina are one of the absolute best places in the country, not only to raise a family, but for cheap properties. There are tons of great properties for families there right now, and the prices are very reasonable. The state is also full of natural beauty, has tons of quaint little towns with a great sense of community, and has a fairly low crime rate compared to other states in the area.
If you want to know more about North Carolina real estate, visit EZ Home Search. Their blog is curated by their real estate agents and it will tell you everything you need to know if you’re looking for homes for sale in North Carolina. You can also use their directory of over 1899 South Carolina and North Carolina properties to find some hidden gems.
Nearby Amenities
When looking at the location, you also need to check what kind of amenities there are nearby. If you are thinking of sending your children to public school, then you need to know how good the schools are in the area. You also have to know how close they are to your home.
Other things you have to look for include healthcare facilities, access to public transit, shopping and entertainment, and parks. You should also get to know if the place was made mainly for cars or if it’s cyclist/pedestrian friendly.
Neighborhood Atmosphere
You should never buy a family home before you’ve got a sense of what the neighborhood is truly like. So, we would suggest that you drive or walk around the neighborhood for a few hours and try to speak with some of the people who live there. We also suggest that you go there at least once in the evening. Some neighborhoods may look safe during the day but be very dangerous after dark, so this is something you’ll need to be careful with.
Alone or with Tenants?
A lot of people think about single-family units when buying a home, but what about multi-family units? You could start with a multi-family home and get your tenants to help you build equity. You could even consider finding a lot in a nice area and developing on it.
If you’re looking for properties in a smaller town, you should have no trouble finding cheap land in a desirable area that you could develop. So, consider all options instead of going for the dream single-family picket fence home as many of these would be much wiser as first investments.
This is all you need to look for when looking for a family home. Take the time to look at multiple options and look at any property and its location in depth before you consider buying.
