Finding your dream home sounds like it should be easy; find a home, put an offer in and then move in. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to it and you’ll need to invest some serious time to find the perfect home for you and your family that’s in the right location.
We’ve put some tips together on how to help with finding your dream home below, but we’d love to hear some of yours too!
Sort your priorities
The first thing to do is think about what you actually need and want. What kind of home is right for you? Does it have the potential to grow and house your, possibly growing, family? How many rooms? Is there a garden? Where is it? Are there good transport links? These are just some of the questions you should ask and those answers will start an important list.
Are you looking to move in straight away or do you want to renovate and decorate first? This will also have an impact on your decision.
Work with estate agents
Estate agents are full of valuable knowledge and information. This means you should aim to get them on your side. Get to know them, consider bringing a coffee or hot drink when you go to a viewing. Find out about their interests and what they know of the local area.
Once you’ve built that relationship, you can use it to help uncover more about the properties you’re considering, get their thoughts on the sellers and what they’re looking for and much more. Most importantly, though, don’t see them as resources but as people. Treat them well and you’ll get the same back. Trust us.
Stick to your budget
Once you start looking, you’ll see houses of all shapes and sizes in every location possible – even some you didn’t know existed! It’s very easy to be taken in by pictures of gorgeous cottages, loving conversions and massive gardens – but they might be out of your price range.
While you may have the ability to go above your budget, that will have ramifications on everything else in your life. Is an extra room worth it if it’s an excess? This is something you’ll need to measure but once you have a budget, stick to it. You’ll learn what’s available to you in various areas through online research and estate agents.
Do some research
This is crucial. Research online some areas you’d like to live in, the houses available and what the price range is. Look for road works around the area, any severe weather issues that have affect the properties and local facilities. Confirm this with your estate agents. This is all due diligence and makes sure you won’t waste any time with any that don’t meet your needs.
The area is just as important as the house and speaking to potential neighbours and locals will help you build an idea and feeling of the community too.
Trust your instincts
Ask all your questions, take pictures and engage the neighbours all you want but human feeling has as much a part to play in this process as anything else. You might see a house that ticks all the boxes but doesn’t feel right.
That’s okay! Go and see it again, maybe at another time of day, to see if it makes a difference. If not, move on to another. There’s no point pushing forward if you won’t feel comfortable once you move in.
Don’t give up
If everything goes your way, it might only take you a couple of weeks to find the perfect house. Then you’ll go through the rest of the process to make sure you get it all wrapped up so you can move in. The excitement when you find it is impossible to describe – you’ll know when it’s the one.
For others, it will take some time. Don’t jump for the first one that appears but make sure it ticks all the boxes and has all the potential you need for the future. Don’t be afraid to step back and take the time to wait for the dream house to appear because it will down the line, and if you opt for another house and see the perfect one later, it will mean trouble for all involved.
Celebrate!
Once everything is said, done, signed and moved, you can relax and celebrate! It takes time and patience to get to this stage but that feeling is worth it when you know you’ve found your dream home. Before you get to work unpacking, decorating and getting things sorted, maybe it’s a good time to sit down with a glass of bubbly to mark this momentous occasion!
What do you do to find your dream home? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
