House-hunting is never easy. Outside of designing a home from scratch and constructing it yourself with a near-limitless budget, there’s almost certainly going to be a compromise you need to find and accept.
That said, the compromises can often make things interesting. Much like a filmmaker only working in black and white, sometimes a little limitation can help produce great art thanks to the inspired creativity found within.
As such, house-hunting compromises don’t have to be difficult to suffer but can inspire you to live a better or more unique lifestyle. Compromises are to be found everywhere. For example, if you live more rurally, then your commute time for an inner-city job grows per mile, and it may take a longer amount of time to go out for your weekly grocery shopping.
However, while some compromises such as those outlined above are acceptable, it’s crucial to define these separately from “mistakes,” especially as they relate to house hunting. For example, investing in a fixer-upper household for less money may seem like a great deal, but unless you’re certain of the plan and vision you have for the property, then you may be stuck with a floundering project that you can’t live in for some time. This may work out to be more expensive than an offer on a fully-equipped home could have been.
In this post, then, we hope to discuss seven surefire house-hunting mistakes to avoid at all costs. We’ll also discuss how and why these mistakes might seem appealing at first, and how to judge your compatibility with situations that could turn into mistakes if you’re not careful.
Opting For A “Unique Property” Without Research
It can be highly exciting to see a unique property that may have a number of characteristics you simply couldn’t find elsewhere. For example, it may be that you notice a converted lighthouse in your local area being sold for a reasonable price, with its interior respecced to a modern standard. That said, the intense wind felt by the property, the possible land erosion, and the general upkeep of the surroundings may or may not be what you’re used to and have time to deal with given your busy schedule, and so quite quickly the realities of the property might come into effect.
Now, that doesn’t mean you have to run away from every home with some character. It’s just essential to get the full picture of what a unique building entails. For example, how is a windmill best maintained and what are its operational costs? If converting a barn, has it been inspected and given the right planning permission? If you’re on a private road, how are the neighbors, and do they mutually contribute to pay for its upkeep? Opting for a unique property without research can bind you to difficulty if you’re not careful, so make sure everything is accounted for ahead of time.
Focusing On Decors Over Structure
Decors, ultimately, is completely meaningless. Sure, it can highly a property and showcase how it might look when you live there, but odds are the space will look at least 50% different after living there for a couple of years, even if that only involves the kind of curtains, carpet, and sofa you have.
What matters most of all is the function and structure of the building. Is it structurally sound? Does your home inspection bring up any oddities? Are there any potential improvements that could be made, like removing a wall to make use of an open-plan living space?
If the prior owner perfected the interior decors, it’s easy to feel impressed by a property. But it may be that it’s not right for you given the structural necessities involved. For example, a long and thin house with many staircases could be fine for a young professional couple, but if your elderly relative is living with you, well, they might be locked off from two-thirds of the house. Decors over structure can be hard to look through given it’s what you see, but doing so is imperative.
Ignoring The Current Market
There’s never a “perfect time” to buy a home, there are better and worse times. That means that it’s essential to keep up with the market, but ultimately, you have to make a decision based on your needs and the value you’re willing to pay.
Instead of trying to buy a home by competing with the national average house price, it’s good to look at a specific area and see how the potential influences work there, as a microcosm of a larger economy. For example, with Loyal Homes, you can see the most competitive listings and also get a great idea of property values over a wider, but singular area.
Here you may also see just how much more real estate you could purchase by choosing a location a little further out from the city. Defining exactly how much distance and what areas are important to you will help you be dedicated in your location-seeking effort, as opposed to flip-flopping back and forth over too many choices. The latter, after all, can lead to decision-making paralysis, and that’s never a good time.
Trying To Game The Market Above All
Ultimately, a home selected for the optimal amount of value it could provide you is never really conducive to how a family lives and how happy they are making memories in their home.
A comfortable home in a nice area with affordable mortgage payments and an acceptable commute time is much better to seek out compared to a perfectly fabricated house at the best market value with the most impressive features.
Trying to maximize the market as if you were a stockbroker on Wall Street is hardly a fun way to house-hunt, and before long you can quite easily tire of the effort and lose the soulfulness of finding your new chapter in life.
As such, it’s okay to accept compromise and to fall in love with a property that might just stretch your budget a little, or offer slightly less than you were looking for. This is the way that deals are finally reached, and how house hunting is best enjoyed.
With this advice, you’ll be certain to avoid house-hunting mistakes at all costs.
What do you think?