Working the Numbers to Find a Home for Your Budget
Finding a home is a process that requires calculated analysis and a realistic view of budget. If you’re entering the real estate market, there are a number of factors that will ultimately decide what property you settle down in. The place where you will sleep, eat and spend time with family and friends is more important than square footage or number of bedrooms. Too often, the real estate journey is weighed down by square footage rather than location or housing quality.
Below are the main reasons to try and pull yourself away from the listing attributes and focus more on you and what you want with your next living situation. After all, there won’t be a day you wake up on a Saturday morning and think to yourself, “Man, the square footage of this house is great.”
Square footage is only as good as it is practical
Bigger isn’t always better! Square footage is deceptive; when a house is listed at 2,500 square feet, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the area of the home is constructed efficiently. If a home at 3,500 sq. feet is the same price as one at 2,000 sq. feet in a different location, it doesn’t mean that the smaller one should be avoided. If this space isn’t set up in a way that each of your family members finds comfortable or if yardage is wasted due to disproportionate rooms for your needs, this difference can quickly fail as a perk.
Unless you prefer larger housing due to your family size or storage needs, don’t let the square footage narrow your search. It should be a secondary factor rather than a primary one. Some sellers hike a price an extra $10,000 or $20,000 just because it has a bit more physical area than comparable homes in the area – and at that rate, renting a storage unit quickly becomes more feasible for your needs.
Reconsidering the size of rooms vs. overall size
One of the property features that has the biggest weight in a listing price seems to be the number of bedrooms contained within. Many real estate sites where people search for properties start with price and number of bedrooms desired. However, the bedrooms in one house can be completely different from another with a similar room and square footage ratio. The size, location, shape, type, windows and other room features must be accounted for.
A home with five bedrooms isn’t necessarily more ideal for you at the same price as one with three. It depends on a number of factors like storage needs, family structure, anticipation of family growth, and whether or not you plan to stay in the property indefinitely. Some family units can benefit far more from large living spaces with small rooms, while this sort of home can be disastrous for extended family households and room-mate situations
The home buying process is different for everyone. Part of feeling comfortable with your decision is making the best cost-efficient choice tailored to your household’s preferences. However, if you find yourself unable to find a house size and room configuration that suits your family’s budget, it can be an excellent time to begin looking into financing options to reach a housing solution that suits your family best. There are different financing opportunities as unique as homeowners themselves. For example, Native American home loans have been an avenue of help for thousands of home seekers of native descent in need of a low-interest loan.
While the numbers of a home can give you a general idea of what a prospective home might look like, they should only be the starting point in finding the best home in your price range.
By Tim Richmond, content specialist with 1st Tribal
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenkeith/4456181936/
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Category: Housing
