Your Current and Future Needs
Before you start searching for a home, you need to think about your needs both now and in the future. Here are some things to consider:
- Size requirements. Do you need several bedrooms, more than one bathroom, space for a home office, a two-car garage?
- Special features. Do you want air conditioning, storage or hobby space, a fireplace, a swimming pool? Do you have family members with special needs?
- Lifestyles and stages. Do you plan to have children? Do you have teenagers who will be moving away soon? Are you close to retirement?
Try to buy a home that meets most of your needs for the next 5 to 10 years, or find a home that can grow and change with your needs. Use the Home Features Checklist to see what you want, need and may potentially need in the future.
Choosing a Location that is Right for You
Even if the home you choose has everything you need, the location might not be appropriate. When deciding where to live, you should take the following things into consideration:
- Whether you want to live in a city, a town or even in an out-of-town location.
- Where you work and how easy it is to commute.
- Where your children will attend school and how they will get there.
- Whether you need a safe walking area or recreational facilities such as a park nearby.
- How close you would like to be to family and friends.
- New Home, Previously Owned or Build Your Own?
When thinking about the kind of home you want, the first thing you should consider is whether you want a previously owned home (often called a resale) or a new home. Here are some characteristics that may help you decide:
Deciding on the Type of Home to Buy
There are many types of homes to choose from and each has its advantages and disadvantages. Think about your needs before making a decision. Don’t forget to look beyond the walls. The environment surrounding your home can be almost as important as the environment inside of it.
Deciding on the Type of Home to Buy
There are many types of homes to choose from and each has its advantages and disadvantages. Think about your needs before making a decision. Don’t forget to look beyond the walls. The environment surrounding your home can be almost as important as the environment inside of it.
- Single-family Detached The most popular style and the most solid investment. It is a free-standing home which sits on its own lot thereby offering a greater degree of privacy.
- Semi-detached A single-family home that is joined to another one by a common wall. It can offer many of the advantages of a single-family detached home and is usually less expensive to buy and maintain.
- Duplex Two units — one above the other or side-by-side. The owner usually lives in one unit and rents the other.
- Row House or Townhouse One of several types of single-family homes joined by common walls. It offers less privacy than a single-family detached home but still provides a separate outdoor space. These homes can cost less to buy and maintain.
- Link or Carriage Home Houses joined by garages or carports which provide access to the front and back yards. Builders sometimes join basement walls so that link houses appear to be single-family homes on small lots. These houses can be less expensive than single-family detached homes.
- Manufactured Home A factory-built single-family home that is transported to your chosen location and placed on a surface-mounted foundation. The term manufactured home has replaced the term “mobile home”.
- Modular Home Also a factory-built home constructed in compliance with local building codes. The home is typically shipped to your location in two or more sections. It may or may not have a longitudinal sub-frame.
- Condominium Refers to a form of legal ownership as opposed to a style of construction. Condominiums can be high-rise residential buildings, townhouse complexes, individual houses and low-rise residential buildings.