5 Things to Consider When You’re Buying a Family Home

Buying a home under any circumstances can be difficult, but it gets all the more tricky when you’re not just buying for yourself, but the whole clan. When you have a family, there’s much more that has to go into buying a home than just “I like this place, and I think I’ll buy it.” If only it were so simple. Below, we outline five of the top considerations you need to keep in your mind when looking for the perfect family home.

The Size of Your Family

Naturally, you’ll need to think of how many people are actually in your family, how old they are, and how many there will be in the future. Any number of combinations can throw up different homes. For example, if you have a partner and two children, then you’ll need at least three bedrooms. But what if one of your children will be leaving home in a few years, or they’re both young, and you’re thinking of having a third child? You need to think about what kind of place would be good for your family now, as well as what will be good in five, ten years time.

What You Want v What Makes Sense

You have to be pretty practical when you’re buying for the family. Even if you find your dream home, you might have to pass it up if it’s obviously a place that is not right for children. This isn’t only to do with the house itself, but the inside of the home. You might fall in love with the intricate, ornate original decor inside the home, but if they’re not child-friendly, then they might have to be the first thing to go.

Individual Needs

With that being said, that doesn’t mean you should totally ignore all individual needs. In fact, you should be thinking about them quite hard, just everybody’s needs. If you or a member of your family is a painter, for example, then buy a home that has space for art. The same goes for readers, sportspeople, etc. It’s not easy to take everyone’s needs and try to fit them into to a home that is the right size and shape, but with determination and the right real estate agent, you can find the perfect place. You just need to be patient.

How’s the Neighborhood?

It’s important that you know the neighborhood of the place you’re looking to buy in, to determine if it’s family friendly or not. For example, are there good schools nearby? Are there playgrounds, and other families with whom your children will be able to play? There’s a whole set of criteria you’ll be looking for, so test out a few areas until you find the right one for you.

Can You Imagine Your Future There?

There’s one more big consideration, and that is determining whether you can see your future there, or not. Sometimes a place will just feel right – or wrong – and you shouldn’t ignore that feeling just because it can’t be explained.