Dave Dry

Needs verses desires

"A home that meets my needs, at the lowest possible price", is what every home buyer states. Yet, when a home buyer goes shopping for a home, two homes compete for their dollar: a home that meets their needs, and a home that fulfills their desires. The goal is to find a home that best meets these two criteria. However, in the real world, this rarely happens. Usually, it is a compromise of needs against wants relative to price.

Sometimes, a buyer falls in love with a home for the wrong reasons. Later, they regret the choice because the home does not match their needs. It may be too big, too far away from work or school, or even too large to maintain. In the long term, a dream home ends up being a costly investment.

To buy a home you will be happy with sounds simple, but it can be very traumatic if you do not decide what you want in a home before you shop. Take off the rose-colored glasses. As much as possible, look at your needs and the home you are considering, objectively. To get you started, fill out the following items below:

What do I absolutely NEED in my next home:
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What would I absolutely LOVE in my next home:
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A Realtor will get to know you, your needs and desires. Not only can a Realtor provide expert opinion and advise on market values, he is also objective and has your best interests at heart.

Falling in love with the hot tub or massive garage at the expense of enough interior space maybe a choice you may regret in the future. 

 When purchasing a home it is also important to keep in mind there things that cannot be changed, without selling: those are location and size of lot. Somethings that you may be able to change are size of home and / or garage. Additions to house or garage require local authority planning permission and while it may be granted today may not in the future, this is important to keep in mind while shopping.

 Hot tubs can be added, paint color and interior room configuration changed in the future, at the will of the owner. These among many other things can be changed in the future as funds and time permit.

If buying for the long haul is the goal then, location and size should be primary concerns as most other things can be changed. You can build your castle as opposed to buying someone else's.

The best place to start is filling out the lists above, while keeping in mind that somethings are harder to change than others. Your Realtor will be able to advise you on these while keeping your best interests at heart and providing a objective expert opinion.