How to Choose the Right Family Home

Are you a novice at buying homes or just an old hand looking for the perfect family home? The principles of choosing a family home are the same. You need to achieve the right balance between suitability, affordability, and availability.

Affordability
As a rule of thumb, the principles of traditional mortgage lending allowed borrowing of up to three times your annual gross income. Parents would generally borrow three times the larger salary, two and a half times their combined salary, and one time the smaller one. Although you might be able to borrow more, there is no point driving yourself into debt just to buy a new home.

Your repayments should not be more than 40 percent of your net monthly income. You should use a mortgage affordability calculator to calculate the monthly cost of buying a home. This calculator will tell you whether you are in danger of borrowing too much.

The price of any home can be affected by:

New developments – if a developer is building in an area, it could be because the area is gaining popularity. If you are considering a bigger city such as Denver, you can find a lot of new residential areas for a chance to live here.

Transport links – a new road or railway line could mean easier access to the city center and affect the value of a property.

Bars and shops – a new bar or restaurant could be a good indicator of the direction that an area is heading. Shabby stores detract from the value of a property while upscale shops add value.

Suitability
When looking for apartments in Alameda for example, you should weigh the following factors:

Facilities – is the house located near the right facilities, including shops and restaurants? Can you park your vehicle easily?

Accessibility – is it convenient for work? Do you have any friends and family members nearby?

Noise – is the house located in a noisy environment? To be sure, you should visit the area at different times of the day.

Schools – are there any good schools nearby? You need to make sure that there are a few good schools near your prospective home.

Crime – visit the local police station and enquire about the crime rate in the area. You should also check the local paper for crime news.

Availability
Having figured out how much you can afford, you need to find out whether the type of house that you want is available in a good area. In most instances, you might have to compromise on a few likes and dislikes, meaning that flexibility is important. The best way to find a good property is by looking at specialized real estate platforms and using real estate agents.

If you get a personal introduction to the seller, you should avoid real estate agents because they charge for their services. Moreover, knowing the seller might mean that you will get the property at a cheaper price. Before buying any home, you need to ask the seller why he/she is moving.

Location
Many factors affect your house choice but your primary consideration should be the location. It is possible to change the appearance of any home that is not up to your standards but you cannot move it. This means that you should consider how a neighborhood might change in the future before buying a house.

The Price
You can get a good idea of a property’s worth by comparing it to others within the area. However, you should also consider gathering information from various websites: you can find detailed completion prices on the Land Registry website. You can also tell whether prices are rising or falling.