House Hunting: Separating Needs from Desires

House hunting can turn from a rewarding experience to an incredibly frustrating one with the blink of an eye if you haven’t prioritized your needs against your desires. When you’re working within a certain home buying budget, it’s important that you determine which are things that you absolutely must have in a home and which things you would like but are not necessary.

But, how do you differentiate between what you want and what you need? Sometimes, the lines between the two can be pretty gray. To help in your house hunting, we’ve compiled a list of tips below to help in separating your needs from desires.

Make a List

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to purchasing a home, and you may have a long list of wants and needs in a home that have been running through your head. Take the time to jot down everything you’d like in a home. Some things you may want to consider in your list are:

What location would you like for the home to be in?
Do you have a preference for schools?
How far are you willing to commute to work?
How many bedrooms do you need?
Do you have square footage requirements?
How many bathrooms do you need?
Would you like the home to be 1 level or 2?
Do you want a home in an HOA (homeowners association) neighborhood?
Is yard size important?
What type of flooring do you like?
Do you want the master bedroom on the main floor?
What other amenities are important to you?

Define Your Priorities

Now that you’ve made an initial list of what you’d like to see in your home, it’s time to organize the list by priority. When you are prioritizing your list, you should place things that you can’t do without above other things you’d like to see. Things to consider while organizing your list are:

How many people will be living with you? This will help you determine how many bedrooms and bathrooms you must have.
Are you trying to keep your children in the same school system? This can limit what neighborhoods you can conduct your search in.
Do you have dogs or pets? This will often affect the yard size or requirements you have.
Do you have any handicap accessible requirements?

Separate Your Amenities

Once you’ve prioritized your list, you should now be able to separate your needs and wants by way of the amenities on your list. Amenities are things that you would like and that could make life a little easier, but they probably aren’t deal breakers. Some amenities can include:

Updated appliances
Granite or marble countertops
Pools
Wet bars
Updated flooring
Master bathrooms
Walk-in closets
Fireplaces
Screened-in porches
Heated floors
Skylights
Attic fans
Alarm systems
Solar heating and electricity
Tankless water heaters
Water softening systems

The list goes on and on, but as you can see these are things that might be nice in your new home, but they aren’t necessary and can potentially be added at a later time.

Narrow Things Down by Budget

Once you’ve made your list and defined your needs and wants, you will need to take a close look at your budget. How much of your necessities and desires can be supported by your financial means? You may need to consider further eliminating things from your list, or you may find you can afford more amenities than you previously thought. In the end, it always comes down to the budget and what is realistic for you financially. Sometimes, you’ll find you can afford more in different areas, also. If you are finding it hard to locate a home in your area that at least meets the basics, you may need to consider looking in a different area.