Buying Your First Home – The Often Overlooked Factors

When buying your first home there are many factors involved, and most people find themselves so deeply entrenched in the struggle between what they want, and what they can afford, that they often downplay the importance of a few very important decisions.

There’s one major factor one needs to determine when buying a home which first-time home-buyers often overlook, and that is the WHERE factor. It seems obvious enough, but often new home buyers are so caught up in price, that they discount other important aspects of the decision-making process. It’s all fine and well to get that extra bedroom, or upgraded furnishings, but after a few weeks of a painfully long commute some often find themselves cursing their location choice. It’s a huge investment of time and money, and it only stands to reason that one should find the happiest median. Consider amenities as well; properties closer to the center of the community tend to be more expensive, but the trade-off is the convenience of having most amenities at your fingertips. For planning a family, be aware of the positioning of schools, medical facilities, and other such important locations.

Also thoroughly consider property type. Although many of us grew up with plenty of yard space, you may find based on your current lifestyle that a condo or townhome is the better choice. Take a look out your window on a January day in Toronto, and one is very quickly reminded of the joys of shoveling a heavy snowfall. Backyard BBQ’s are great, but caring for a larger lawn can be very time consuming and costly.

Of course staying within your limits as far as price is concerned is still the most important factor when searching out the ideal first home. We need not be reminded that the state of the US housing market is largely a result of irrational home buying decisions, not to mention lending decisions. The Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation has some financial worksheets on their site to assist home-buyers with calculating where they should be in regards to monthly mortgage payments. Choose your location with your head, and not your heart, and you’ll find it’s less likely you’ll question that decision later

Sayra Bidani www.condominiums.ca