Moving to a new home is a huge, monumental life change. Its felt even more when you're moving from a home you've live in and loved for years; a home where you have special memories and perhaps raised a family. All this can add to the stress of moving from the home that you loved, to what could be your “forever” home.
Like every other move, you have to a lot to consider, such as financial costs, legal fees, home layout and desired neighbourhoods. These are all a part of the huge list of things to consider when making a long term move. No matter whether you've become an empty nester or are planning for your future life together, the planning for your Forever Home doesn't have to be as stressful as it sounds.
Working with an experienced Realtor alongside careful planning and discussion, you can not only find your perfect Forever Home, but perhaps even save a few bucks in the process. When looking for your Forever Home, here are a few things to consider.
What Does Your 'Forever Home' Look Like?
If you’ve been considering moving to your forever home, I have no doubt that you have a pretty clear picture of what it looks like. But there are many additional questions that go beyond aesthetics that need to be made to come to informed choice that you can live with…forever. Do you see yourself in a semi-detach or a detached bungalow? If so, have you considered the amount of maintenance it will require. Would you consider a condominium with no exterior upkeep required? What amenities do you need? These are the types of questions that will help you pare down your options to what it is you want.
Where Do You Want to Live?
Did you want to be close to the downtown core, or is suburb living in your future? When choosing a forever home or any home really, location is a huge factor to be considered. Your forever home could be nestled in the woods or in the middle of the downtown core amongst all the action, pick the home location meeting your expectation. For example, even though you picture yourself in the country for retirement, you may find you've got the "city in your blood" and won't want to abandon all the fun treats that come with living in a city centre.
Make sure you do your research, and a bit of soul searching to determine the best location. One exercise that a fellow realtor shared with me was to write out how you picture filling your days of the week (outside of work, of course). If you see yourself going to art shows and eating at eclectic restaurants, perhaps city life is for you. If gardening or hiking is what you see yourself doing, then rural life may be the best choice for you. Basically, once you consider how your "Forever Days" look, you'll have a better sense as to where you want to spend them.
As you can see, there is quite a bit to consider when choosing your forever home. Getting the help of a trained realtor is your first step in making the right decision, but also make sure to do your homework and have an honest discussion with them to better improve your options. All of this is important when trying to get you to the home you'll want to live the rest of your life in.
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