Buying a new home is a pricey and therefore risky investment.
We all want to get it right first time and the fear of making the ‘wrong’ choice for ourselves and our needs in our potential future home is ever present. This is perfectly normal and many first time buyers wonder about how they will know when they’ve found the home for them.
Three things to keep in mind while searching for your new home:
An ethical estate agent will never, ever pressure you into buying a house.
Trust your gut, this goes for good and bad feelings about a potential new home.
Sometimes sleeping on a decision is not the best idea, as you’re not the only person out there looking to buy a house with your specific criteria and someone could buy your house out from under you while you’re counting sheep. This is an ever present risk and is worth keeping in mind especially if you find a property that you really resonate with. The last thing you want to hear is that another buyer made an offer and it was accepted minutes before yours was submitted. It happens a lot too. So unless you’re buying a brand new home there is unlikely to be another house around the corner just like it. Sometimes if your gut says yes it’s worth making an offer.
With this in mind let’s delve into the ten tell-tale signs that you’ve found the home for you.
1: You want to go inside to explore:
We do it all the time, we see a house and somewhere in the back of our mind size it up and wonder at what they look like inside. Some of them draw us in and some of them repel us, it’s a matter of taste and requirement. However if you pull up to a viewing and feel strong appeal or repulsion, it could be worth taking note of. There’s something here that speaks to you, curb appeal is talking.
2: You feel ‘at home’ as soon as you enter:
Within a few minutes of entering the house you will have a feel for it. Does it feel cold? Warm? Comforting? Odd? Do you want to explore, or walk out the door? Does it feel right? If your feelings are overwhelmingly positive it’s likely a good indication that you’ve found your new home.
3: You don’t feel weird in the bathroom:
Sometimes potential buyers feel so uncomfortable near a bathroom they will not enter the room. They won’t let their feet touch the floor. They’ll idle outside grab the door frame, poke their heads in and leave. If you walk into the bathroom and feel like you want to open the shower door and have a walk around, this is again a good sign that this is your new home.
4: You feel possessive about the property:
You might be viewing the house and the agent points out a minor flaw such as ‘There’s a small stain on the carpet here’ and you think ‘What are you talking about? This house is lovely!’ You have no idea why they’re being so mean, you want to defend every flaw you see. If you even see the flaws, because right now, flaws do not matter. You love this house.
5: You see a future for yourself here:
If you can see yourself getting a great nights sleep in your bed in the master bedroom, chilling out on the sofa in the living room after a long day, or barbequing up a storm out in the garden on long lazy summer days, you can see yourself in this space and that is definitely a good sign for your future with this house.
6: You’re planning out the rooms already:
You’re strolling through the house, mentally filling the rooms with your items and planning what colour the walls will be. ‘My sofa would look great there’, ‘Wow this would be a great office’, ‘This room would make such a comfortable bedroom’. If you’re envisioning yourself, your things and your life here you might be in love with this property.
7: The house fits your basic needs:
It might not fill every single need that you have, but it meets the majority of your requirements and you’re willing to compromise on the rest of it. This house has the right number of bedrooms, it has enough space and maybe it doesn’t have a garage but that doesn’t matter too much anymore, or you realise that you have enough space that you could build one if it does matter to you later on. Being flexible what issues really matter and which are deal-killers is a good quality to develop in the search for your new home.
8: You’re no longer interested in looking at other properties:
Other properties have lost their appeal. The other places on your shortlist seem insignificant. The homes that were top rated before have fallen by the way side, they are simply pale in comparison. You feel like you’re wasting time visiting other homes. This is the be all and end all.
9: Bragging rights:
It’s not unusual for anyone to snap a few pictures as a reference before you finish touring the home. Next thing you know you’re uploading pictures on social media, you feel excited. You want to bring your friends here. You want to show it off. You want to brag about this being your new home. Before you know it you’ve got way more pictures than you need of a house you don’t even own… Yet.
10: You keep thinking about it:
Every fibre in your being is telling you to go for it, but there’s one small little grain of doubt that says ‘Maybe I should sleep on it’. Every other thought in your head is sure that this house is perfect, your thoughts are consumed by it. Every thought you have is leading you back towards ‘Should I buy that house?’ You’re obsessed. Honestly? Just buy the house already.
