Buying A Bigger London Home
Chances are, that the first home that you buy is not going to be your ‘forever home’…
A lot of people want to move up the ‘property ladder’ as quickly as possible and treat it like a bit of a race!
At times, this is more than fine and works for some people!
I would, however, encourage you to think of questions, such as:
How Much Extra Space Do I Really Need?
Work out what you actually need vs what you’d like…
For example, an extra bedroom or two could well be a need! Maybe you are expecting a child… Maybe your parents or family members or friends would like to visit you regularly and have the option of staying for a few nights when they do…
Maybe you feel that you ‘need’ a home office inside the house… Instead of having a dedicated home office inside the home, if you are looking for a home with a garden, could you have a dedicated home office in the garden?
It will allow you to separate home from work and working hours will be quieter/ you’ll be able to focus more!
Do you really need a home office inside your home?
Can I See A Long Term Future Here Or In A Bigger Home?
Selling and buying property costs money, time and can be stressful!
Try to look 10 years ahead and see if you can picture yourself in your current home or in a bigger home…
Are you happy with your current lifestyle?
Do you have enough bedrooms to grow in to?
Can you convert the loft into an extra bedroom? Can you build a rear or side extension and create a bedroom on the ground floor to ‘safeguard’ your home for the future when you don’t want to be walking up and down stairs?
Can you convert a garage a garage into a ‘granny annexe’ (or ‘grandad annexe!’) so that you can keep an elderly parent close-by?
Do you really need to move home to achieve your property/ lifestyle goals?
What Additional Costs Will I Incur When Buying A Bigger Home?
Of course, there will be aspects such as stamp duty!
However, aspects such as spending more money on heating, water, general maintenance, home insurance and more time on aspects such as cleaning or gardening should not be forgotten about!
A bigger home needs and takes more time to care for than a smaller home - don’t forget this!
Do you really need a bigger garden?
“Try to look 10 years ahead and see if you can picture yourself in your current home or in a bigger home…”
Are You Buying The Ideal Layout?
Just because you’re looking to buy a new home, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be buying the ideal layout - think floorplan!
The rest of the house may well be pretty much perfect, but will you need to knock walls down?
Would you like to make the kitchen open plan or make the kitchen closed off?
Do you really need that open plan kitchen?
Do You Have To Buy?
People often get in a bit of a panic when they sell their home and think that they immediately have to buy!
This is not always the case…
If they are looking to move to a new area, that they haven’t spent any considerable amount of time in, I’d strongly advise that they at the very least, spend a few weekends there and then potentially look to rent before buying!
Renting is not throwing money away, as it will allow you to experience a new area and it will also allow you the freedom of moving on after 6 months - 12 months if it turns out that actually it isn’t the area for you!
Do you really need to buy, or can you rent?
Above all, don’t rush into buying a home. All aspects of a home purchase, including the ones mentioned above, should be taken into consideration when buying a home.