Consider When Your First/Next Home 6 You Aren’t Buying a House, You Are Buying a Home. You Aren’t Moving Into a Home, You Are Moving Into a Community. What conveniences do you value having nearby? How important to you is it to have other families on the street? Visit the street and surrounding area both during the day and at night. Learn about things that may matter to you and your family today or in the future such as traffic, green spaces, access to public transportation or the location of schools. Google the street and area to learn of news stories to ensure you are aware of future changes that may impact the community. 4 Embrace A Changing World. Choose the Relationship You Want to Have with Your Home. Not only is it about finding that right home for you, decide if you are the right person for that home. As you reimagine how you might change up and keep up the space, how much are you willing to invest time and money into your home from renovations to everyday house and yard upkeep? Be fair to yourself and the time you have before overcommitting. 2 Make Making Decisions Easier. Be in the Moment. Finding the right home can be overwhelming. But it also can be very exciting. Permit yourself to experience the range of emotions tied to this decision but take time to celebrate every mile - stone along the way. On moving day, pause to acknowledge what you have accomplished. You did this. You have taken the first step to frame your future. Tell a story worthy of you and may you live happily ever after.
Can you see yourself and your family in this space? When you think about how you want to use this space with friends and family, does this home help you create that life for yourself? Find the home that frames the dream. 5 What we have learned through the recent pandemic is that things matter today that may not have mattered a year ago. Asking ourselves if we will be working from home more often and if we have the tools at our disposal including access to high speed internet, a space in the home for work that we can keep separate from our personal living space. Focusing on our mental health and resilience has never been so important. 3 After looking at several homes they can start to blend together as you look at each other and ask – which home was that? Create a decision tree ahead of time comprised of 4 or 5 key questions (perhaps inspired by the advice above). Carry a chart to record your thoughts in the home as you visit each home. Take a photo of each home and add to the chart to help you organize your thoughts and make decisions easier. 1
Lenette Birdsell is the RBC Regional Vice President of Mortgage Specialists for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, and Western Ontario. Lenette is passionate about the home buying experience and proudly leads a team of 150 spirited Mortgage Specialists dedicated to helping Canadians define their dream and frame their future.
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