Questions To Ask When Buying A Small House
by Luke Fields
Do you now have an empty nest and are looking to downsize? Or maybe you're retired and you don't want a large home to maintain? If so, you might be looking for a single-family home for sale. Here are three questions to ask yourself to help ensure you make the right purchase.
What Features Of A Home Are You Looking For?
Many people want a smaller house so that they pay less for fewer square feet, but don't want to lose the features of their bigger home. That's why you need to ask yourself what features you need in a home. For instance, you may be looking to maintain your hobby of maintaining a garden, but a home with a tiny backyard will not allow that. If you still have a desire to entertain guests, you'll likely want a home that uses an open floor plan rather than small rooms that are closed off.
You will also want to think about how many bedrooms you really need for when you have guests over. A two-bedroom home may seem perfect for everyday use, but you will eventually have kids and grandchildren come and visit you. Do you want them all sleeping on an air mattress or crammed into one room, or do you want people to have separate guest bedrooms to enjoy their stay?
Do You Want To Live Somewhere New?
Downsizing to a small home also gives you the opportunity to pick somewhere new to live. Some people prefer to live in a homeowners association where basic services are taken care of for them, such as shoveling snow in the winter. Other people want to move away from the city and select a more rural area where the cost of living is low to maintain a simple lifestyle. You may have a desire to change regions entirely, living somewhere that it is warm all year round so that you do not have to deal with changes in weather that make driving difficult.
What Is Your Budget?
Downsizing to a smaller home certainly means that you will be making a profit off your old home that is larger. It is still worth setting a budget so that you can determine how much money you are willing to put into savings as a result of downsizing. Some people downsize as a way to put away extra money towards retirement since it was tied up in their homes.
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About Me
Welcome to my website. My name is Larry Silva, and I want to talk a bit about private mortgage insurance. You may have heard the term PMI mentioned when you were in the process of purchasing real estate. When I first heard my lender talking about PMI, I was very confused. It was my realtor who sat me down and explained what private mortgage insurance was and when someone is required to purchase it. He told me that PMI is not lifelong insurance; it can be cancelled when the mortgage principal balance reaches a certain point. Once it was explained to me, private mortgage insurance was no longer a mystery or a confusing concept. I would like to pass on what I learned and hope that you find it to be of value.