The search for a new home can be exhaustive in some cases. While there are certain hurdles involved in any home purchase, some factors within your control can influence the process. How prepared are you when you start looking? Are you on the same page as any other decision makers involved in the process? Do you understand your list of wants versus your list of needs for the home you’re going to purchase? These are crucial elements that will determine what type of experience you have. Start making your list of wants and needs well before you begin your home search.
Determining Wants and Needs Will Narrow the Field
In a housing market with a high rate of churn, you’ll need to be precise about what you want from your home. Determining your wants and needs will narrow your search results and help a real estate agent guide you in the right direction. To acquire a home you love, you have to be prepared to move quickly. Know which attributes are non-negotiable, versus which attributes would simply be nice to have. How you decide on wants versus needs will ultimately be up to you, but you want to be specific when possible.
Distinguishing Between a Want and a Need
When making your list of wants and needs, think of needs and function and wants as form. Needs provide a significant positive lifestyle benefit that saves you time or money. If you work from home, a second bedroom that you can use as a home office may be considered a “need.” You will utilize the room for work and potentially write off the space. A bay window may be an architectural feature that you love, and one that provides natural light to the home’s interior, but it’s not necessarily a utility. That feature is probably a “want” when buying a home.
Prioritize Everyone’s Needs and Negotiate on Wants
If you’re going through the home buying process with another decision maker, like a partner, you will have to consider each other’s lists of needs and wants. You should make sure that both of your need categories are being met before you satisfy the wants. If a beautiful new home has three different features on your wants list, but it doesn’t include a need that your spouse has on their list, you will unfortunately have to pass on the home. That’s why it’s important to be very specific and thoughtful when determining your wants and needs. You also don’t want to talk yourself out of a lifestyle necessity to satisfy someone else’s wants.
Start Your Home Search with The Swanson Group in Omaha, NE
Bill Swanson and the members of The Swanson Group know their way around the real estate business and the Omaha metro area. If you’re looking to buy or sell a home in the area, start the process here. To learn about the resources available at The Swanson Group, or to begin your home search, contact the Omaha, NE office at 402-679-6566.
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