Few things in life are as exciting as buying your first home. The work it’s taken you to get here, the financial freedom that comes with homeownership, the opportunity to choose where you spend the next phase of your life — the experience can be intensely positive. But on the other hand, for those who skip the planning stage and dive headfirst into the market, excitement can quickly turn into overwhelm. You might feel — all at once — that there are too many options, too few good ones, and that you’ll never tour all the homes that you wish you could!

From our team to you, here are a few tips for finding your first home — the right way!

Finding the Right Neighborhood

There’s wisdom in the old adage, ‘location, location, location’. The where of house-hunting is as important as the what. Even if you’re considering multiple regions in your city, narrow it down to a handful of specific neighborhoods. Let’s imagine, for example, that you’re fond of the southeast and the northwest parts of town. Rather than attempting to tour every home in each region, research the specific neighborhoods within each that would work best for you. If you have or plan to have children, only tour homes within neighborhoods that have or are close to schools.

Being in the market for a first home, there’s also a pretty good chance that you’re in the prime of your career — or will be soon. Accordingly, you can cut your list of potential homes in half by choosing to tour only those that would make commuting quick and easy.

Choosing a Home-Style 

Inevitably, you’ll be faced with the question, ‘single-family or condo?’ And since this is your first home, we’ll assume your budget is modest. That leaves you, in most cases, to decide between a variety of condo-styles or an older, detached home. There’s something to be said for fixer-uppers. If you have some cash and free time to spend, and you’re relatively handy, a D-I-Y renovation might be for you. If not, though, an older home can cost you plentifully in both money and headaches. For more on the financial benefits of buying new, check out this article.

Often, condominium complexes are significantly cheaper to build than neighborhoods of detached homes. Using economies of scale and bulk-order pricing, condo developers are able to drastically cut costs without cutting corners or sacrificing home-quality. And unlike older homes, they rarely need repairs. For these reasons, a new condo may be your best long-term bargain.

Knowing What You Need

While it’s important to remain flexible, it’s equally important to decide what you absolutely do need. Depending on your lifestyle, you might require extra space for family visits, main-floor laundry, or an especially spacious kitchen. Whatever they are, be sure to make a list of your non-negotiables. Doing so will help simplify and organize your search. As well, be sure to plan well into the foreseeable future: if you’re considering having kids, how many bedrooms and bathrooms might you need? If you enjoy travel or you’re gone a lot for work, consider a home that would allow you to live maintenance-free.

This might all seem simple and straightforward — and actually, it is! But unfortunately, many first-time home-buyers enter the market having done little-to-no planning. More often than not, it’s these folks who rush into the wrong home only to regret it later on.

If there’s one thing to take away from this article, it’s that you should do all you can to limit your search. Remember that having too many options is as bad as having too few.

With a little planning and patience, searching for and buying your first home can be one of the most exciting and rewarding things you’ve ever done! We hope it is for you!

To discover exceptional homes being built near you, browse our Communities Page!