Buying a new home always requires some compromises depending on your budget, your location, and your family’s needs. While you might have certain things that you want, most people simply can't find—or afford—everything on their wish list. Instead, it's valuable to make a list of the things you need and want out of your new property and then rank those by priority. Doing so, though, requires taking a few steps in order to learn how to properly prioritize what you really need in your new house.
The best way to start properly prioritizing your list is to start visiting new homes in the area that you’re looking to buy in. You need to get out there and see what is actually available so that you can start to become a little more realistic about what's on your list. You might have a basement high up on your list of needs, for example, but you'll need to see if homes in your area actually have or are able to sustain basements before you hold out for one. A little dose of reality can go a long way to whittle down your wish list in this situation.
When you sit down and look at your list, start thinking about which things on your list are things that you can't change in a home. You can change things like paint colors or kitchen appliances. There are even some structural changes you can make like making the common area more open concept or adding a bedroom. However, you'll never be able to change things like the location. You need to make sure that you're prioritizing the things that are inherent to the property rather than those that you can reasonably change down the road.
You should also be realistic about your budget. There are certainly some wants that you just can't get depending on your budget or what you have available for your mortgage. As tough as this is, you have to be realistic about your list and you have to understand that some of the things that seem important to you may be out of reach if you want to buy at a certain time or in a certain area.
Finally, it can help to boil your list down to one thing. What's the one thing on your list that you absolutely can't do without? This is what you're going to base your search around and the one thing on which you cannot compromise. How many bedrooms do you need to comfortably fit your family? Do you have pets that require a large yard? Do you work from home and need an office space? From there, start slowly moving things up or down on your list based on how willing you are to give them up in order to get that one thing you really need.
Prioritizing is hard when you buy a home, but it must be done. Concentrate on your real needs and those that are realistic for those in your buying situation. With a small reality check, you can figure out how to prioritize the things that will really make your new house a home.
Anita is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University and now enjoys writing about health, business, and family. A mother of two wonderful children, she loves traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. You can find her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.