As part of buying a home your need to understand what is important in a home for you and your partner. Some things are necessary such as having enough bedrooms for everyone who lives in the home, while other things are nice to haves such as air conditioning. So it is important that you clearly understand what is necessary and what is optional. The reason why is there may not be a home available that ticks all the boxes in your price range. However, there may be homes that tick the boxes for most of your needs/wants. As part of the home buying process, you should take the time to fill out a home buyer’s survey so you need to understand what compromises you are willing to make and which ones you aren’t.

As you consider what you want and need in a home, keep in mind that some things are easier to fix in a home than others. For example, the paint colors, flooring, appliances, and countertops are relatively easy to change whereas room configuration and house location are not as easy to change.

Speaking of home location, the neighborhood you are in can be as important, to the enjoyment of your new home, as the qualities of the home itself. Consider the what type of neighborhood you want in terms closeness to work, shopping, recreation, and schools. As well as who lives in the neighborhood (e.g. families, empty nesters, seniors, young people, etc.) and the lifestyle of the neighborhood. As a local Calgary area Realtor® I can assist you with understanding which neighborhoods might work best for you.

So taking the time to fill out a buyer’s survey will help you to clearly understand what you are looking for and increase the chance of finding it! Also, if you have a partner, you should both fill out a survey separately and then compare. That way you can find out what is important to each of you in your new home.

To help with determining your wants and needs in a home, I have a buyers survey which you can download and fill in: Buyer wants and needs survey