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Creating Your New Home Wish List
Picking your forever home can seem a daunting task. Unlike, say, buying a new shirt, a home is a far more serious purchase. A home, after all, requires a sizable investment. There’s no return department or free 30-day trial. You want to get it right and minimize regrets.
To ultimately arrive at a home that delivers the comfort and pleasure you need, consider your current living arrangement – something most of us have become remarkably well acquainted with in 2020. With some earnest reflection around what you like and dislike in your current living situation, you can create a new home wish list rooted in real wants and needs and pursue a home that satisfies.
Wish List Step #1: Create a list of what’s working in your current home
Take stock of your present living environment and define the home’s best features. Is it the open layout that enhances entertaining? Is it the ample storage that keeps clutter from overrunning the house? Is it the three-car garage that allows you to have an accessible workshop? Reflect upon the spaces you most enjoy and the qualities of the home that you just wouldn’t want to live without.
Wish List Step #2: Flip it and detail what isn’t working in your current home
After considering the valued assets of your current abode, identify elements of the home that are failing to deliver. Do you dread venturing into the basement for laundry? Is the foyer an unsafe, scattered mess of backpacks and shoes? Is temperature control or excess energy use an ongoing problem? By detailing your current residence’s blind spots, you can address those gaps in the next home.
Wish List Step #3: Examine function
Consider how you interact with and use your home on a regular basis. Where is your current home proving inefficient or falling short? Does the compartmentalized nature of your home make it difficult to monitor children? Is the eat-in kitchen too small to accommodate family meals? Is the formal living room underutilized extra space you’re paying to heat and cool and furnish? Are the 12 steps up to the second floor a drag? A home needs to work for your lifestyle, not create unnecessary burdens or force significant compromises. If nightly family dinners are important, for example, then you need a space conducive to hosting those meals.
Wish List Step #4: Factor in happiness
Homes should foster happiness, so survey what makes you happy in your current residence. What sparks enjoyment and a smile? Is it the backyard that’s big enough to accommodate Wiffle ball games? The master suite with its own separate tub for relaxing baths? The covered front porch that’s the ideal setting for a morning coffee and watching the sunrise? While an eastward facing front porch might seem an odd request to some, it’s a pertinent wish list item if it delivers happiness to your day and inspires a smile.
Make the Wish List Your Guide
Creating a new home wish list demands some sincere reflection and one that can undoubtedly be aided by reflecting on your current living environment. Thoughtfully, carefully, and honestly evaluating your current residence – namely, where it excels and where it lacks – can deliver a clear understanding of what you need and want out of your next home, extracting you from hypotheticals and grounding you in real-world living conditions.
And that will put you on the path to a home you will love and enjoy.