So you made the big decision and are about to start looking for a new home. Sure sounds easy – call a man and van service, have your stuff transported to the new place, done. Yet, you’re quickly overwhelmed by the complexity of solving a problem so basic – where to live. Picking the right place to live is a complicated equation, one of the most difficult there are. And no – it’s not just a matter of money, although in all fairness they do help a lot. Buying a new home is in a sense, much more about you than it is about the home itself. Your house or apartment, your living space is in its essence a projection of your inner self. Not just a shelter, but rather a habitat.
What you must decide initially is whether you really want to buy or just rent. There are quite a few reasons why you’d prefer renting to buying. If you’re the type of person that travels a lot you probably don’t want to end up with a property you rarely use and mostly pay taxes for. Renting a place offers you the much needed mobility and freedom, not to mention that often you can get the house or flat with the furniture. Another advantage of renting vs. owning are the money. Buying generally means taking a loan and paying a mortgage for some 30 years. Some people can’t afford that and some don’t want to. Many consider there is a much better way to invest the large sum of money a house costs like buying stocks or investing in their own business. These people have the advantage just picking up the phone, calling a home removal company and moving. No dealing with real estate brokers, no paying taxes.
However there is the opposite view as well. People with more traditional ideas (most often family men or women) consider being a home owner a must. Real estate is generally considered a solid investment that despite the fluctuations of the market cannot get completely devalued, won’t go out of business and is unlikely to be stolen. This type of property offers an undeniable financial stability to the owner.
In part two of this article we’ll go through some basic tips for choosing location, size and type of house or apartment and also how to move home as easy and painlessly as possible,