Determining Wants vs. Needs When Buying a New Home

As you start to get serious about buying a new home, and the excitement associated with it begins to build, you will need to sit down and think about the things that are most important to you.

When you first meet with your real estate agent, he/she is likely to ask you to sit down and make a list of all of the things that you desire in your new home. By doing this, your real estate agent can better assist you in finding a home that best meets your needs.

Sometimes you don’t know exactly what you want in a home until you actually start to tour homes. For example, maybe you thought you wanted a 1,000 square feet of living space, but after viewing several homes of that size, you realize that you need closer to a 1,500 square feet of living space to accommodate your family better.

Now, the larger square foot home becomes a NEED rather than a WANT.

How To Determine Your Wants vs. Needs When Buying a New Home

Start by understanding the difference between the two. A need is something that you really must-have. For instance, if you have a large family, you will need a home with several bedrooms.

Trying to squeeze a family of seven into a one-bedroom home would be a challenge. A need is a necessity. It is essential, and you must not go without it.

A want is something that you might find beneficial; however, if a home has all of your needs, then you may be able to make an exception. Maybe you want a home with carpeted floors, but you find a home that checks every other box on your NEED list, so you make an exception.

After all, you could always carpet the floors later, once you have moved into the home. Sometimes cutting out some of your wants, knowing that they can be added in the future, can be essential for satisfying your needs and budgets.

Write Them Down

Now that you understand the difference between wants and needs, you will want to take some time to sit down and make a list of everything that is important to you in a new home. Start with the most important things (your needs) and then work your way down your list to the less important things (wants).

It may take a little time to determine exactly what you WANT and what you NEED in a home. Once you tour a few houses you can truly get a feel of what you need in a home, and what you can live without.

Things to Consider When Deciding Wants vs. Needs

Some things that you might want to consider when you are making your list of wants and needs is your budget. For example, think about the added cost of some of the features that you are adding to your list. Amenities such as in-ground swimming pools, solid surface countertops, and large acreage lots, can increase costs significantly.

Often you can sacrifice some of these higher costing upgrades to satisfy all of your needs. For instance, you may have really wanted the in-ground swimming pool, but realistically it would have set you over budget, and you may have had to settle for a home that did not include all of your needs.

A solution would be to make a compromise and purchase a home that has all of your needs, with the option of adding a swimming pool in the future.

While house hunting is very exciting, you will want to make sure you have all of your needs laid out so that you don’t get distracted while looking for a home.

Consider adding a home warranty from HomeMembership to give you peace of mind when you find your dream home.

Home warranties offer peace of mind. Often many sellers will provide a home warranty to buyers so that they don’t have to stress about things that may pop up after they become homeowners.

With a HomeMemership plan you help you avoid costly repairs if a home appliance breaks or major system stops working, you would have an easy way to submit a claim and one of our specialized, pre-vetted professionals will be on their way to repair or replace your covered item.

Our membership also includes Members-Only Discounts towards home services, retail shops and more. From lawn care to interior decorators and carpet cleaners, our warranty offers immediate benefits that go beyond standard long-term protection.

Your membership gets you discounts from local businesses on services for your home so you can save money now and later.

We also offer a $0 deductible on repair claims. You will not find this option with any other home warranty company. That could save you $100 every time you have a service request.