The Real Estate Blog

If you’re looking for a new home, you might be trying to decide just how much house you should buy. In the past, the trend was to buy larger and larger homes, for a number of different reasons. Conventional wisdom said that you should buy as much house as you could afford because the most expensive property would be the best investment in the long run. Often, people purchased larger homes in hopes of impressing people or because they received a promotion or raise at work and saw it as something they “should” do.

However, this isn’t necessarily the case any more. If you’re planning on increasing your family size, running a home business or just need extra space, this probably won’t apply to you but I wanted to shed some light on why it can sometimes be a good idea to actually buy less house than you can afford.

Benefits of Buying a Smaller Home:

• It’s easier to maintain & clean. If you’re a working professional and don’t have time to take care of a large home, a smaller home with less space might be best. Same thing with retirees, as we get older, maintaining a large home will become less and less appealing and cleaning those extra rooms will become a nightmare.
• Less decorating. A bigger house with more rooms means more rooms that need to be decorated and filled with furniture and other accents. A smaller house could actually allow you to purchase higher-quality things you really want because there is less that needs to be bought.
• Non-mortgage costs are rising. Even if you have a fixed rate mortgage, things like property taxes, utilities and homeowner’s insurance are on the rise. You will need to consider if you’ll be able to afford an increase in your monthly bills should it occur when you own a larger home.
• Smaller down payment & mortgage payments. With less money spent on these things, you will have more disposable income for family vacations, retirement savings and education savings for children.
• Easier to sell. A smaller, more affordable house is easier to sell down the line than a more expensive, less affordable one.

Like I mentioned earlier, the size of the home you purchase is a decision that is completely unique to each buyer. Everyone’s situation is different and everyone has different long-term goals.

If you’ve been preapproved for a mortgage and would like a qualified opinion on what size of house you should be looking for, just let me know. I have worked with clients looking for large homes, small condos and everything in between and every one of my clients will tell you they appreciate my honest approach.