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There Is Only 1 Factor In Choosing A Home
Despite the hundred of books you find at the book store on how to choose a home, and the thousands of articles found online on the same topic, there is really only 1 factor you need to look for when buying a house. And that is location. There are so many things wrong about suggesting location is just a factor rather than THE factor that I don’t know where to start.
If you are someone who feels that a good house is more important than a good location, let’s just ask yourself a simple question. Would you rather live in a good house in bad location compared to a bad house in a good location? You might insist on a good house, but most people will choose the great location any day.
There is really very little that a great house can make up for when you are located in a place 3 hours from your workplace. It can even be in bad neighbourhood that has a higher than average crime rate. If you are really unlucky, you could be at the bottom of a hilly landscape making it prone to flooding. And a lack of investigation often make new home buyers the victims of living in places with air and noise pollution from nearby factories and workshops. These are just some examples. Would a great house make up for these shortcomings? I don’t think so.
No amount of modern architecture or classy interior design and decorations will make you feel relaxed at home when a jumbo plane flies by every 15 minutes. And no amount of space you have for your walk-in wardrobe will be able to make up for the sweat raining down your brows when you have to walk a mile in the sun to the nearest bus-stop everyday when going to work.
With a good location, you might want to look for proximity to public transport points, malls, grocery stores, good schools, low crime area, clean environment, sports facilities, highway entry points, great views, etc. Those are good enough for most people. Property value is more affected by location as well.
This is why the location of the house you are buying has to be your first priority. If your first choice neighbourhood is to expensive, pass and move on to the next best neighbourhood. Some people advocate that it is better to live in a great place in a bad neighbourhood than a bad house in a good neighbourhood. That is like saying that being champions in the college basketball league is better than being last in the NBA. It is the wrong way to look at things.
While many home buyers might agree on the priority being put on location, they find it a huge challenge in property hunting. But usually this seemingly huge problem can be easily solved by placing an advertisement. When you engage agents or look for sellers yourself, you are not really being as efficient as you can be. You will be able to use much less effort and less time to find more qualified deals just by placing advertisements in classifieds about your requirements. Sellers will contact you directly and agent acting for sellers will attempt to reach you as well. And these agents will be more than willing to help you even if they do not have something you want on hand at the moment.
There is nothing wrong with preferring a great house over a great location. Everyone has their own opinions and preferences. But if you are such a home buyer, hopefully you will now see whether these points make more sense and make your own judgement.
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