Ready to move but not sure what to do next?

Think back to when you bought your first property. Was it everything you ever wanted?

For most of us, the dream of homeownership was the driving force in our buying decision and we were happy to compromise on certain features to get our ‘foot in the door’.

Small bedrooms, long walk-up paths, dated kitchens and tired bathrooms. To a point, none of it seemed to matter. What was important was climbing that first rung on the property ladder. The satisfaction of being a homeowner.

Inevitably though, there comes a point where you seek a little more. It’s only natural. When you have been working hard for years, chipping away at the mortgage, visions of your ideal home (or one a little more suited to your needs) start to materialise.

You know it’s beginning when you have repeated thoughts, like:

“I wish this home had more storage space.”

“If only we had an extra room, I could have my own office.”

“The kids can’t share a room forever…”

“This kitchen is driving me crazy.”

“I’m so tired of waiting to use the bathroom each morning.”

“There is nowhere for people to stay when they come to visit us.”

Some owners get trapped at this point and start over-analysing the market. Is it a good time to sell? What if we can’t find something we like? Maybe we should wait until next year?

Experienced owners who have completed successful moves understand that the best time to move is when (or ideally before) you need to and when you can afford to. Not when the market is at its peak.

Timing the market is somewhat immaterial if you are buying another home at the same time. Why? Because it’s likely you will be buying in the same (or similar) market. If your house has gone up in value, the house you are moving to has gone up in value too. Any potential gain or loss made by waiting for the perfect time is cancelled out when you come to buy.

Note: If you are selling and not looking to buy, timing may be a factor. In which case we can advise on timing your run for when buyer demand will be at its highest.

So, if you feel your frustration levels building in your current abode. Here are some first steps to consider:

1. Talk to a mortgage adviser to see if you are able to move (you can ask us for a recommendation).

2. Find out what your next home might cost to buy (we can also help with this).

3. Find out what your home might sell for (you guessed it, we can help with this, too).

4. Talk to your mortgage adviser once more, now that you have some numbers to work with. Could you arrange finance to buy the home you want, based on what your current home might sell for?

Armed with that information you can decide whether moving is the right decision. There is no perfect time to sell, it simply comes down to what is best for you.

The key thing to remember is that if you are having frustrating thoughts about your current home, dreams of moving are nothing but dreams until you know where you stand in terms of your ability to move to another property.

If you find out you are in a strong position and you are able to move, then you can start looking at other homes for sale with real intent. Knowing you could buy one of them if you wanted to.

On the other hand, if you find out that moving is not an option right now, then at least you will likely gain an idea of what financial goals you need to reach to be able to make that transition.

Better still, knowing you aren’t able to do it right now may help remove some of those frustrating thoughts about your current home. Because what’s the point of worrying about something you can’t change?

Instead, consider whether there are small changes you could make to create a more liveable home in the meantime, while you build-up to the point where you can move to the next stage on the property ladder.

It all starts with having the right information at your disposal so you can make informed real estate decisions.

Get in touch today to talk about what your next home needs to have and find out what’s possible in the current market. We are here to help.