No matter what neighborhood in Maryland you are looking in, whether it be Canton, Perry Hall, Timonium, Ellicott City, or Annapolis it is ALWAYS better to be prudent and at least somewhat businesslike when it comes to making your final Real Estate decision. The financial stakes are certainly very high, and to some extent, much of what your future lifestyle will be like will depend on making a good choice at this moment.
This is not to totally discount the emotional component that’s inevitably part of finding your new local home. You do want your family to feel good about the final choice—you’ll be moving to the dwelling that will become everybody’s center of operations, a place where “life” truly will take place. This should certainly be a major part of your decision.
So if a specific home begins to convince you that this really is the place you’ve been hoping to find, it’s NOW the appropriate time to take a step back to do your most hard-headed, businesslike projection.
IT’S TIME TO TRULY CRUNCH THE NUMBERS!
This is beyond the back-of-the-envelope kind of calculation (the one that may have originally guided the price range you gave to your Realtor). This is the exact moment in time to take everything into account to see how well this new area home truly fits—on a number of counts.
A new home’s true affordability begins with the banker’s basic price formula—purchase price, mortgage, insurance and taxes. You should also contemplate the cost of having the property inspected and the closing costs (your Realtor® can give you a close estimate). But that’s not the whole picture—a new home’s true affordability also incorporates the difference between your family’s current expense profile and any factors that will change it.
For instance, if the square footage of the new home greater, you can expect that simple maintenance costs will rise proportionately (unless the new home’s condition is a good deal better than your current one). Utility costs may rise, too, if the living space is greater—unless more efficient systems are in place.
If the location will necessitate a change in driving distance or other transportation expenses, they should certainly be taken into account as well. Does the new place have a significantly larger lawn or other landscaping features? If you have a green thumb and enjoy getting that kind of outdoor exercise, that won’t have much effect. If not, you’d better factor in a gardener’s bill.
