Buying a Home For a Family is a Big Deal!
Have you got a little one on the way? Whether you’re welcoming your first child or seeking out a bigger home for your brood that suddenly seems too big for the rooms you’re living in, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when buying a home for a growing family.
If you’re shopping for a home with kids in tow, it’s a good idea to know exactly what you’re looking for so they don’t throw you off course when they beg you to buy the house with the built-in fruit snack dispenser or the house right down the street from Worlds of Fun (which would be really fun!)
Space: Okay, this is the obvious first step. Think about not only that cute little guy snuggled in his baby carrier. Picture him as a pre-teen, decked out in football pads, with two or three of his friends in tow. You’ll want a little extra square footage for hosting pizza nights and slumber parties, and you might want to think about what kind of space is available for kids to have some fun, but with parental supervision. Is there a finished basement or a rec room where kids can let loose a bit?
Schools: Even if you’re planning to choose a private school, the local public schools have a lot of influence over your home’s resale value. You’ll want to consider the commute to your kids’ school, the test scores and graduation rates, as well as the types of extracurricular activities they offer. Go visit the school and take a tour. If your kids are preschoolers, high school might seem far in the distance, but you should check out the high school. Dani Beyer Real Estate can help you access all the information you want to know about your potential school district.
Safety: Think in terms of both the neighborhood and the house itself. You’ll want crime statistics, and you’ll also want to know that the residence doesn’t have any features that make your worry about safety for your kids. Look out for open staircases, decks with loose railings, an unfenced pool and retaining walls with a steep drop-off. Consider how you plan to parent your kids in that home. If the backyard isn’t fenced, would you be comfortable letting your kids play unsupervised in the yard? What’s the density of the traffic in front of the house?
Community bonus: How do you imagine having fun with your family? Check out the local library programs, whether there’s a pool nearby and if it’s easy to get to the local zoo, nature centers and biking trails. Your kids might be ready to buy any house that has a neighborhood pool, but you may be reluctant to see yourself dragging the giant inflatable unicorn around the subdivision every weekend.
Home layout: Buying a home that’s kid-friendly means different things and that might depend on your kids’ ages. Maybe you have teenagers that would make a two-story house with a first-floor master suite ideal. If your kids are young, you might prefer a ranch layout, where you can easily monitor your preschoolers’ fun while working on your own hobbies. Maybe kid-friendly to you means within an easy drive of the in-laws for free babysitting.
When buying a home for a growing family, it’s important to picture your life and how the home’s layout and location will shape your family’s activities and memories of their childhood. Don’t worry, because with Dani Beyer Real Estate, you’ll be seeing each home with an expert in kid-friendly homes! Contact us today to get started.