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People ask me to answer this question: How do you (I) time my/our home buying decision to take the best advantage of the real estate market? The answer depends upon many factors. If you are relocating to Stafford, Prince William, Fairfax, Orange, Falls Church, Alexandria, Arlington, Fredericksburg, Stafford, Quantico, Virginia, from another county you might be waiting on a job offer, for the school year/semester to end, to receive an admissions decision from the college or university of your choice, to get an answer on an internship, for a large work project to be completed, for your company/agency/municipality to sign off on your job transfer to another locale, for your time frame with a company or municipality to reach a certain milestone and/or for a family member to medically stabilize so he/she can be moved to your area.
When you are relocating and have lived in your home for thirty plus years and your house is paid off with no lines of credit, second and/or third mortgages, then you have a lot of flexibility. If you’ll have the ability to choose a less expensive area to live in and to decrease your home size, this might help decrease your total yearly housing costs for a mortgage and for home maintenance. There are factors such as how close/far do you wish to live near key friends and family members. Sometimes your decision involves moving a family member to live in your home and you need an in-law/relative suite sometimes with a small kitchen, bedroom and bathroom possibly on the main floor of your home you’re considering buying or with elevator access if living in a condo, high rise or town home. Also, will this additional household member need transportation to/from social activities such as a small bus/van, a local city/county bus, taxi, or do they need transportation with wheelchair access, a lift or a ramp since he/she walks with a cane or a walker? Is adult daycare available in the community you’re considering moving to or is there another option for field trips, classes, and friendship at a local community center or even at one in a neighboring city/county that might have better choices for your loved one?
If you are working at a fixed location and telecommuting is only available once a week, then your moving decisions will be dictated by how many minutes/hours you are committed to driving daily to reach your workplace. Many people decide I won’t live beyond this street intersection on this road because it takes me this many minutes to reach here in rush hour traffic including commutes by train, metro, walking, and driving to/from a slug/carpooling lot.
Are you making your decisions with a roommate(s) or life partner? Are you married? If yes, does your spouse also work outside the home or does he/she stay home with kids and work in a career from home? Also, are kids/relatives kids such as cousins, nieces, and nephews involved in your life either on a monthly, weekly or daily basis? Is there a child custody arrangement that requires you to live within a certain number of miles of your ex-spouse? All of these factors need to be considered carefully before making any home buying decisions.
All rights reserved 2010 and copyrighted by Sherrie Hartzell, licensed Virginia Commonwealth real estate salesperson at Coldwell Banker Elite Locust Grove, VA. Text/Call 540-903-0212.
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