Needs Versus Wants

You have already met with your bank or mortgage broker to ascertain the price band you are able to purchase in.

Next step is starting your list and we will say that what you don’t want can be just as important as what you do want! A good idea is to draft a list of everything you think you’d like and then a second with the bare minimum of what you actually need. We have included an example below for you.

FIRST DRAFT WISH LIST:

Criteria	Why
4 bedrooms	Bedroom each & one for visitors
2 living rooms	Formal lounge & kids’ rumpus
Office	Computer space – don’t work from home
2 bathrooms	No waiting with young kids
Brick	Minimal maintenance
Otumoetai	​Close to kids’ school
Not Welcome Bay	Traffic congestion
Built 1990s or later	Don’t want to renovate

SECOND DRAFT NON-NEGOTIABLE ‘MUST HAVES’:

3 Bedrooms	Bedroom each
2 Living rooms	Formal lounge & kids’ rumpus/sofa bed (visitors)/office nook (computer)
1 Bathroom/2 toilets	No waiting for kids
Brick/Weatherboard	If repainted recently (8-10 years before needing to be painted again)
Otumoetai & other	Open to all areas if on school bus route
Include Welcome Bay	Leave for work and return home outside of primetime traffic
​Open to year built	If renovated. Must be re-plumbed, wired & piled for ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60 homes

Armed with your list of essentials, you are now ready to start viewing the homes fitting your minimum criteria. Whilst looking, consider the real estate saying, “If you’ve met 80% of your criteria, you have found your home”. The perfect property does not exist!

It is noteworthy that some of your “must haves” may be compromised and justified away by you, merely because the “feel” of the property says HOME. Be open to this because what we all seek when searching for a home, is that feeling other homes are not providing and this can come in a layout or style we did not previously consider.

At the end of the day, you will know you have found “your home” when it envelops you like a warm hug. It will be a property you find your thoughts returning to again and again, a property you would be devastated to find someone else has purchased.

Therefore, when you find it - act on it! Submit your offer and do everything in your power to make it yours. A good real estate salesperson will be your biggest aide in assisting you to move through your conditions and into the unconditional phase.