15 Things to Look for When Buying a House if You Have Kids
Buying a house is one of the largest financial commitments you will ever make in your life. While most people wind up eventually buying a different house at some point down the line, there is no doubting how significant of a financial and time commitment your first home purchase is. There is so much you need to do to properly vet the houses that you are looking at, regardless of your situation. From the layout and size to the price and the location, there are simply so many factors that go into finding the right house. The home buying process tends to take a while, and this is a good thing in many ways!
Regardless, there is so much to consider when selecting a home. If you have children, the situation gets even more complicated! While adults can be a little bit more flexible when it comes to living environments, there are 15 things to look for when buying a house if you have kids that are absolutely crucial. This post is going to dive into all 15 of these things, pointing out what exactly you should be considering as you shop for a home.
1. A Highly Rated School District
While homeschooling and private schooling are options for many families, the simple fact is that most parents send their children to public school. Specifically, about 90% of American children go to public school! This means that selecting a house that is located in a top-ranking school district is crucial. While it may seem a bit outlandish, prices vary drastically depending on the school district that a house is located in. After all, schools are funded by local property taxes, so it makes sense that the communities with higher home values yield higher ranking school districts!
Naturally, you probably want to send your children to the nicest school district possible, and in most states the only way to do that is to own a property within the school district’s geographical area. This is what makes buying a house in the right area so important, and it is best to look into this before a purchase is made!
2. A Nicely Sized Yard
Fresh air is incredibly important for children. While living near parks and other nice public outdoor spaces is always a good thing, nothing beats having your own private outdoor space where your children can safely play and run around. Many parents think that they will be find just living near public parks, but they quickly find out that it is very hard to multitask when they need to walk their children to the park. Having a private back yard often makes multitasking with housekeeping duties much more manageable. As we all know, time is very scarce, and anything that you can do to save time is often invaluable!
As children grow older, this becomes a bit less important. The swet spot for having a large yard is ages 3 to 13, where children are much less independent, need plenty of outdoor exercise time, and need constant moderation. Once they get a little older, they will likely pursue exercise and activity through sports and other extracurriculars, making a backyard a bit less necessary.
3. A Safe Floorplan or Layout
This means different things at every age. For toddlers and infants, one of the biggest things to consider is doorways and passageways that can hold a baby gate. Being able to limit these little ones to one or two rooms at a time is often crucial to protecting them, as they find ways to get into trouble way too easily!
As they get older, one of the big things to think about is the age of the home and the materials used. Older homes tend to have a lot more loose screws and nails holding things together (like in the floorboards) and it is all too easy for a rambunctious 6-year-old to stomp right on a nail sticking up or to pull away at old flooring and expose dangerous materials.
4. Proximity to Parks and Amenities
While having a nice yard is important, living near nice parks and other amenities is always a huge advantage when you have children. Being able to pop your little ones into a wagon or stroller and walk to the grocery store, park, or coffee shop is a great way to get them out and about without the need to load up in the car.
On top of just getting them some fresh air, living within walking distance of these amenities can make your life easier, too! Living within quick walking distance of a grocery store, for example, eliminates the need to round up all the troops, load them up in the car, and drive 10 minutes to go pick up the basil you forgot to grab for dinner. Popping them into the stroller or wagon is often easier, and it provides you all with some fresh air, too!
5. At Least One Bathroom with a Bathtub
Many parents (or parents to be) neglect to shop for homes that have a bathtub. This is a thought that often slips through the cracks, and many parents think that they can get by with just a shower. While this may work for babies, it gets much more difficult as the child grows into a toddler! Having a bathtub is a very valuable aspect in any house, and installing one can be a major hassle and investment.
Finding a house that is already equipped with a bathtub eliminates a lot of headache and expense down the road. Many people don’t realize how expensive it can be to install a bathtub in a house that is not pre-equipped for one, and the costs certainly add up!
6. An Open or Eat-in Kitchen Layout
Cooking is a lot of work. From preparing the ingredients, to actually cooking them, to cleaning up the mess and dishes that are left after the meal, making a meal for a family with children is a lot of work. If you are the only parent home, cooking a meal and watching the kids at the same time can be literally impossible to accomplish.
If you purchase a home with a closed kitchen plan, making a meal for your kids gets even more complicated. Having an open or eat-in kitchen makes this so much easier, as you can keep an eye on your children while you work in the kitchen to get everything ready to eat. Afterwards, if your children will not help you do the dishes, you can give them something to do at the table while you clean so that you can keep an easy eye on them.
7. Enough Bedrooms for Your Future Family Size
This piece of the homebuying puzzle is complicated. Often, people can only afford to buy the size house that they need at the time of purchase, and buying their dream home is far out of reach. If you can’t afford a larger home, it is very important that you don’t overspend. After all, mortgages last for 30 years, and you don’t want to bury yourself too far in insurmountable debt.
However, something that you absolutely should consider is purchasing a home that is sufficiently large for the full size of the family you intend to have, even if you haven’t had all of your kids yet. While not every child needs their own room, buying a two bedroom home likely will not work if you plan to have three or more children. In this case, you may opt to sacrifice a bit on location to expand your purchasing power to include an extra bedroom or two.
8. A Large Laundry Room
Laundry is a chore that takes a very long time, and the more children you have, the more work goes into keeping their clothes clean! If you have several children, it is often a good idea to search for a house that has a nicely sized space to do laundry. Whether this is the basement or a dedicated laundry room, many parents with several kids discover that a stacked washer and dryer tucked into the bathroom simply don’t provide enough space for them to do laundry efficiently for the whole family.
At the end of the day, time is a limited resource. Doing all that you can to invest in time-saving spaces is invaluable, and paying a few extra thousand dollars to purchase a house with a nice laundry room will likely be worth it in the end!
9. A Room That Is Easy to Convert into a Playroom
Children are notorious for making messes. If you allow them to take their toys all over the house, you will likely have a lot of cleaning up to do later! Purchasing a house with a floorplan that is amenable to creating a dedicated playroom is usually a very beneficial decision, as it gives your children a room that they can own and take pride in while also making your job easier as a parent. Limiting messes to one room makes hosting dinner guests much easier!
10. A Safe Surrounding Neighborhood
This point is often correlated with the first point on our list, but not always. As a parent, your principal job is to protect your children at all costs. The world is not always a safe place, and it is prudent to ensure that the house you are buying is in a safe neighborhood. Some very nice school districts have some very dangerous neighborhoods, and some very bad school districts have some very nice neighborhoods. It is a really good idea to vet the neighborhoods you are looking at before you sign on the dotted line for a loan that will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over several decades.
11. As Few Floors as Possible
We touched on this in the section about safe floorplans. One key element to choosing the right house when you have children is choosing a house that has as few floors as possible. If your children are all older, this is less applicable to you. However, if you have any children that are still infants or toddlers, it is safest to choose a home that has as few floors as possible.
Selecting a ranch style home is one of the safest options, but the supply of ranch style homes is not very high. As a result, this point might be less attainable in many areas, but should remain high on your priority list if you worry about your children accidentally tumbling down the stairs.
12. Local Regulations and Restrictions that Are Favorable to Families with Children
Depending where you buy a house, there may be regulations that restrict the things you do with your home. Some communities do not allow pools and trampolines, for example, while others might not allow certain kinds of pets. Some communities do not allow homeowners to install fences! It is always best to talk to your real estate agent to determine what rules and regulations govern the properties that you are looking at so that you can properly understand what you are signing up for.
13. Built-in Storage
As your family grows, so will the amount of stuff you need to store. Each child will likely have their own collection of things that ultimately need to find a home within your home, and it is very easy to run out of room. Rather than renting a storage unit or building a shed, consider looking for a house that already has built-in storage spaces, like storage rails on the garage ceiling or a storage room in the basement.
14. A Fence Fully Surrounding at Least One Yard
Privacy is incredibly important. There is no perfectly safe neighborhood anywhere in the world, and keeping other out of your personal space is often a good idea in today’s society. Even if you know and trust your neighbors, maintaining privacy in your yard is almost always a good idea and a fence is one of the best ways to attain that. While privacy is nice, fences also offer a high degree of safety for families with children.
If you have a fence, you can let your children roam around in the yard much more freely than if you do not. If you are looking at houses near a major road or highway, the importance of a fence grows exponentially. Having the ability to let your kids roam around the back yard while you get work done around the house opens up a lot of time in your day, and studies show that this time outdoors is crucial for their development!
15. A Community or Neighborhood That Allows Pets
Not everyone loves animals, and not every family is a pet family. However, one thing that is undeniably true is that many families who initially do not intend on getting a pet eventually get one once their children beg long enough! Many kids strongly desire a puppy or a kitten to play with, and a lot of parents eventually give into this desire.
If you anticipate that your children might one day ask you for a pet, it is important that your neighborhood allows you to have pets! While most neighborhoods allow traditional pets like cats and dogs, some neighborhoods have much stricter restrictions and it is a good idea to understand what they are before you buy.
Thank you for reading our post on things to look for when buying a house if you have kids. Buying a home is always a very involved process, and it is even more challenging when you have a full family to consider. From safety, to fun, to quality of education, there are simply so many things that can impact your children’s experience in the home that you buy. Hopefully this post has provided you with some key things to consider while you shop for a home for your family!
If you decide to visit Myrtle Beach or any other place in South Carolina and fall in love, reach out to us for help. We at The Boyd Team are always here to help you figure out whether Myrtle Beach is your next home or not, and we are committed to helping you find the right property for your needs and dreams. Any question that you have about moving to the area and finding your dream home by the beach is our pleasure to answer. Feel free to send us an email at eddie@boydteam.com or text or call us at (843) 222-8566, and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Being true natives of the Grand Strand and Horry County and with over 25 years of experience in the local real estate market, whether buying or selling, we can help you make your dreams a reality.
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