Moving can be tough and finding your next home can be even tougher. Right now, my wife and I are presently looking for a home in San Diego, California for our growing family. Our current home is really old, and to be quite honest, although I enjoy the character of older homes, the responsibility began to become too much. Things are always breaking down, and the costs continue to rise. So, we decided to cut our losses an try to find something a bit larger that can accommodate us and our children. However, our kids are now the age where they very much enjoy sharing their opinion, about everything. Of course, their needs are a big part of this home search but of course our 3 kids are looking for swimming pools, basketball courts, and a home theater all under one roof. Once we cut out the mega mansion desires of the kids we were able to settle on some key attributes we want in the new house.

Does the Floor Plan Work?

It’s one thing to look for a five-bedroom and four-bathroom house and quite another to find a property that is laid out in a way that works best for your family. For example, some houses may have a master bedroom on the first floor. If you have a newborn, however, it may be important that you’re located right next to them. For families with toddlers who tend to explore, an open floor plan would make it easier for you to see them no matter where they are. If your elderly parents are moving in with you, do you need to have a single-story home, so they don’t have to go up a bunch of stairs?

The layout is just as important for the day-to-day living of your family. If you need a home office, can it be somewhere quiet away from kid’s bedrooms and play areas? Speaking of play, where will your kids spend most of their time in the new house? A big backyard is part of the landscape but that is usually not attainable in most affordable San Diego homes. A small grass space around a pool with open space around it would be perfect for us, but we don’t know if a pool is something we want if we have another child.

What’s the Neighborhood Like?

Most people remember to check for things like crime rates. However, there’s a lot more to a neighborhood. It is important to have a clear understanding of the type of area you’re living in. For a family with small children, living on a street where the traffic is excessive, for example, may be a hazard. If you’d like peace and quiet at night but live near a construction site or an area where businesses are, this may pose an issue. If your kids tend to play outside, perhaps you want to move to an area or a development where there are a lot of children their age. Remember, you’re not just buying the house, but you’re committing to the neighborhood as well. So, it should be an environment you and your family can enjoy now and in the future. When kids can live near their classmates it can ease a move. They will see the same children on the bus to school, in class, on the way home, and around the neighborhood which can help them make fast friends.

Will Your Kids Fit Into The Schools?

Your children will spend a great deal of time in the schools wherever you move so you want them to like it while providing them with a good education at the same time. Whether you’ve decided to enroll them in private or public schools it is imperative that you do your homework. What is the student/teacher ratio? How well do children perform? What is the high school graduation average? What is the cost of private schools? Other factors you might consider related to school include types of transportation available and available programs for children both after school and in the summer.

Through this process I have totally re-learned that buying a home this time around is way different than the last time we did this. When buying a starter home or apartment for yourself and a significant other, there are factors that may not matter as much. However, when there are children involved, there’s a lot more to consider. Our list of what was going to be a priority for our new family home guided did some research, and then looked to professionals like Berkshire Hathaway, who specialize in regions such as Coronado real estate for answers.

You’re going to be living in your family home for what you hope to be a lifetime. Though keeping things in mind like costs, style, personal preferences, and the like are important to consider, you don’t want to end up making mistakes and having buyer’s remorse later on. We did the research and ended up finding the perfect home for our family to enjoy.