Moving from an apartment to a detached home is always an exciting experience. Extra space, more privacy, and the possibility to own space all your own are all reasons to celebrate the new adventure.
However, if you’re making the big change of going from an apartment or condo to your first full-size house, there are several lifestyle changes and challenges you might come across during your transition, especially if you’re moving to a new city or state.
Experienced real estate agents, like those at Harvey Kalles Real Estate agents in Toronto, will tell you that owning a home can come with more responsibilities and costs than simply renting an apartment. However, the payoff is often worth it if you are prepared.
Here are some things to consider when transitioning from an apartment to a house.
Size
In general, one of the main reasons people go from an apartment to home is for more space to grow. A home means more room for you, your family, and all of your possessions.
While this extra space is often welcomed, you should also consider that it will also require some living adjustments. For example, there is a good chance you will have more rooms in your home and thus require more décor, furnishings and anything else to make each room in the home comfortable and functional.
Maintenance
Partially relating to having more space in a home is having more maintenance that comes along with it. In the simplest terms, the more rooms you have means, the more rooms you need to keep clean.
It’s not just cleanliness you need to be concerned about, either. Owning a house means you’re responsible for the events that happen on your property. When you rent an apartment, you usually call the landlord to help fix the issue, but owning a home means it’s up to you to find somebody to repair whatever problem needs tending to.
You also need to consider things like preventative maintenance that most apartment and condo buildings schedule for you, such as HVAC cleaning, roof inspections, furnace filter changes, and any outdoor home maintenance and lawn care.
Expenses
Owning a home, in general, is more expensive than renting an apartment, and that doesn’t just mean the listing price of the house either. Besides your mortgage payment, you also need to consider the costs of home insurance, property taxes, home maintenance fees, and more. Other things you’ll need to consider are:
Bills like gas, water, and electricity are likely to rise in costs considering the size of your home is bigger and requires more of these utilities to run.
The costs required when furnishing your home with the appliances, furniture, and décor options will also be more considerable, given the increase in space. This also includes any outdoor and landscaping you may desire as well.
Finally, if you’re budgeting for your incoming expenses, don’t forget to include the possible prices that can incur during your actual moves, such as truck rentals, movers, equipment, repair work, and other associated costs.