A New Life: How to Find the Perfect First Home after Marriage

Before the vows are said and the honeymoon is over, it’s time to start thinking about where you’re going to settle down. Choosing your first home after you’re married is an important decision, considering this is the location where you’ll lay the foundation for the rest of your lives together. With so much at stake, here are a few tips for finding that perfect first home after you get married.

Budget in Advance

Studies show that the leading cause of stress in relationships is money. This means that, if you want to start your marriage on a good foundation, it’s important to be wise with the money you have. Since purchasing a home represents such a large financial commitment, it’s important to carefully budget for it to ensure you can afford it. Otherwise, you might end up with bills you can’t pay that cause friction early on in your marriage.

Plan for the Future

For most people, moving is a stressful and disruptive process that they want to do as few times in their life as possible. If that’s true of you and your spouse, it’s important to try and purchase a home that provides at least a little growing room for the future. With plenty of single family homes for sale, there are many different configurations of bed/baths and other amenities available. Ensure that events like having children, family coming to visit, entertaining, and other special occasions can be accommodated in the home you choose. Otherwise, you might end up with a home that’s only suitable for a short while, leading to an early move.

Location, Location, Location

It can be easy to view your first home after you get married as a “starter home.” Many times, however, you will end up staying in that “starter home” a lot longer than you intended as all the busyness and responsibilities of real life start to accumulate. Make sure, then, that the home you choose is in a location that’s convenient to work and to other places you enjoy going. After all, if you choose a home that’s less convenient, thinking you’ll be moving in a few years, it will only make it more frustrating that you can’t move after those few years pass.

A Diamond in the Rough

Don’t go into the search for your first home thinking you’ll end up with a home that’s as nice as your parents’ or your friends’ or whoever it is in your life who has a nice home. Remember that you’re just starting out in your “grown-up” life, so unless you’re independently wealthy, a home that needs a few renovations or is lacking a few desired amenities is perfectly acceptable. Having this mindset can help you get into a home sooner so you can begin building equity in preparation for your next home that’s got more of what you originally envisioned.

Make It Yours

Ultimately, the best part about your first married home is that it’s your first married home. This is where you’ll be starting out your life together and making memories that last. So, as long as you work to make your first home your own and to fill it with love, your first home will not be a disappointment, no matter what it might look like.