Buyers, Considering the Move from Apartment Life to Home Ownership?

Buyers, are you thinking of losing the landlord, and owning your own home in San Antonio in the near future?  Are you considering a move from your nice newer apartment to an older, established neighborhood?  What adjustments can you expect in order to move into an affordable home? 

San Antonio is blessed with a lot of choices for first time buyers.  We still have builders actively constructing new homes, and a lot of them are in an affordable range for first time buyers.  But if a new home is not in your future, San Antonio has hundreds of neighborhoods in which you can find existing homes for sale that will be perfect for your first home.  But you may have to adjust your thinking a bit in what amenities you are looking for in a home.

• Need to update

For example, older existing homes may be not as new as your present apartment, and may have a kitchen or a bathroom that is in need of updating.  You may have to eventually invest money in newer appliances, or countertops to get the look you like. 

• Smaller rooms

Also, the room sizes may not be exactly what you have now.  Even though the home will most likely have more square feet than your apartment, some of the rooms may be smaller in an existing home, depending upon the age of the home.

• Less Open Floor Plan

The older homes may have dark paneled walls and standard 8 foot ceiling heights, and seem less bright than a newer home.  The floor plan in an older home may be more closed off or choppy, compared to a newer open plan.  The closets may be smaller, especially in the master bedroom than today's standards.

So why "settle" for an older home?  Look at the advantages.  There's a lot to be said for moving into an established neighborhood.  The area usually has a reputation for it's schools, crime rate, neighborhood associations, and the older areas are closer in to town usually, which makes for a shorter commute to work.  Also, the lots are generally larger and have mature trees and landscapes that give the homes a warm, lived in look.  You have more distance between your home and your neighbor's. 

Don't forget that your first home will probably be your smallest and will most likely have less features than your future homes, but you have to start somewhere to get the process going.  And what better time than now!