How to Find Your Forever Home and Never Have to Move Again

There are not many people who enjoy the process of moving home, and of course, the expense and stress can put you off ever wanting to move again.

So if you are thinking of moving home why not make this move your last? Maybe even your first and last home move.

Finding your forever home, your dream home, your perfect home, would mean never having to move again.

The stability and security of staying long-term in one location, in a home that fulfills your needs throughout your life is the Holy Grail for many home movers.

But is finding a forever home realistic? Is it possible, does it even exist? How do you even choose a forever home?

Does it even make sense to look for a forever home when life changes so fast and is so unpredictable?

In this week’s home moving blog, we will explore the topic of the forever home and seek to answer all those questions and more.

You may also like to read: Which is More Important, House or Location? 31 Things to Consider. Everybody will say that location is paramount when choosing where to live but in this guide, we examine whether that is really true.

What is a Forever Home?

What exactly is a forever home?

A forever home is a property with the potential to change, improve, expand, or adapt to meet your ever-changing needs as you go through life.

A forever home will not primarily be a financial investment, but more a spiritual or emotional investment.

A forever home is where you will create wonderful memories, where you will mature and develop, and where the bricks and mortar will age with you and provide sanctuary, warmth, and security.

Of course, you will not want to lose money on your home, but the focus is on making the house a long-term home, not a quick money maker.

However, nobody has a crystal ball and knows what life will be like in a few years, and how your wants and needs may change.

So how do you know which property will meet all your future needs?

You may also like to read: Moving Into a Multigenerational Home: All You Need to Know. Your plans for finding a forever home may include it being suitable for multigenerational living. In this guide, we look at every aspect of having multiple generations living under one roof.

How to Choose a Forever Home

There are a few basic considerations to be taken into account when choosing a forever home.

Sure, life is going to throw you some curve balls over the coming years, it always does, but if the basics of a forever home are all there, and you have chosen wisely, then your home will be adaptable enough to cope with whatever comes your way.

# 1 Budget

No matter what your wish list is, your budget will dictate where you can move and how big the home will be.

There will often be compromises to be made as very few people are able to align their wish lists exactly with their budgets.

And no matter how tempting it may be to push yourself financially to get that perfect home you should be cautious.

You will not want to stretch yourself financially as there are always things to repair or improve in any home.

What is the point of living in a perfect location, in a big home, and not being able to afford the upkeep or being constantly stressed about money?

And that is an important point.

Your forever home is about creating happiness and security, wellness of body and mind.

If you are constantly worried about money then you will not find the peace and happiness that contributes to making a house a forever home.

#2 Location

Everyone will tell you that finding the right location is paramount. And there are many things to think about when it comes to location:

• Is it in the right catchment area for good schools?
• Is there good public transport that is well-used? Underused public transport could be stopped or rail stations closed in the future.
• How accessible are the main roads for commuting?
• Is the area earmarked for regeneration? How will that affect the feel of the area, what effect will that have on congestion, outdoor spaces, or bringing in new shops?
• Is it in a green-belt area so that it cannot get ruined by new housing developments?
• Are there long-established businesses in the area ensuring a good local economy?
• Are there sufficient social activities or venues in the area, not just for you now but when you or the kids get older?
• How strong is the community spirit? Are there community groups or social activities?
• How much does the local community get involved in improving the area?
• Are there signs of anti-social behaviour, graffiti, and general neglect?
• What are the council’s long-term plans and vision for the community?
• Is the council generally sympathetic to people wanting to extend their homes? In the future, you may want to extend or alter your home to meet your changing needs.
• Carefully check for planning applications in the area
• Are there plenty of recreational facilities?
• Is there easy access to safe parks and green spaces?
• How close are the neighbouring houses, can they be extended and encroach on your privacy?
• Is it in a floodplain area, what was the original use for the land your potential forever home is built upon?
• How long do people generally stay in the area? Have families lived there for generations or is the community more transient?
• What are local healthcare facilities like? How far do you have to travel to the doctor’s or hospital?

This list could go on and on depending upon your wants, needs, and the type of area you are thinking of moving to, but this gives you an idea of the type of things that you may want to consider.

#3 House, Bungalow, or Flat?

An important consideration is not only the layout of the home and the land it sits upon but also what type of home you might want to live in forever.

You may dream of a 200-year-old cottage with roses around the front door. You can see yourself pottering around in the garden in your retirement, picking your own veg, or sitting under the shade of a tree with a glass of wine.

But what about those narrow, steep flights of stairs? What about the huge maintenance costs that you will no doubt face throughout your life there?

Or you may dream of a large detached home with lots of garden space.

Or a flat right in the middle of the city with easy access to everything.

However, try not to discount any design of a home in your quest to find your dream home.

For example, bungalows make excellent forever homes.

They are often on larger plots of land with larger rooms and are easier to extend upwards and outwards should you want to. They are easier to maintain and easier to adapt to your needs in old age.

You may have a preconceived idea as to what your dream home will look like, but by leaving your options open, you may be surprised by just what you find.

#4 The Layout of the House and Garden

The layout of your forever home should enhance your quality of life now but also give you options to change and adapt as your needs do.

Comfort and functionality, along with versatility, are top considerations.

What are the features of an ideal home? What do you need to look for and consider about the layout when looking for a forever home?

An open-plan layout may be great now with kids running around or for entertaining, but is it easy enough to close those open spaces when you no longer need an open-plan home or it just becomes far too expensive to heat?

You will need enough bedrooms and living space for your immediate needs, but what about in the future? Is there an opportunity to extend the house upwards or outwards?

Can rooms be multi-functional or configured differently should you need to?

How will you use all that space when the children leave home?

Is the space in the home functional, does it meet your needs? Lots of space does not equal lots of usable space, so think about how you would make the house work for you.

Open coal fires may be romantic now but chopping wood or carrying buckets of coal into the home in winter is no fun. Nor is cleaning the grate every morning. Or waking to a cold home because the fire went out 4 hours ago.

Is there the opportunity to convert to gas central heating if you so wish?

What about parking? A single garage or driveway may be fine now but what about when the kids are older and still living at home with their own cars?

Is there enough space to have an office or an area where people can escape for relaxation?

How do you intend to use the garden now and in the future?

Is there space in the garden for an office or workshop, play area, or a den to escape to? Is the garden just too big to maintain in terms of time and money?

How will you cope with all that gardening in old age?

This is important, I have 2 acres of garden and it takes a huge amount of time and effort to maintain, so think very carefully about not only how you will use it but how you will maintain it, and how incredibly expensive it is to do so.

Is the loft space useable or is the garage suitable for converting to living space?

Is there a basement and if so how will you make the best use of it?

How future-proof is the home?

Is it able to accommodate the changes in technology that will undoubtedly come?

Things like electric charging points for vehicles will be more important, if not essential in the future.

How good is the internet connection and is it easily upgradeable as new technology becomes available?

You may also like to read: What Type of Property is Right for me, House, Bungalow, or Flat? In this guide, we list the pros and cons of living in different types of properties to help you make your decision as to what type of house suits your lifestyle.

Should Your First Home Be Your Forever Home?

Is it Better to Buy a Starter Home or a Forever Home?

If you are just about to get on the property ladder does it make sense to move into a starter home and work your way up the property ladder or wait a while, save more money, and make your first home your forever home?

Of course, we all have different lifestyles, and different financial circumstances, and our family situations are not the same.

What would be an ideal starter home for one person could also make an ideal long-term family home.

So it is difficult to know exactly what is a starter home in terms of size and cost, so most people look at a starter home in terms of the length of time they expect to live there.

Generally, people expect to stay 2-5 years in a starter home.

A forever home is a long-term home that you intend to stay in for the rest of your life.

Traditionally starter homes would be one or two-bedroom houses or flats, very often new builds as there are usually good incentives for first-time buyers.

Starter homes are generally the cheapest homes to buy.

Forever homes would generally be larger with perhaps a garden, and understandably will be at the higher end of the price bands.

In an ideal world moving straight into your forever home makes sense, but as with most things in life, it will come down to finances.

No one can predict what will happen to interest rates or the prices of homes over the next few years, whether there will be incentives to be a first-time buyer, or what taxes could be applied to home moves.

Trying to second guess what the future holds is all but impossible but there are pros and cons to buying both a starter home and a forever home as a first-time buyer

You may also like to read: How to Find New Housing Developments. Whether you want to know where the latest developments are in your area or an area you want to move to, or whether you want to know where your favourite builder is starting a new development, then this guide will be invaluable to you.

The Pros of Buying a Starter Home

#1 Affordability

Usually, starter homes are cheaper to buy, requiring a smaller deposit, so you will be able to get on the property ladder quicker.

And being a smaller home there will be lower running costs, maintenance will be cheaper, and decorating and furnishing the home will also be cheaper.

There are also many incentives to becoming a first-time homebuyer.

You can find out all the details of the various schemes currently available at www.moneyhelper.org.uk

#2 Build Equity Faster

The sooner you get on the property ladder the sooner you will hopefully be gaining equity in your home and paying off your mortgage.

Whilst there is no guarantee that this will be the case, usually the younger you are when you get on the property ladder, the younger you will be when your mortgage is paid off.

#3 Ability to Save or Invest

If you are really lucky you could invest the money you save in having a smaller home and find that the way that you have invested the money exceeds the growth of the rise in house prices.

This is also a good safety net in case the price of property crashes and your mortgage is more than your home is worth.

You could also be in the position of being able to pay off your mortgage sooner.

#4 You Can Live in Your Area of Choice

Because starter homes are generally low-priced, you may be able to afford a place in a better area with all of the advantages that it offers you.

#5 Investment Potential

If you are lucky and can hold onto your starter home when it is time to move up the property ladder then you may be able to rent it out.

This also gives you the ability to hold onto the property until the property market is high and you can sell it for an even bigger profit.

You may also like to read: Is Life Better in the City, the Countryside, or the Suburbs? In this guide, we share the pros and cons of living in different environments to help you decide which would be best for you.

The Cons of Buying a Starter Home

#1 Smaller Living Space

Not only will you have limited living space but outside space may be small to non-existent which curtails any potential for extending the home in the future.

The space within the home will also likely be less flexible too, giving you no options to repurpose rooms.

#2 Will Likely Need More Repairs

If you go down the route of not buying a new build home then you may end up with a home that needs renovating or at least repairing.

Renovating a home takes not only money but a lot of time.

Often starter homes have a ceiling price that no matter how many improvements or repairs you make to the property, a starter home in that area will never go beyond a certain price and you may actually end up spending more than the place is worth.

#3 Could be Harder to Sell

You need to choose the property and area wisely. If there is a glut of starter homes built in the future in your area, then prices may go down.

#4 You are Going to Have to Move Again

When the time comes to move on, you are going to incur estate agency and legal fees, taxes, and moving costs, not to mention a whole lot of stress throughout the whole process.

You may also like to read: Moving into a New Build: What You Need to Know. In this guide, we look at all the pros and cons of buying a new build home, whether it be a starter home or a forever home, if it is a new build you are thinking of buying then this guide is invaluable reading.

The Pros of Buying a Forever Home

#1 Cheaper in the Run Long?

Whilst you will have no moving costs in the future, your initial mortgage will be bigger and more expensive.

Then there are the additional maintenance and running costs over the years.

If you buy a starter home you may have to put in a new kitchen for example. You then move out 3 years later to your forever home where you decide you need a new kitchen again.

That kitchen is likely to last 10 years before it needs replacing again.

So you have had to buy 3 kitchens when if you had moved straight into a forever home, over 20 years you would have only had 2 kitchens.

You can apply that to appliances, furniture, and anything else in the home.

Of course, that is simplistic and the bigger home will cost more to run for example but buying once is usually cheaper than buying twice.

As the saying goes ‘a poor man always visits the market twice’.

#2 Feeling of Stability

Having a home that you see yourself living in for many years allows you to make a stable life, you can firmly set your roots.

There will be no dreading that time when you know the home will no longer meet your needs and you need to relocate again, having to unsettle the kids from school, make new friends, and adjust to a new area and home.

#3 You Can Make Long-Term Plans

You can make renovations knowing that they are an investment in the quality of your life rather than a financial investment.

Whilst you will not want to lose money, any changes you make to the home will be because they improve your home and lifestyle.

You may also like to read: Future-Proof Your Home Move. How to Choose Where to Live. Deciding on your long-term home and the area to move to can be an overwhelming choice. In this guide, we suggest some things that you may want to take into consideration when making that decision.

The Cons of Buying a Forever Home

#1 Increased Costs

Not only will your deposit be bigger, but so will all the buying costs.

Your mortgage will be more expensive each month, the running costs will be higher, and it will cost more to furnish, decorate, and maintain.

#2 Time Consuming

It should not be underestimated how much extra time you will need to devote to a bigger place. Cleaning and maintenance, not to mention gardening, will take up all your spare time.

There is also the time that you will need to save for that big deposit and initial home moving costs. Time that you will lose in building equity or paying off your mortgage.

#3 Limited Choices

If you have a forever home that you have invested time and money in, and then for whatever reason need to move sooner than you had planned, you may actually end up losing money.

Because of your huge investment, in not only money but emotional investment, you may find it impossible to take that dream job in another part of the country.

You may find that other opportunities in life come your way that you will be reluctant to take advantage of because of your forever home.

You may also like to read: Where to Move to Avoid Climate Change in the UK. In this guide, we look at how climate change is expected to affect every region of the UK and the things that you need to be aware of when looking for a long-term home.

Final Thoughts on Buying a Forever Home

Buying your first home is a financial decision that could have a major impact on your life so you should seek the guidance of an independent financial expert or The Money Advice Service before deciding what is best for you.

www.unbiased.co.uk will help you locate an independent financial advisor near you, just enter your postcode.    

www.moneyhelper.org.uk is a government service that offers advice about choosing a financial advisor.

There is no magic formula that helps you when it comes to deciding what home to buy.

There is no foolproof way of knowing what the future holds.

But how you think about the property, whether it is just a financial investment or whether your quality of life is more important, will help you decide.

A starter home does not have to be small, nor does a forever home have to be big.

As long as the home fulfills your needs, that you feel safe and comfortable there, that it is affordable, and that it contributes to your quality of life, then, for now, that home can be your forever home.

There are many guides to how to choose somewhere to live in our home moving blog so be sure to check them out.

And once you have found your new home then come back to find the best removal companies in the country to help you move home as well as discover plenty of essential home moving information.