Is your dream home right under your nose?

By Jacqueline Wake Young

March 22 2023, 11:45 am

Coloured bathroom suites can put off some buyers, others think they are beautiful or are willing to live with them for a while.

People can spend years looking for their dream home and some even discover it was there all along, they just dismissed it early in their search.

One of the reasons for this is that when such a big investment is involved, there’s a pressure for things to be perfect – especially when we start using language like “forever home” and “dream house”.

What does a dream home mean for you and where can compromises be made?

Seeking perfection is one thing, but refusing to compromise on even the smallest detail is another and it can serve as a barrier that keeps potential buyers in an endless loop of anticipation and disappointment.

To break the cycle, what’s often needed is a change of mindset because if a home hunt has gone on too long, chances are the problem is not with what’s on offer but with what the buyer is demanding.

Some properties have to be seen on the inside to be fully appreciated.

If you’re struggling to find your first, next or ‘forever’ home, here are some tips to help you move past whatever is holding up that process.

1. Where is the compromise?

We often talk about properties “ticking all the boxes” but do all the boxes really have to be ticked?

Think about your list of wants and work out, if you really had to, what one area might you be able to compromise on?

Is it the location, the outdoor space, the parking, the number of bedrooms or the budget? Being willing to move on the latter might be all it takes to instantly expand your choices.

Could the compromise be a smaller, but no less beautiful, garden?

2. Don’t judge a book by its cover

Always look beyond the exterior images of a property because as we on Your Home know only too well, some homes that look quite ordinary on the outside can be absolutely amazing on the inside.

It helps to develop an ability to visualise how things could be.

3. Love a courtyard

You want outdoor space, you want al fresco dining, you need a garden – or do you? Garden grounds can seriously ramp up the price of a property when you might be just as happy with a few square metres of patio.

Look up “small gardens” or “courtyards” on sites such as Pinterest and prepare to be amazed at how beautiful they can be and how ‘perfect’ they are for entertaining.

Courtyard gardens can be all you need for a relaxing outdoor space and for entertaining.

4. Live with avocado

Coloured bathroom suites, swirly carpets and quirky interior design choices can put some buyers off a property but don’t let that be you.

Try to block all that out by applying a mental lick of white paint so you can note the layout and proportions of the rooms and the structural elements.

Everything else can be changed and if it means you have to live with an avocado bath for a year then so be it. Unless you agree that coloured bathroom suites are fab of course.

Mentally block out mess and strange design choices to note layout and structure.

5. Do a search by ‘oldest first’

This will bring up properties that for some reason have been overlooked, possibly for superficial reasons (see swirly carpets above) and may be worth proper investigation. These are also the properties where there may be room for negotiation on price.