Before you decide what kind of new Las Vegas home you want, think about how life might change during the years you’re in it
- Work considerations
- How the family will change
- Travel, pets and more
Think about your life 10 years ago. Was it exactly the same as today? Undoubtedly not. And it likely won’t remain the same during your family’s time in this new house.
Considerations before you buy that new Las Vegas home:
- More kids: Are you done having kids or might more be in the picture? (It’s not always your call.) If so, make sure you have room for all the beds and clothes.
- Fewer kids: If you’re about to lose two or three offspring to college or adulthood, you might not want to invest in a five-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot ranch house to ramble around in with just two or three of you there. (We aged into that circumstance.) Then again, a “center of the universe” place for all the families and grandkids to gather might be highly appealing to you.
- Kids return: Just because Junior went off to college doesn’t mean he’s done with the room, at least in his mind. It’s tough for millennials to get started in life these days, and they may want boosts in the form of room and board for a while. (That happened to us.)
- Parents return: Any chance that you’ll have to care for ailing parents?
What about non-family life changes?
- Job changes: How stable is your career and employment? If you’re in a volatile or declining business (like newspapers, my former career), your income may change or you may have to move.
- Want to travel: If you’re expecting to hit the road a lot more, make sure you buy something that allows for protracted absences, like a low maintenance yard.
- Do you have a dog (or want one): Depending on size, you could need a fenced yard, or a bigger one than comes standard in many a new Las Vegas home.
- What else: Anything coming up in your life or others in the household that affect what and where you buy?
So there are plenty of considerations in deciding even how big of a new Las Vegas home you want or how many rooms. What seems to work better for most thinking of buy Las Vegas real estate is to get a little more than what you need at first and grow into it. Downsizing can be easier than upsizing for a family.
Click here to get Hal DeKeyser’s book on buying new construction in Las Vegas.
