Posted on: March 22, 2018 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Everybody has a dream house. When you think about your future, no matter how often you do it, you may find yourself thinking about the kind of home that you want to live in. To some, it will be the most classic of places and very realistic. To others, the sky may be the limit and their sights may be set on a Beverly Hills mansion! Regardless of what your dream home will look like in your mind, the chances are there is one sat there when you picture your future. And it’s only natural. Because when it comes to property, we’re all trying to climb the ladder.

When you buy your first home, it may not be your dream – but it’s your first home so it’s not meant to be. Really it’s your starter home. It’s the place that you kind of find your feet in. It’s somewhere manageable that is perfect for your first place. But, before long, you may find that you’ve grown out of it. At the same time, the place that you buy as your starter home isn’t always going to be suitable for your forever family home – particularly when it comes to size. So, it’s only natural that when you picture your forever home, it’s something aspirational.

However, it’s something that you may not overly think about achieving right now – because it’s five or so years away, right? Well, not necessarily. Because unless you take action, you will always be five years away from making it happen.

It’s All In The Mindset

You already know that you want to make this happen, and you want to do that soon. You know that if you’re dreaming up this stunning forever home, that one day it will be yours. But the sooner you realize that you have to have a plan in place in order for that to happen, the better. Adjusting your mindset from ‘one day’ to a set date is a great way to do that. At the very least, it’s going to help you to know how many years you will realistically do it in, whether that’s three or five or ten.

Then, you need to work through a plan of action to make it all happen. So let’s take a look everything you need to do.

How To Get Started

Right now, you may have no idea how you’re going to get underway. And when you think about trying to get your dream house, it can seem like something so big to take on – or something that you’re not ready for you. So you need to break it down into something more manageable and get started on the right foot.

Knowing What You Want

For some of you, this is going to be the hardest part, but you have to make sure that you know what you want to be able to get it. Do you want a class detached house or maybe something much bigger? Maybe you want a penthouse flat or apartment? You have to think about what this dream house actually is, and that it’s realistic. But we will get on to that part in more detail, for now, thinking about what you want is a good start.

Goal Setting

So now that you have the kind of house you want in mind, it’s time to get started on your plan of action. Goal setting can help with this. Ask yourself what you want to achieve. Time scale wise, do you want to do it in ten years or three? Working out rough goals at this point can help you to get a rough outline of your plan together.

Research

Now you’re going to want to get some research in. When you research the property market, you are then able to get a little more accurate with your goals and your plan. You need to see what’s available and what kind of prices you’re looking at. This then gives you a finite figure to be working towards. It will also help you to firm up timescales on how long this is going to take.

Creating A Plan

Now, you can pull together your plan. And you have to be realistic if this is going to work. You should know how much you need to save, what costs you’re looking at, and the steps you need to take to make it happen – including whether or not you’ll own other houses before you finally own your dream house. We’re going to look at all of this in more detail next.

Tackling The Finances

Your next question is probably going to be all about the finances, right? So let’s break those down too.

Knowing How Much You Need

You’ve done your research, so you know roughy what the kind of property you want is going to cost – even if it’s just a ballpark figure. So, now you need to work out what you need for that in terms of financing. Are you going to need to put more money up? Can you realistically get the mortgage that you need? By working out the totals for both, you can then start to get your finances together.

Budgeting

Whether you want to do this in five years or not, you’ll find that budgeting really helps you. When you set a budget for every penny that you spend, you have much more control over what goes on with your finances. And you can reduce your monthly expenses too. Yes, you’ve guessed it, that means you’re going to be able to add more to your savings pot so that you can get your dream house in however many years time.

Saving Long-Term

When it comes to your savings, it’s good to be thinking of these as a long-term thing. This could be something that you’re doing for five years straight. And yes it sounds like a long time, but it will become a habit, so after a while, you won’t even notice that you are saving. These long-term savings methods could help you too, just to make sure that this is as manageable as possible.

Increasing Your Income

Another thing to think about here is increasing your income, and these ideas can help. Saving can be hard work, and you’re going to want to make sure that you’re in a financial position to afford to live in your dream home and not just buy it. So if your dream home is a step up from where you are now, your income will need to take the same kind of step up in order for you to make this work.

The Practical Side Of Making It Happen

The final part of this involves the actual process of buying and moving and renovating your way to your dream home. This can be quite tricky for some people, but when combined with the points above, it should be a simple and effective way of getting your dream house in record time.

Maximizing Your Property Value

First of all, you’re going to want to make sure that your property is worth as much as possible – ideally the ceiling for your area. Because if you’re going to get to the top, it’s handy to be able to make some money out of property along the way. So get your DIY ideas in check and start boosting the value.

Climbing The Ladder

It’s also a good idea to try and climb the ladder. If you can make money out of your property, you may be able to do it again and maybe even a few times before you buy your dream house. Not everyone will want to do this, and that’s okay. Because you can still save and make the leap from where you are now to your dream home if you’re in the financial position to do so.

Keeping Your Eye On The Prize

At the same time, you’re going to want to keep one eye on the property market. Not only so that you can get to know the current climate, but also so that you can find the right place. Because this could take some time. Even when you’re ready to buy your dream home, it may not be available right away. So keeping your eye out is a great way to snatch it up when you do find it.

Right now, you may feel as if you can’t do anything to bring your dream home closer to you. But now that you’ve looked at the steps of what you need to do, you should find that actually, you’re in the best position to get started. Remember, your dream house won’t suddenly appear. If you’re not taking steps to get closer to owning it, you may never get there. But if you start today, make a plan, start to get real about your finances, and work on climbing the ladder or biding your time, then you will find that your dream home can be yours in just a few years time!

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