When it comes to house hunting, it’s tough to know where to start. There are so many factors to think about, from the budget and area, to the number of bedrooms. It can feel like a tangle of decisions.
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But Phil Spencer has found a clever system of making sense of house hunting and all those tricky choices about what you want, need and can afford in your future home.
On his podcast, MoveIQ, the Location, Location, Location presenter explained that before you start house hunting, the best place to start is to think of your property search as a triangle.
‘I describe it a bit like a jigsaw or triangle,’ he tells fellow presenter Chris Ducker. ‘There are three points. The money is the fixed bit because that’s the amount that you’ve got or that you can borrow. That leaves location and space as the two other variables.’
He advises then working out what space you would like and then the areas you are interested in looking at. The next step is to see if these two things match the budget you originally set yourself.
If one of them doesn’t fit the budget, one's got to move,’ the property expert says. ‘You’ve got to find the neatest fit of the jigsaw or triangle, where the budget will get you the space that you need in an area that you would like.’
However, if you’re still struggling with working out where to start looking and what size home to be thinking about, Phil has another nugget of wisdom for you.
'Play the tape forward, and imagine where you would like your life to be in 10 years time,’ he suggests. 'When it comes to purchasing a house, it is such a huge decision you have to cast your eyes into the future. What you want in your 20s might not be what you want in your 30s, and you need to try and predict this.'
‘You have to sit down and really forecast your life, and write down what it is you’re looking for,’ he adds. ‘Separate the must-haves from the would-likes.’
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Will you be testing out Phil Spencer’s triangle method when it comes to searching for your next home?
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