If you are looking to buy a home but you are not even sure what you want in a house, it gets a little tricky. How much house do you really want or need? How much land do you want around your house? Are you willing to compromise on the land for the house or vice versa? If you buy something you thought you could live with only to find out you cannot, it may be very difficult (not to mention expensive) to sell your house to get another one. Before you go through all of that, try "house sampling," a new trend that encourages you to live in rental homes a few weeks to a few months here and there to discover exactly what you want in a home and property around the home. Here is more on that.
Rental Homes Are Everywhere
With everyone living in someone else's house as a means of vacationing elsewhere, you can try living in a different county, a different state, and/or a different region of the country. You can rent little houses, cabins, mansions, ranches, etc., and experience living in these homes as though they were your own. This makes it very easy to decide what kind of home you might want to buy and where you might want to live.
Rental Home Prices Tend to Reflect Ownership Cost
Rental home prices tend to reflect the cost of ownership for the properties you rent. The rental prices are on par with the area's rental costs, and owners tend to charge enough to cover the mortgage on the property each month along with a little extra for taxes and insurance and maybe slightly more for a little profit. By renting this or that home, you can get a good idea of what a home like that would cost in the area in which the home resides. This may even help you plan ahead for saving and spending on the home you finally purchase because you are aware of the expenses involved through your rental home experiences.
You Can Try Condo Living for Low Maintenance
Condos that are rented out by the month are another option. Since condos are already low-maintenance properties (thanks to the condo owner's association on each property) you can see what it is like to have someone else mow your lawn, fix your pipes when they leak, and include it all in the cost of ownership/renting. Compare that to the lawn care and maintenance on properties where the owner expects you to take care of everything, and then you will know what kind of lifestyle you want to go with in the home you purchase.
For help finding rental homes, contact a real estate agency like Rosenblum Realty, Inc.