When we decided to leave our suburban home we looked at real estate sites. We had 5 items to keep in mind.
Our 5 requirements for our property
- To be within a half hour of the city where we worked. I would be working from home but my husband would be driving daily to his place of work. Weather would definatly be a factor as well since we live in the north and get a good amount of snow storms in the winter.
- We wanted it large enough to have our 2 horses live on it. This was over 3 acres for the municipality we were looking at.
- We required the property to have a home on it with potable water, working septic and hydro available. This made it a property we could live at while adding barns or renovating the home.
- To be in our price range. We knew what our previous house would sell for and we approximated what amount we were willing to use for enhancements to the propery.
- We required it to have some character. Not a flat piece of farmland.
Your list might be different than ours but do think about your 5 most needed items. Are you a handy person or does it need to be turn-key? Can you hire someone to do the work needed? Can you work from anywhere? Do you need it close to schools for your children? Do you need to be close to hospitals or shopping?
Can you get good internet? A big question for some rural areas.
Do you need 1, 5, 10 acres or more? This all depends on what you plan to do. Animals are considered in units per acre so consider looking into this for your municipality.
How close will the neighbours be? We have great neighbours close enough but not too close.
Country properties are going fast in some areas so if you know what you want, start looking and get a real estate person you trust looking for you.
I’d love to hear about your property search and successful buy.