Most people start this at the kitchen table with a calculator. I think that is backwards.
The conversation usually opens the same way. What is the house worth, what will the next one cost, what does that leave. Reasonable questions, all of them, and completely impossible to answer well before you know what you are actually trying to do.
The question underneath
Where do you want to be on an ordinary Tuesday. Not a holiday, not a family gathering. A Tuesday in February.
Some people answer that with a street. Some answer with a person they want to be ten minutes from. Some answer with something they have not done in years and want back. I have had a client answer with a workshop and another with a kitchen large enough for everyone to stand in at once.
That answer narrows the search faster than any number does, because it rules out most of the market immediately. A bungalow that works on paper and bores you by March is not a good outcome, whatever it cost.
Then the numbers
Once you know what you are looking for, the numbers become useful instead of paralysing. There is something specific to test them against.
That part is not mine to advise on, and I do not pretend otherwise. I am a Realtor®, not a lender or an accountant. What I do is work alongside yours, so the people who should be answering those questions have the full picture of what you are planning.
Lifestyle first. The arithmetic second. In that order it is a decision. In the other order it is a spreadsheet that nobody is happy with.
Thinking about a move?
A phone call and a short visit at your home, with no obligation. I will tell you exactly what applies to your move before you commit to anything.
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