A common question I get from people looking to buy a home is how do I find (or choose) the right home for my lifestyle?

In particular, if they are selling as well and can’t decide what kind of home to buy next, they often lack some clarity on the topic.

So this is my normal advice to those who have asked me that question or some variant of.

This video segment was pulled from a long interview I did back in Feb 2022, where I answered a heap of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about real estate.

Once you’ve watched the video, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Note: The video was filmed in portrait mode rather than landscape, which is why it is narrow rather than wide. For the best viewing experience, I recommend you click the Full Screen mode button.

Additional Resources

Transcript:

So I’m a bit old school on this, okay.

So I have the butcher’s paper process. So we all know the butcher’s paper, the big blank pieces of paper.

It can be whatever you want to be. You can write it in your notes, on your iPhone. It doesn’t matter.

The principal is the same. You need four pieces of paper or four sections.

What must my new home have?

What must my new home not have?

So these are your not negotiables. This is, I will not buy a property that has this, or I will not buy a property that doesn’t have this.

Once you’ve got those then you move on to your what I would like it to have and what I would like it not to have.

So at that point, every property that you are assessing for your lifestyle move, and these are things you can give to agents in the areas that you want to move to as well, is saying we are going to buy a property if it has everything it must have and none of what it mustn’t have.

We will buy the property that has the most of what we’d like it not to have and what we would like it to have.

Whichever one comes up on that score rating the highest, that is the property that we are going to buy.

I do it with buyers all the time.

I’m like, “What’s it got to have? What can’t it have?”

So if it can’t have, if the house you’re going to buy can’t be anywhere near pine trees.

If you’re allergic to pine trees, you’re not going to go and live near the forest.

So if you’re not going to buy a house near there, you can instantly just rule those out. ‘Cause doesn’t matter how good the house is, you ain’t buying it ’cause you’re going to live inside because you’re going to be allergic to breathing outside.

So just narrow it down.