New normal home selection

“Location, location, location” is a common mantra in real estate. And it’s good advice—except for one thing: Most people have no idea what it really means. Read this before you begin your housing search!

 A good location can mean different things to different people, and there are also objective factors that determine a home’s value. Depending on your personal needs and preferences, you may not be able to buy a home with all of these factors. And that’s OK—after all, a home is much more than just an investment.

Prepping and the New Normal home selection

Preppers are individuals who believe that, in the near future, life as they know it will be challenged or changed due to a major event. Some preppers anticipate a local or regional catastrophe such as an earthquake, hurricane or extreme drought. Others expect a national or international crisis like a collapse of the financial system or power grid or perhaps a pandemic.

An important aspect of that is “bugging out”…. changing locations to a less volatile, less congested, and potentially safer locale.

Now that hundreds of millions of people have gotten a new taste of how important “home” actually is—as a safe haven, a de facto school, an impromptu remote office, and a forced, familial psychological petri dish—the spaces we live in, and more importantly what we demand of them, stand to look profoundly different in the post-pandemic world.

Centrality

Land is a finite commodity, where you choose to live within a city or town will undoubtedly affect how much you pay for your home. But having a balance of access to resources while also being relatively isolated from the chaos of a city will matter more for people considering the ‘Quarantine-Lockdown’ experience.

Neighborhood

The neighborhoods that appeal to you will largely be a matter of personal choice. However, a truly great neighborhood will have a few key factors: accessibility, appearance, amenities, & safety. Your neighborhood may also dictate the size of the house & lot.

The ideal accessibility would be having more than one point of entry. So a house with easy access to roads and/or public transportation will be more desirable than one that is tucked away and can only be accessed by one route.

Neighborhood appearance is subjective. My taste is minimalist and what matters to me is what is inside. A great neighborhood should also include important amenities such as grocery stores, shops, and restaurants. Most people like to frequent places that are convenient. The quality of local schools and the distance from the house are both important factors to consider.

Finally, don’t forget safety. A neighborhood that has a low crime rate and is an inviting and safe place to be outdoors and commune with neighbors is the type of place where most people want to live. Getting to know your local public servants from the municipal to barangay level is also necessary as how they respond to a crisis will highly affect you as well.

Development

It’s not just present amenities that matter, but future ones as well. Plans for schools, hospitals, public transportation, and other commercial or public infrastructure can dramatically improve property values in the area.

Lot Location

You also need to take into consideration where the house is actually located. But this is a long term consideration when you want to sell your home.

We all have to realize and accept that we are in a new normal now. The pandemic has changed everything.