Moving home provides the opportunity for an exciting adventure, or can lead to one of the most stressful experiences of your lifetime. The view that you take on this issue may well be representative of your past experiences, but it’s fair to say that it’s not always easy to relocate.

The initial concern will almost certainly surround your ability to find a property that will truly meet the needs of your family. Will it be possible to discover a place that offers the sense of harmony that you desire, together with the practical advantages that you are seeking? We’re often told that estate agents suggest that location is absolutely everything when you come to selecting a new home.

The value of location

Is that really true? Looking at the area where I live, it’s certainly noticeable that smaller houses in the most desirable parts of town do tend to sell for more money than larger homes in locations that are not so sought-after. The same can be seen to be true on a national, or even on an international basis. To a certain extent, of course, the desirability of a specific location will be dependent on the views of an individual.

Some people may hate the thought of living close to a busy road or a railway station. For others, that close proximity to those key transport links may be a real selling point. As a home buyer, it’s critical that you should have a clear view of your requirements.

If you’ll be moving into a new apartment, flat or house with other people, then you’ll need to take multiple considerations into account. For families, in particular, there are always questions to be asked about which elements of a location are truly appealing. You’ll undoubtedly come to the conclusion that there is a level of compromise to be reached too.

What about prices?

Once you have highlighted your requirements, in location terms, you need to deal with the reality of looking at property prices. How likely is it that you will find your perfect home, in a dream location, at a budget that’s right for you?

It’s easy to take a negative view at this point and to decide that there’s nothing available that will really meet the needs of your family.

However, that’s a view that is often unnecessarily pessimistic. After all, you may be able to find the perfect property, matching all criteria that you set, but that needn’t meant that you can’t discover a home that meets your needs. It’s simply a question of thinking more carefully about what really matters.

So when can you choose to reach a compromise? It may be the case that you will start to think again about the location, or that you will settle for a smaller home in a location that you consider to be particularly desirable.

I would also suggest that it’s worth thinking carefully about local market conditions. Just because a price has been set by the seller, that doesn’t mean that you’ll need to match that asking price. There may well be room for negotiation, allowing you to secure somewhat more than you had previously believed to be possible.

One of the key issues facing most people is that we move on relatively rare occasions. What this means is that we may not have the confidence to deal with the situation, leaving us reticent to haggle over the price and to really consider our options. Your aim should be to get the best possible home for your family, at a price that you believe to be reasonable.

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Working with removals specialists manvanlondon.co.uk has given Simon Barnett a detailed understanding of the stresses that are sometimes associated with moving home. He enjoys writing about his experiences.