What are your plans for your future home? Thinking practically can help you find a home that will fit for many years to come.

What do you love about that house? When you're shopping for a home, you can get caught up in the details that don't really matter: the color of the front door or the landscaping as you walk up the front path. Instead of focusing on what strikes you in the moment, your home shopping must be more analytical. Consider your future and think about how this space will fit into your upcoming plans, and once you've made the analytical leap, you can start to think again about how you'll turn this house into the home you've always wanted.

1. Think About Transportation

Does your dream home come with a dream subway system? Transportation isn't usually the topic of glowing realtors' reports, but it is critical for your current and future lifestyle. As you invest in a home, think about where you'll need to go in the next five years. If you're planning to change jobs or you're in a field where you'll need to shift locations often, are you close enough to transportation hubs that you won't need to change houses every time your job changes? Consider other life changes that could occur as well: children go to school, parents need care, and all of these require easy access to transportation.

2. Consider Your Investment of Time

Any new house is a project. Sometimes that project involves moving into a well-renovated home, and other times that project involves tearing down walls and building extra bedrooms. As you look at houses, think about the time, money, and interest you'll have in these renovations. You may have a lot of enthusiasm for home renovations now, but if you get a new job or become a parent, will you be able to finance that new addition to the house? Houses don't need to be move-in-ready, but they do need to be a project that's manageable for you in the next few years.

3. You're Not Buying a House, You're Buying a Neighborhood

While you can renovate a house, the amenities around a house are something that you can't change. Is the house next to wonderful walking trails? Is it in the center of town near all of the best night life? Look at what you enjoy doing now, but look toward your future as well. That suburban lot may work well now, but when your children leave home in a few years, will you want to downsize to an urban apartment that has style? Plan to live in a place where you can enjoy the ambiance for years to come, or know that you may need to move when your lifestyle changes.

Think about the ways in which your home will be accessible to your family now and in the future.

4. Consider Accessibility and Expansion

You can't plan everything. Families expand, and people become ill. As you look at your current stage of life, consider how this house will be accessible to your changing family. You may be older and looking at homes that have fewer stairs, a smaller garden, and are closer to family. You could be planning to start a family in the next few years: does this house have space for a child's bedroom and indoor and outdoor spaces that are child-friendly? Perhaps you're planning to create a home business. Is there an office or workshop area that you could use? As you look at a house, realize that it's a work in progress, but know that sometimes it's a bonus not to have to do all of that work during a time of life transition. Choose a house that can easily work with your life for the next few years.

5. Buying a House That's Not Perfect

You like the neighborhood, and the house has the right number of bedrooms, but something's not sitting quite right. If you are hesitating about an otherwise-perfect house, ask yourself to define the problems you have with it. If the house needs a new paint job and you'd prefer to have an open plan living space, those are elements that could change. Come into each property looking for the items that are most difficult to change and recognize that no house is perfect. Every one will need a bit of work to make it suit your future.

We know that you have a lot to consider when you're buying a house. That's why we make the process easy for you. Our tips and advice for home buyers will help guide you through the decision process. Subscribe for new home alerts today.