Relocating To A New Area

Relocating to a new area can seem overwhelming at first. You may have already been thinking through so many questions:

"How close can I live to my job, family member, or significant other?" "What neighborhoods should I look in?" "Can I afford to live there or would it be more affordable in that other area?" "Should I rent or would it better for me to buy a place?"

So to help you along, we have compiled 5 questions to help you when you move:

Get to Know The Areas:

Whether you are wanting to buy or rent, you’ll need to know where to live. Here are some questions that might help you identify the area:

1. Where will your job be? Or where does your family live? I’d start by looking at where your job is or whatever the reason that is bringing you to town. Nobody loves a commute longer than it needs to be. However, if your job is more industrial, there may not be anywhere near by, or if it’s family you may decide you don’t want to live close to them anyways.

2. If you have a spouse, where will their job be? Yes, this is basically the same question as above, but if the two jobs are across town or county from each other you may want to look at somewhere in the middle.

3. What are your hobbies? Hobbies are great. But if you are really “big” into one, it may not be cool to travel an hour to get there. Do you love the lake? Look there. Mountain Biking? Closer to the mountains.

4. How much do you want to spend each month? This will dictate certain areas. You can check with various resources like apartments.com to find out rental rates; they tend to increase each year. If you'd prefer to pay less each month and have it go towards your own investment by buying a house, run a search on a web portal, or “cough cough” we can do it for you. This will help identify areas that are more in line with your budget

5. Are Schools Important? Schools are important to people with children, and people without kids. Often times schools drive the price of real estate because schools that are perceived as “good/great” will have more people interested in living in their “zone”. It’s a basic supply and demand example. If you are looking for “good school areas” I would start at one of the school grading sites, or jump on a local Facebook group and ask the members. 

If you'd like more information on different neighborhoods, email us at [email protected] and we'll send over a neighborhood guide that will be helpful for you!

Now that you have all of those questions answered, you can decide whether you are going to rent or purchase. But what makes sense? Well it depends on you. Take our 2 question test to find out if you should buy or rent.

🔲 Do you plan on being in the area for at least 2 years? This is my personal cut off when people ask me if they should buy or rent in an area. We have had success in reselling a home just 8 months after our clients purchased it, however, that has a lot to do with luck. According to homescout.com, South Carolina had an average appreciation rate of 6.58% from Q2 2018 to Q2 2019. So that means on average your $100,000 home will be worth $113,000 in two years (based on the scenario, don’t send me hate mail if that didn’t happen for you). So if you gain $13k in two years, that should be enough to cover any traditional fees you might incur while re-selling.

🔲 Are you going to be traveling often, like monthly? There is something to be said about not having to cut the grass, clean the gutters on your “off time” from work. So if you find you want more of a maintenance free lifestyle, then renting may be your best option. Less maintenance, less stress.

Are you ready for the answer? If you answered “yes” to number one, I would strongly consider buying. At the worst, if you sold after 2 years and only “broke even”, then you’ve lived for free. Actually the worst worst scenario is if you tried to sell after 2 years but couldn’t or if the economy sagged a bit, and you had to move on to a new city. Then you could hire a property manager and have someone pay down your mortgage for a bit, and wait till you could make a profit. 

Renting and buying are both great options, depending on your situation. We hope this was helpful to you and if you want more advice on your own situation, reach out to us so that we can better help: