Choosing a Home for Your Family (and Friends!)
If you love to entertain, you’re in luck. Buying (or even renting) a home for the holidays means that you can always have your friends and family close when it’s time to celebrate. But, there are a few things you’ll have to do before you start planning your holiday soirée.
Grab a Helping Hand
First on the menu: find a realtor. Your agent can help you determine which areas are within your budget and also an easy drive for your out-of-town guests. Whether you’re choosing Greenwood, Indianapolis, or anywhere in between, DOC Real Estate knows the area and can set you on the right path.
It also pays to get a jump on securing your moving company. Even if you don’t yet have a date in mind, you can research the best moving companies in your area by looking online. This will give you enough time to get multiple written estimates and have an in-home inspection (never trust a phone call) so that you can get an accurate quote.
Another professional that you might not think about when it’s time to move is a caterer. If you plan to have your first big party within days or weeks of settling in, having someone else do the cooking can help you enjoy a stress-free experience.
Entertainment Success
When you’re ready to begin your new home search, do not start with just the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you might need. While you obviously need a place for everyone in your home to sleep and spread out, you also have to have a functional space to entertain. An open floor plan is essential and comes with the added benefit of allowing more natural light in and giving you a flexible space that you can rearrange to accommodate your ever-changing needs.
Don’t forget to look for a floorplan that has a guest bathroom. You’ll want this to be accessible from the main area of your home. In other words, guests should not have to go through a bedroom to get to the bathroom. Your guest bathroom must be large enough to hold the essentials, such as extra toilet paper, hand soap, towels, and any other extras they need to feel comfortable when visiting your home.
Although you may only have the twinkling lights of Christmas in your sites right now, your new home should also have plenty of outdoor areas to entertain come Memorial Day weekend. A deck or patio will come in handy, and you can even use wire mesh around the perimeter to keep animals out while you entertain.
Added Reassurance
A few final things to consider here are how you will keep your home safe when you have many visitors. If your new home has a beautiful landscape, for example, you’ll want to find barriers to prevent parking on your lawn. Likewise, if there is not enough street parking, you may want to go ahead and install plastic mesh pads that allow people to park on the lawn without damaging your grass.
Before you host your first party, have a conversation with your insurance company about how extra features, like the swimming pool, hot tub, or fire pit, might pose a danger to guests and whether or not you need extra insurance in case of an accident or injury on your property.
To be the host with the most, you have to go beyond knowing how to set a table. When you’re looking for a home to entertain, make sure to put your guests’ needs at the top of your wants list. You also have to have the right people on your side, which means choosing the realtor and others that can help you make your move during the hectic holiday season. Finally, don’t forget the insurance and personal touches that will make your party house a safe and comfortable space for everyone.
This article is brought to you by DOC Real Estate, opened by Dr. Joe “The DOC” Bottorff, a retired minister who has a Ph.D. in theology. He began his career in real estate over 25 years ago, winning the title of Realtor of the Year for the State of Indiana before deciding to open his own agency, DOC Real Estate, in 1992. Today, DOC Real Estate has grown into a sizable firm in Greenwood. We have 45 agents who serve clients in the entire Indianapolis metro area. The agents at DOC Real Estate work hard to live up to the high standard of business that “The DOC” set out for over two decades ago. Our agents list and sell residential and commercial real estate properties in Greenwood IN, Indianapolis, Indiana and beyond. Call us today at 317-888-7333 to get started.