Finding Your Texarkana Family Home
by Thomas Walker
Every major life choice comes with its struggles, and house-hunting in the current market is a herculean task, but finding your Texarkana family home can be done with a bit of prioritizing, patience, and persistence.
The first step for house-hunting in any area is to assess what’s most important for you and your family. Whether you’re making a major investment by purchasing a family home in Texarkana or finding a new rental, you need to prioritize your wants and needs. By doing this, you can remain within budget and find a home and location the entire family will enjoy.
Deciding to Rent or Buy
Before you begin looking for a home in Texarkana for you and your family, consider whether you want to rent or buy. For example, if this will only be a temporary move, it might be in your best interest to rent.
You should also consider the prices you can expect to pay to buy or rent in the area. On average, the cost to rent is $1,071 per month. The median home cost to purchase, on the other hand, is approximately $235,000.
Consider Local Amenities
When you’re making a move to Texarkana, think about the amenities that you want nearby. For example, if you want to keep your kids active in sports, you may want to be near the William Karrh Memorial Park, which offers youth softball, or Spring Lake Park which is central to several nearby schools. Make sure to narrow down your search by choosing a school district that matches your family’s needs.
You should also consider how close your home is to things you may enjoy or visit often, such as Legend’s Gym or a donut shop like Bake & Fresh Donuts.
To save you time as a parent, you may also want to look for a home that’s close to your favorite grocery store.
Yard and Home Space
The average size of a home in the United States is 1,309 sq. feet. New construction homes, on the other hand, average 2,500 sq. feet. As you can see, homes range greatly in size. That’s why you should get an idea of the right size home for your family and belongings. If it’s difficult to visualize how much space you need, take a few tours of different-size homes and get a feel for what’s comfortable for your family.
Don’t forget to consider the size of the yard. Make sure you have enough room for the kids to run and play or you could find yourself venturing to parks and other activities more frequently than you’d like.
Features You Want and Need
Know what your needs and wants are prior to looking for homes in Texarkana.
A need might be a certain number of bedrooms for you and your kids. If you work from home or take your work home, you might need an area for a home office.
Wants may include having a pool to enjoy as a family when the weather is nice or a second living room for movie nights. Finding a balance of both wants and needs is the most important part of house-hunting.
Realizing Potential
It’s easy to look at houses or apartments for you and your family and focus on getting exactly what you want. However, you should realize the potential of the homes you look at and not just the home as-is. If you or someone in your family is handy, it can be both fun and rewarding to look into a fixer-upper home. In general, it is good to always consider changes you can make to the home to make it yours.
Crossing the Finish-Line
Finding a home is tough work! Finding one to suit the needs of multiple family members is even tougher. However, there are few things more satisfying than a job well done. Remember to narrow down your search area to be within reasonable distance to your frequented amenities. Have an open-mind to fixer-uppers, and most importantly, keep in mind your family’s wants and needs. Last thing to do is practice patience and persistence. Best of luck to all of you house-hunters in Texarkana!
