Choosing the Best New Home Floor Plan for Your Lifestyle

Buying or building a new home can be one of the most exciting and important events in your life. Choosing the best new home floorplan for your lifestyle that you will love to live in may seem daunting at first but following a simple process will help make it easier, and even fun!

Determine Must-Haves Based on Your Lifestyle

Assess your current home and determine what you like and dislike about it.

• Do you love to entertain but your current home doesn’t lend itself to easy traffic flow?
• Have you been dreaming of having a large chef’s kitchen with island seating and a walk-in pantry?
• Are you working from home now and need a dedicated office or flex space?
• Would you love to have an outdoor patio or private courtyard that is easily accessible from the main living areas of your home? What about a covered porch?
• How many bedrooms do you need?
• Is your garage large enough?
• Would you prefer a single-story or multiple-story home?
• Are you happy with your neighborhood amenities?

Think about what your most important wants and needs are and anything you specifically want to avoid like narrow hallways or a small garage without enough room for two cars plus storage. Maybe you currently have a two-story home but want the main living areas and bedrooms on the first floor.

Consider design style and how you will use your new home. Make sure to keep a list of your “must-haves” and “avoid-at-all-costs” handy while looking at floorplans to narrow down your search to a new home layout that will give you the most of what you want without anything you really don’t want.

Take into account what you think your life will be like in the future and make sure to choose a floorplan that will still work for you in 10 years and beyond.

Define Your Budget

Before spending a lot of time reviewing builders’ floorplans and looking at homes, get practical about how many of your wish list features fit into your budget for a new home. You don’t need to know exactly how much you can spend on a new home yet but should have a range to work with, so you don’t fall in love with a floorplan that is beyond your financial reach.

If possible, talk with your financial adviser and/or mortgage broker, to determine the average amount you can comfortably spend on a new home. Don’t forget to include monthly utility savings with a more efficient new home in your monthly budget.

If you are over 62 years old, you may also want to consider a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) available through an FHA-approved lender. Using the HECM for Purchase program allows you the option of making one initial down payment towards the purchase of your new home and never making a monthly mortgage payment for as long as you own the home as your principal residence. This increases your purchase power and helps preserve your cash through retirement.

Which Floor Plan is the "Right Size"?

Now that you have a rough idea of what you can afford to pay for a new home, it’s time to prioritize your wish list. If you have a growing family, you will probably need to prioritize the size and number of bedrooms over amenities and features. If you are getting close to retirement, single-level living and desirable amenities may be more important than the overall square footage of your new home. In fact, you may prefer a smaller home that is less expensive and easier to maintain.

The important thing is to rightsize your new home to fit your current and future lifestyle needs while staying within your budget.

Envision Your Desired Community and Amenities

In addition to choosing the best new home floorplan for your lifestyle, you need to choose a community that also fits your lifestyle. Is it close to friends, relatives, schools, shopping, and restaurants? Does it have a community pool, playground, or athletic field? Do you desire resort-style amenities such as a clubhouse, exercise equipment, tennis courts, or a golf course? What neighborhood features and amenities matter most to you?

While it may cost more initially to buy or build a home in a community with desirable amenities, you can also save time and money by having access to everything you need close to your home. When choosing a new home, consider how your life will be impacted in a positive way if you love your community as much as your new home.

Tour Homes and Communities

Once you have an idea of your budget, the size and type of home you want, and where you want to live, it’s time to get up close and personal with your floorplan search.

Most builders have floorplans you can view online, including 3D interactive floorplans that can give you a feel for what it’s like to walk through the home. This makes it easier to narrow down your search for builders and floorplans. However, once you’ve done that, there’s no substitute for physically touring homes and communities yourself to discover what it would be like to live in the homes and communities in which you are interested.

Pay attention to the room size and the flow of the floorplan layout while touring each home. Is it the right size with everything you need? Does it have sufficient outdoor living space? Is the garage large enough? Can you picture yourself and your family living happily in this home?

Don’t worry about features and fixtures at this point. Most builders can personalize their floorplans with structural options and upgrades to accommodate your design wishes, depending on your budget of course.

Once you’ve discovered and experienced the perfect floorplan and community for your lifestyle, you are ready to begin the exciting journey of building your new dream home!

Epcon Communities

Epcon Communities builds in locations around the country and our low-maintenance lifestyle frees up time for you to enjoy the activities and people that make your life more complete. Our luxury single-family homes offer floorplans from 1,300 to over 3,000 square feet with 2-4 bedrooms and most of our communities include resort-style amenities, so you’re sure to find the perfect fit.

Contact us to schedule an appointment with an on-site sales consultant who will be available to walk you through your favorite floorplans, answer all your questions, and give you friendly advice to make sure you are choosing the best new home floorplan for your lifestyle!