3 Signs Your Forever Home Is No Longer the Right Home for You

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It may be time for a move. 

Some first time home buyers specifically opt to purchase a starter home and then make plans to upgrade to a forever home down the line. Others, meanwhile, aim to buy their forever home from the start.

Of course, not everyone believes in the concept of forever home. In a 2017 survey by Taylor Morrison, 56% of homeowners said they thought the idea of a forever home was outdated.

If you’re living in a home you’re convinced is the place you’re meant to stick with indefinitely, then the idea of moving may not sit well with you. But if these signs apply to you, perhaps you need to ditch your forever home — and find one that better suits your needs.

1. You’re sorely lacking in space

It’s one thing to wish for an extra closet in your downstairs hallway, or to wish your garage offered a little extra shelving space. It’s another thing to be constantly tripping over piles of stuff throughout your house because there’s simply no place to put it all. If that’s the case, and your home has become one giant pile of clutter, then it may be time to move to a home that offers more storage.

But it’s not just storage space you might be lacking. If you’re a family of five crammed into a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home, you might constantly have issues with people needing to shower at the same time, or people (adults and kids alike) lacking privacy. These are problems that could impact your quality of life, so if you’re grappling with them constantly, then it may be time to put your home on the market and plan for a move.

2. You’re not close to the things you need to be close to

Maybe your children are involved in after-school activities that are easily a 30-minute drive — each way. Or maybe you’ve switched jobs since buying your home, and your commute is now atrocious. These are all good reasons to ditch your forever home — even if you have no issues with your living space itself.

3. You’ve become house poor — and are tired of it

As a general rule, your housing costs — including your mortgage payment, property taxes, and homeowners insurance premiums — should not exceed 30% of your take-home pay. But if your earnings have changed, or your property taxes or homeowners insurance costs have risen since buying your home, you may be in a place where you’re spending so much money on housing that there’s barely anything left over for your remaining bills.

Being house poor is not a great way to live. It can be stressful and financially damaging. So if you’re in that situation, it’s probably time to move to a different home.

Leaving your forever home behind isn’t always an easy thing. But if these signs apply to you, it means something about your housing situation isn’t working. And in that case, there’s no sense in sticking with a setup that just isn’t right.

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