It’s no secret you love sports. You’re a true fan and player. You enjoy watching the games as well as throwing the football outdoors and shooting a few hoops with friends. As you get ready to buy your first home, you want to make sure that it has enough space, indoors and outdoors to support your pleasures. After all, buying a home is a huge investment and you should research each considered property to make sure you get everything you want for your money.
Finding a Real Estate Agent
The first place to start is finding the right real estate agent. For instance, if you live in Santa Monica, go online or talk to relatives and friends who own homes to see what Santa Monica real estate agent they recommend. The advantages of using an agent versus going it alone are that they often have access to properties up for sale before they go public. This can give you the upper hand and an opportunity to find the right house for you without having to worry about many other buyers interested in the same piece of real estate.
Identify Precisely What You Want
Once you have a real estate agent you trust, make a list of the must-haves. For example, let the agent know that in addition to a living room, dining room, and a bedroom, you also want a separate room large enough to accommodate your sports obsession. You need space to fit a big screen TV, a pool table, comfortable gaming chair, your favorite team jerseys and other memorabilia and maybe even a 2-lane bowling alley so you can practice at home. Whatever your sports passions, make sure that you identify clearly the size necessary.
Outdoor Space
An extra room indoors can fulfill only some of your sport’s needs. However, when it comes to actually playing games like football or basketball, you need freedom of movement and endless height, which only happens outdoors. Luckily, this is something you can add to your must-haves, a spacious backyard. With a large area to work with you can section off a place for a real basketball court and still have room left over to toss around your football. Having a large deck or a patio will also provide a place for guests to relax and socialize and eat after the end of the game.
Other Things to Consider
While having the added space is most important there are other things to consider too. For instance, you want convenience. When enjoying the space, you want to have the ability to listen to your games or play hard without disturbing others in the home. So, a space located a considerable distance away from bedrooms and the living room is preferable. A single floor dwelling with a split floor plan can work, or a home with a full finished basement. And, since you will need access to multiple outlets for a variety of equipment, a refrigerator and electronic devices a newer home or an older home where the electric is already updated is necessary. Along with the electricity comes lighting. Overhead lighting in the form of recessed will provide you with an ample source of quality light for your tables games. However, this is something you can add after you settle in to create a more personalized environment to suit your taste.
A man-cave is nothing new. In fact, it’s a growing trend to have a separate space where you can hang out with good friends, watch your sporting events and engage in physical sports too. The key to achieving your dream is to take your time and make sure that the house you buy has the space you need to accommodate your obsession with sports. Then once you move in you can hook up all your fun gadgets and electronic devices, and arrange the room so that you feel at home.
