5 Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together


April 19, 2022

Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together - Featured IMage

A home is much more than just four walls and a roof – it’s a place where your family will live, grow and spend many of their most important moments. That’s why it’s extremely important to find the right home for your family. 

Choosing the right home means you can look forward to bringing your family closer together. Let’s take a look at the ways a new home can help you do just that.

If you’d like to download a PDF file of this article to take with you and keep handy for reference, simply fill out the form below and we’ll send a copy directly to your inbox:

A New Home Lets You Focus On What’s Most Important

When it comes to purchasing a new home, all home buyers will have to decide between a resale or a brand new model. While a resale can be more affordable upfront, the perks that come with purchasing a new home will save you much more time and money in the long term, and in turn, makes your family’s lives much easier.

For one thing, brand-new houses are built using the best materials and modern building methods, which means you won’t have to worry about things breaking down or needing maintenance – you can move right in and start enjoying life in your new home.

To give you further peace of mind, a brand-new home also comes with a New Home Warranty, which covers your home for up to ten years. Here’s what you can expect:

  • First Year: For the first 12 months, you’ll be covered for any material or labour defects such as cracked drywall, peeling paint, nail pops etc.
  • Second Year: For 24 months, you’re covered for any mechanical systems defects – which can include heating, plumbing and electrical systems.
  • Up to Five Years: Your home’s envelope (which mostly consists of the siding and roof) is covered in the event of faulty materials or labour.
  • Up to Ten Years: Structural components of your home (such as load-bearing walls) are also covered.

When it comes to choosing a new home over a resale it isn’t just about the quality of the building materials and the warranty. You also want a modern home that suits your tastes – not someone else’s. Even if you find a resale that meets your family’s needs, you’re likely going to have to spend time doing some renovations.

Why not get it right the first time?

With a new home build, you’re more likely to find exactly what you’re looking for and you can put the time and money you would have spent on renovations towards something more important – like a family vacation!

You Can Find The Perfect Home Style

Buying a new home means you can choose from a variety of modern and trendy styles built specifically with families in mind. For example, a multi-generational family will want to stick together, yet maintain independence while a growing family with young kids will probably need as much space as they can get. Consider some of the following home styles for your family:

Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together - Deville Townhome Image

Townhomes

Townhomes are connected homes generally consisting of around four or five units. They offer the low-maintenance lifestyle of a condo with plenty of square footage and are often bought by new homeowners or families who want to live right beside each other. With modern design in mind, these types of homes are highly soundproof – giving you peace of mind about sharing a wall.

Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together - Duplex Image

Duplexes

Duplexes offer similar benefits to townhomes but give you the classic single-family home feeling that a lot of families look for. This is because duplexes generally come with front-attached garages and offer more square footage than a townhome (depending on the layout you choose). 

Yard space tends to be larger yet still manageable with these units, making it ideal for families who like to spend time outdoors but don’t want to maintain a full-sized yard. For multigenerational families, you could even consider purchasing both sides of a duplex, for attached (but still independent) living for older relatives. 

Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together - Sansa Laned Image

Laned Homes

A popular alternative to front-attached homes are laned homes, which are the perfect choice for first-time buyers and younger families. While the floor plans tend to be a little smaller than those of front-attached homes, they’re also more affordable, and we offer plenty of options to add extra space such as a finished basement or a garage suite

Bungalows

While a bungalow might not be the first home style you’d think of for family living, there can be some distinct advantages to choosing a single-level home. For example, with an open-plan layout, you’ll be able to keep an eye on the kids no matter where they are, without having to worry about stairs. This can also make tasks such as laundry and cleaning much easier.

Of course, if you find you need more space later on, you’ll always have the option to finish the basement to add even more room or even a whole separate suite.

Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together - Thomas Front Attached Image

Front-Attached

Families who prefer the more ‘classic’ look for a home might prefer to look for a front-attached model. The main advantage of a front-attached home is that they tend to be bigger, and so will offer more space for growing families, as well as extra room for parking and bigger yards. Your home also won’t be attached to anyone else’s living space, so you won’t have to worry about any noise from the kids disturbing your immediate neighbours. 

Many front-attached homes come with the option of adding a separate legal suite in the basement. This is ideal for older relatives who still want to keep their living space independent, or even as a space to rent out to make the mortgage payments a bit easier

While a bigger home often means a slightly higher price tag, spending a little extra upfront might turn out to be more than worth it compared to the cost and inconvenience of moving in a few years if you start to run out of space. 

Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together - Neighbourhood Image

You Can Find an Exciting New Neighbourhood

Unless you want to build an infill home, it is difficult to build a brand-new home in an older neighbourhood. However, building in an up-and-coming community has some distinct advantages. For example, you’ll have a lot more choice when it comes to the lot you’ll build on. You’ll also have access to much newer amenities.

The bigger advantage, however, is that by getting in early on a new community you can significantly increase the value of your home in the long term. Prices tend to be cheaper when a community is just getting started, to encourage people to move there. However, over time as the area becomes more popular, housing becomes more scarce and new features and amenities are added, homes will be in much higher demand and prices rise accordingly.

If you’re planning to live in your new home for a long time, building in a brand-new neighbourhood can be a great investment. 

Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together - Kitchen Image

You Can Choose The Perfect Floor Plan

Regardless of whether you prefer a low-maintenance townhome or a larger front attached model, new builds offer flexible floor plan options to suit every family. Here are a few modern floor plan elements you should consider in order to keep your family close, while still giving everyone the space they need.

Main Floor Flex Rooms

With more and more people working from home, having a variety of choices on the main floor for a living room can be an important factor in the home layout you choose. This is where having a full main floor flex room could be really beneficial. By choosing a floor plan with a flex room on the main floor, you can set up a home office that’s separate from the main living area and feels like its own space. 

If you don’t work from home or don’t need an office, a flex room can make for a great home library, a workout room or even a study room for the kids. 

Storage

New homes offer plenty of storage options. For instance, you could benefit from floor-to-ceiling cabinetry in your kitchen or a large walk-through pantry. If you spend plenty of time cooking, you can even ask your builder about adding a spice kitchen.

Other storage options throughout the home may include large rear and entryway closets as well as extra closet space in the bedrooms. The inclusion of a mudroom ensures all family members have a place to put their coats and shoes while a double car garage will mean plenty of room for your vehicles, seasonal items and anything else you’re not using.

Entertainment Areas

Having a large, open living space make family gatherings that much easier. With a variety of floor plan options, you can easily choose a layout that has more than one entertainment space. For example, a bonus room upstairs is a great option for the kids while the adults visit in the great room downstairs. Or, an open kitchen with a spacious island means you can chat with friends or family as you prep a meal.

The Outdoors

Families may also benefit from having a large outdoor space. Single-family front and detached homes can offer plenty of front and rear yard space. But you don’t have to live in a single-family home to get outside. Another key benefit in buying a new home in a new community is the ample walking trails, parks, green spaces and playgrounds developers put into the neighbourhood.

You Can Add The Extra Space You Need

Despite having plenty of floor plan options to choose from, you may need to make an adjustment here or there. Flexibility is yet another reason why new homes are perfect for families – you can adjust your layout to easily include each member of your family easily and comfortably.

Ways A New Home Brings Your Family Together - Bedroom Image

Bedrooms

You can include more bedroom space by developing your basement, adding a garage suite (more on that in a minute), or by choosing a home design that includes an additional flex room. Opting for a smaller master bedroom to include more bedrooms upstairs is also an option if you don’t mind a smaller ensuite or walk-in closet.

In short, when you build your home from the ground up you have much more control over the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and a home builder should be able to include more than enough bedrooms to make everyone happy. In fact, Sterling Homes can include up to seven bedrooms in a home just by making a few customizations.

Basements

Having a finished basement can help give your family everything it needs to remain close and comfortable. Here you can include features such as a second family room and/or entertainment room, extra bedrooms, another bathroom, or a study area for the kids. And of course, you can always look at adding a legal suite instead. 

Garage Suites

Here in Edmonton, it’s now legal to have a suite of up to 1,399 square feet above your garage. This can be a smart way to make some extra cash, add a separate living space to give grandparents their own space, or give older kids a place close to home that still offers some privacy. Keep in mind secondary garage suites can only be developed with a single-detached home and not duplexes or townhomes.

Now that you have an idea of how new homes keep your family close, you can begin the search for your perfect home. Be sure to keep track of what appeals to you and talk to builders about your needs. Keep in mind that a good builder will go out of their way to ensure you and your family will be happy for years to come.

Originally posted March 8, 2020, updated April 19, 2022

New Call-to-action

Photo credits: depositphotos.com




About the Author:


Learn more about:
Sterling Homes - Home Builder in Edmonton

Start The Home Buying Process Now

For all your mortgage needs, trust Sterling Homes

%
When do you plan to purchase your home?
Are you first-time home buyer?
Purchase price of the new home
Estimated Down Payment
Your Credit Profile
First Name
Last Name
Phone Number
Email Address
In which province are you looking to purchase?

Thank you for your interest in our Mortgate! One of our agents will be in touch with you shortly.

Get Your Rate!