Make the Most of It: Make any house the home of your dreams

So it is time for you to buy a new home. And you just happen to have the perfect manse in your sights: the lavish, large scale Victorian style mansion conveniently located right in your neighborhood.

The home may not, however, be conveniently located within your relative price range. Indeed, while you may be more than ready to settle down in the home of your dreams, your pocketbook and family budget may not be at all ready to facilitate that move.

Please be rest assured that, with a little creativity and just the right mindset, you can morph just about any house into the beautiful—and livable—home of your dreams.

1. Consult a Realtor. You just knew we’d say that right off the bat, now didn’t you? Seriously though, folks; regardless of your price range, a trained and experienced Realtor should be able to find you the home of your dreams—even it’s on a slightly reduced scale. These people have access to a vast network of sellers and their homes—and, much like a personal shopper, he/she will work hard to pinpoint a selection of homes within your budget and specifications.

2. Scale down your expectations. You may not be able to afford that extravagant Victorian manse down the lane—but would you like a Victorian cottage? You likely could find your preferred style or color of home in just about any price range.

3. And while you scale down, spruce up. If you manage to purchase a fixer upper, don’t regard it as ‘the settlement that you settled for’; rather, regard it as an architectural challenge that you can make over—and make your own. Once you buy the home, you can feel free to remodel it from the inside out. It could be that all your home needs is a fresh coat of paint on the exterior or some new carpet and furnishings on the interior to become a veritable dream house. And even if this isn’t the case, please keep this in mind:

4. Providing that your home is clean, structurally sound and located in a safe neighborhood, then it can be considered a suitable shelter for you and your family. Also remember that any house can become a beloved home with the addition of a few key ingredients: namely, your family, your pets, your stories and memories, and—of course—you!