3 Next-Gen House Hunting Tips for Singles

The American household has changed – big time. More and more, people get married later in life, if at all. Many even go from married to single and back multiple times throughout their lives. This all means that more and more people are buying homes while single. Many unmarried folks are buying homes to live in on their own, while others are looking for homes to live in with their children, parents or other partners – past, present and future.
If you’re embarking upon the process of buying a home on your own, here are a few things to factor into your thought process and your action plan:

1. Solo doesn’t necessarily mean condo. A decade or two ago, many single house hunters were automatically directed toward low-maintenance condos and townhomes. And truthfully, some singles still enjoy the tax and financial advantages of ownership without the responsibilities of caring for lawns, roofs and other so-called “single family home” features they have no use for.

That said, the descriptor of a detached, standalone property as a “single family home” is woefully out of date. Many single people are electing to purchase detached homes for a number of reasons. Chief among them include:

• Needing the square footage to allow their household to expand to include future partners, future children, adult children, or even elderly parents
• Needing extra rooms (or even extra apartments!) to rent out, do hobbies in or run a home business from, and
• Having the outdoor space for dogs, cats, horses and vegetable gardens, oh my!

con't.... http://www.forbes.com/sites/trulia/2014/03/14/3-next-gen-house-hunting-tips-for-singles/