Paintedlady Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I have an old house, really old, and it has a million things wrong with it that need fixing/tearing out/re-doing. It has one closet on the first floor and the ones upstairs are poorly designed & small. I have no garage, a leaky basement, a roof and most windows that need replacing, neighbors close by on either side, & no central air. I do have a big kitchen (suprising for such an old house) and some pretty amazing woodwork, although most of it has been painted. :glare: I was struck, reading the other thread, just how spoiled we all are. Only the best houses, with the most updated this and that, blah blah blah. Do I sometimes wish I had more than I do? Oh yeah! But then I remember that what I have, with all of it's limitations and flaws, is still more than most people have in this world and I'm instantly grateful for my less-than-ideal house. My sister (who has a lot of money) treated us to vacation with her at her vacation house in Mexico this past January, and boy did that ever open my eyes to all that I have. So many there were so poor they didn't even have windows and doors. I came home with a fresh perspective for sure. I don't know what my point is exactly, but something about that thread really rubbed me the wrong way. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Well, I think one can be grateful AND picky. I am thankful for all I have, but if I am buying a home, I want what I want. I have a huge heart for those less fortunate. It saddens me the conditions that some live in other countries, but I don't feel bad that I want very certain things in a house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghee Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I think some of it, too, is about knowing your financial/physical limitations. Perhaps they don't want a fixer upper because they can't afford to have the work done and can't physically do it themselves. For instance, I wouldn't want to pay top dollar for a house in need of a roof or windows, because I couldn't THEN come up with the money to replace them and I'm surely no roofer or window installer. Painting? I'm good with painting myself. But some aren't. They can't due to physical constraints or things like asthma. They might know they can't afford to pay someone to paint the whole house, therefore, a house in need of repainting goes off the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I think if you haven't experienced third world poverty first hand, it's pretty hard to imagine it. I think we are a little overly self-indulgent in this country, but that's just how it is here. We expect to have things a certain way, and there's really nothing wrong with wanting things a certain way, if we are not causing harm to anyone else. We have a sense of entitlement to perfection, for some reason. I really appreciate my 63 year old house with all its leaking windows, leaking gutters, cracked cement, outdated kitchen, etc. I appreciate having a safe place to live and raise my children. Would I like to live in a nice house that needs no repairs and is decorated to my specifications- yes. I can dream. It ain't gonna happen anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galatea Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 How many perfect houses do you see when you drive around? Unless someone is sitting on a chunk of money to fix things, then every house has issues once you start looking at it. Which means we may all have wants and things we just don't want to deal with, but ultimately we all have houses that need work or are less than ideal in some ways. It's just about priorities. You can't take all of the things listed in that thread and attribute them to one person. If you looked at it, you'd realize that every person had different ideas about what they didn't want in a house. I don't think it's being spoiled to have ideas of things we would like in a house that we're spending potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars on. Spoiled would be expecting the perfect house for less than perfect money, or expecting it for nothing. Do we all realize there are people out there in the world with less than us? I think most people do. But it's really, really hard to live your life always thinking about how much worse off someone else is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I see where you are coming from, but remember it was "houses we wouldn't BUY" not "places I could never live." We're talking about having choice but that doesn't mean we aren't grateful for that choice. I also don't feel bad when I go grocery shopping and have lots of choices. It doesn't make me ungrateful that I don't walk out with just rice and beans. I get your sentiment, but I don't think anyone was being entitled or ungrateful. We are all in different situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I have an old house, really old, and it has a million things wrong with it that need fixing/tearing out/re-doing. It has one closet on the first floor and the ones upstairs are poorly designed & small. I have no garage, a leaky basement, a roof and most windows that need replacing, neighbors close by on either side, & no central air. I do have a big kitchen (suprising for such an old house) and some pretty amazing woodwork, although most of it has been painted. :glare: I was struck, reading the other thread, just how spoiled we all are. Only the best houses, with the most updated this and that, blah blah blah. Do I sometimes wish I had more than I do? Oh yeah! But then I remember that what I have, with all of it's limitations and flaws, is still more than most people have in this world and I'm instantly grateful for my less-than-ideal house. My sister (who has a lot of money) treated us to vacation with her at her vacation house in Mexico this past January, and boy did that ever open my eyes to all that I have. So many there were so poor they didn't even have windows and doors. I came home with a fresh perspective for sure. I don't know what my point is exactly, but something about that thread really rubbed me the wrong way. :confused: I understand where you are coming from. I really appreciate your perspective today. Thanks for sharing! God Bless, Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I have a house built in 1880. No AC. It needs work every year. But if I'm paying good money for a house, I'm going to have a list of things that I want and things I refuse to look at. I get to have say in what I pay for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I don't know what my point is exactly, but something about that thread really rubbed me the wrong way. :confused: I have to say, first of all, no condemnation to anyone who posted in that thread. My dh and I have spent a long time coming up with our wants/dislikes list. We have similar lists to all those. I have been dealing with a lot of guilt lately, though, as to why I even deserve a house, let alone a nice one, when I have been working with a lot of organizations that support those in such dire need. So to the OP, yes, I felt the exact same way as I read that thread. We are SO blessed here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I love my home. I would be extremely picky to give it up. I would never buy a house that was inferior to this - and this is not perfect, but it is home. To lure me away I would need it all otherwise I wil just be happy here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I am sorry my question rubbed you the wrong way. My intent was to get this house ready to SELL and I need to know what buyers want. Our intention is actually to downsize! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I have an old house, really old, and it has a million things wrong with it that need fixing/tearing out/re-doing. It has one closet on the first floor and the ones upstairs are poorly designed & small. I have no garage, a leaky basement, a roof and most windows that need replacing, neighbors close by on either side, & no central air. I do have a big kitchen (suprising for such an old house) and some pretty amazing woodwork, although most of it has been painted. :glare: I was struck, reading the other thread, just how spoiled we all are. Only the best houses, with the most updated this and that, blah blah blah. Do I sometimes wish I had more than I do? Oh yeah! But then I remember that what I have, with all of it's limitations and flaws, is still more than most people have in this world and I'm instantly grateful for my less-than-ideal house. My sister (who has a lot of money) treated us to vacation with her at her vacation house in Mexico this past January, and boy did that ever open my eyes to all that I have. So many there were so poor they didn't even have windows and doors. I came home with a fresh perspective for sure. I don't know what my point is exactly, but something about that thread really rubbed me the wrong way. :confused: I so agree with you. This last winter my husband could no longer work. We needed income to make the bills and be able to purchase grocerys too.:tongue_smilie: To do that we basically cut our sq. footage in 1/2. Before we had 3 very nice sized bedrooms in the lower level, with great walk in closet in ours. Everyone is now moved on the main floor, our living dining was pretty much cut in 1/2 to build in very small rooms for our two youngest. Our lovely school room is now our kitchen table and a desk my husband built for me in our bedroom. When we started on this journey I wondered how we would do it but we did. We still have a decent living room, the dining room table became a part of our kitchen, we are surviving with 2 bathrooms instead of 3 and our lower level is providing a nice apartment for a lovely couple and their 15 month old son. I know if I was looking to purchase a house there are many things that I would look for but big is no longer the big draw. What we have now is so much easier to keep up I am actually starting to really like the changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I agree that when we spend our $ on something, we can be picky about what we want. We made a lot of mistakes buying this one and will be very careful next time. But, yeah, we don't know how blessed we are. We have such excess here. I have always wanted my children to take a missions trip in their teen/college years so that they can get a glimpse of how things are around the world. Many, many people are happy with much less than we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I see where you are coming from, but remember it was "houses we wouldn't BUY" not "places I could never live." We're talking about having choice but that doesn't mean we aren't grateful for that choice. I also don't feel bad when I go grocery shopping and have lots of choices. It doesn't make me ungrateful that I don't walk out with just rice and beans. I get your sentiment, but I don't think anyone was being entitled or ungrateful. We are all in different situations. Agreed. I gave an honest answer on the other thread. I don't apologize for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I am sorry my question rubbed you the wrong way. My intent was to get this house ready to SELL and I need to know what buyers want. Our intention is actually to downsize! :D That is awesome but there would be nothing to apologize for if you wanted to go bigger. A lit people are employed when people buy, furnish and maintain a large house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Well, you are right and technically we can afford to stay here. We just really are looking at college looming and then after that possible retirement, etc..... Just a personal choice at this point. That is awesome but there would be nothing to apologize for if you wanted to go bigger. A lit people are employed when people buy, furnish and maintain a large house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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