Help Me Pick a House

[MooCow]

Please go back to look. Please don't buy a house without actually seeing it for yourself. Please. In fact, I highly recommend, whenever possible, walking through a house and the neighborhood, then going back at a different time, preferably on a different day and doing that again. Initial perception can be off. You need to get a feel for the house and the neighborhood.

This.

We were crazy. We bought our house on the internet. Our home sold very quickly and we had no time to fly out. Our realtor was freaking out, but it worked out. Best of luck!

[Catwoman]

We are leaning towards sucking it up and going back to look again. Did I tell you we've never seen house #2 in person? Ha! We're fools but were so desperate and the realtor did a walk through with us on the phone and sent us about 20 videos and additional pictures, and we know people who live in the neighborhood, so I thought I could handle the risk. I can't go through with it, though. We are going to try to go back really quickly for 1 day next week, see our top 3 one more time and maybe a few other new things. It will mean a headache with DH's job and a little more expense up front but it's worth it for peace of mind. We could move within 3-5 years so it's not worth it to to us to rent first.

I agree with everyone who has said to go back and look again. It is too big a purchase to take a chance on making a big mistake.

[catz]

We live in a major metro and I know many people who've relocated here.  I also know MANY people who bought something from out of town and regretted it deeply.  Especially in terms of location.  I'd considering doing a very short term rental if you could to really get to know those neighborhoods!

[vonfirmath]

Can you just rent and buy after you are in the area?

 

For renting, depending on kids, I'd take House #2.  With young kids, house #3. But that's renting. I wouldn't buy a house in these circumstances.

 

[Paige]

It's hard to rent and then move with military moves and DH is dead set against it. If we rent, we rent until we relocate. We are renting right now and I can't wait to not rent again. 

 

We just had a complication and found out DD is having 2 surgeries next week. We were not expecting that at all but we're very fortunate that they can fit her in before our move and that we didn't wait until we moved and found a new doctor before getting her checked out. We travel 5 hours (in the opposite direction of our move) to see her doctor, so it's a big deal logistically. 

 

I'm hoping to still go look early next week but it might not be possible. If we don't go back, we'll probably just go with house #1 because it's the easiest thing to do right now. There's no way we can go back and look at houses after DDs surgery. I wouldn't leave her right after that and she won't be up to traveling for a few weeks. With the surgeries, we're going to push our move off a couple of weeks, and that should help with stress, but not with finding a place!

[AnniePoo]

Option 3, hands down.  

[idnib]

I did a rough tally for you based on people who gave pretty definite opinions, IMO:

 

#1: 12

#2: 15

#3: 5

[Paige]

We went back and saw more houses and chose option 4! It was a house we'd seen before but hadn't paid much attention to because it was too expensive. They had a big price drop so it made us reconsider. Thanks for the push to go back. It was a crazy week but worth it. Just wanted to update! 

[Mabelen]

We went back and saw more houses and chose option 4! It was a house we'd seen before but hadn't paid much attention to because it was too expensive. They had a big price drop so it made us reconsider. Thanks for the push to go back. It was a crazy week but worth it. Just wanted to update!

Congratulations, wonderful news! You now have to tell us more about the winning features of number 4!😉

[Cottonwood]

Congratulations, wonderful news! You now have to tell us more about the winning features of number 4!😉

:iagree:  :iagree:

[Catwoman]

We went back and saw more houses and chose option 4! It was a house we'd seen before but hadn't paid much attention to because it was too expensive. They had a big price drop so it made us reconsider. Thanks for the push to go back. It was a crazy week but worth it. Just wanted to update!

I'm so happy for you, Paige! I didn't think you were that excited about the other choices, so I'm glad you went back and found something better. :hurray:

 

:party: :party: :party:

[Paige]

Congratulations, wonderful news! You now have to tell us more about the winning features of number 4!😉

 

Eh, it's not that exciting either. It's in the same nicer neighborhood as house #1 but it's a prettier house although the yard is smaller. It's still an ok yard. It has plenty of room for guests and all of the bedrooms are larger than any of the others. It has a really nice covered deck and a hot tub. I've never been much of a hot tub person but it looks newer, nice, and extremely clean. I think I'll be much less stressed about safety and drowning with the hot tub vs a pool! The kitchen is not that great but DH promised to replace the appliances and we may be able to make some changes to improve it. It's DH's favorite house by far, so I like seeing how excited he is. 

 

On the 2nd look, house #1's floor plan was even less appealing, house #2's neighborhood was less appealing, and house #3 was even more boring! I preferred house #5 but someone else got it before we could put an offer in. 

[idnib]

Wonderful!

 

How is your DD? 

[Paige]

Wonderful!

 

How is your DD? 

 

She's doing pretty well. She only had to stay one night in the hospital and has started walking short distances already (surgery was on both legs). She's sore and doesn't like casts but I think she'll be almost 100% by the end of the week! Thanks for asking.  :)

[idnib]

She's doing pretty well. She only had to stay one night in the hospital and has started walking short distances already (surgery was on both legs). She's sore and doesn't like casts but I think she'll be almost 100% by the end of the week! Thanks for asking.  :)

 

:hurray:

[Suzanne115]

I would definitely look at all three houses again.  We moved about a year ago and we revisited a few of our favorites before deciding.  The second visit could make all the difference.  We really spend some time on our second visit and it made a difference. 

 

Suzanne

[J-rap]

Our family is relocating and we have to pick a house. We should have done it last week and it's getting tight. Waiting until we find one that is just right is not an option. We have narrowed it down to 3 very different homes. We've added up the pros and cons in every way possible, and they all keep coming out as equal. We don't really love or hate any of them but love and hate aspects of all of them. All of the houses have similar square footages.

 

House #1: 

Pros- Beautiful neighborhood with great amenities, large lots, and all custom homes. The house has a very nice yard, wonderful deck and screened porch, and it has an extra large non-heated building that the kids could set up as a sort of gym. I don't think it has heating or a/c but maybe we could put a window unit. It's not trashy, at all, but I don't want to be too specific about what it's like. My kids are the type that love to play outside. The house is obviously well made.

 

Cons- The kitchen and pantry are very small and I hate small kitchens. The living areas are smaller and not as functional. The house is significantly more expensive and about 5-10min farther out from stores and places to go. There's no way the sellers would come down on their price- already asked.

 

 

I think I'd pick #1.  I wouldn't want a pool taking up my whole yard (and it would be a constant worry for me, not just for my own children but for guests).  Also, I'd rather live in a neighborhood that has character instead of a custom built big development type neighborhood.  My favorite thing about our house now is the screened porches.  I love, love, love them.  This is where my children's main memories of their growing up years at home take place -- hanging out on our porches:  eating, reading on hot afternoons, hanging out with friends, school work, even sleeping.  Also, I would love the yard space and deck.

Our home has a small kitchen and living area too (and no "family room" -- just a living room/dining room area with an attached kitchen -- typical of older homes built at the turn of the century).  We actually...really like it.  It has been a school room, music room, reading room, game room, eating room, dance practice room -- you name it -- all in one!  So much fun activity in one place.  I've loved that when people aren't in their bedrooms, they're all together in one central area (even if it is cozy :)).

The small kitchen is a nuisance at times, but we've learned to live with it.  Everything else makes up for it.

Lastly, I think you could use that extra building for so many things, including an art studio, bike workshop, home gym, clubhouse.  Endless ideas for a creative family!

 

ETA:  Oops!  Just saw that you found another house!  Should have read through the entire thread instead of stopping halfway...

[speedmom4]

We went back and saw more houses and chose option 4! It was a house we'd seen before but hadn't paid much attention to because it was too expensive. They had a big price drop so it made us reconsider. Thanks for the push to go back. It was a crazy week but worth it. Just wanted to update! 

 

I'm sure it's a relief to have made a decision! 

 

Happy moving!

 

Elise in NC

[kristi26]

Congratulations Paige! Glad you went back and found something that you liked better. :)

[Tsuga]

nm--Congrats! :)

[OneStepAtATime]

We went back and saw more houses and chose option 4! It was a house we'd seen before but hadn't paid much attention to because it was too expensive. They had a big price drop so it made us reconsider. Thanks for the push to go back. It was a crazy week but worth it. Just wanted to update! 

 

 

Eh, it's not that exciting either. It's in the same nicer neighborhood as house #1 but it's a prettier house although the yard is smaller. It's still an ok yard. It has plenty of room for guests and all of the bedrooms are larger than any of the others. It has a really nice covered deck and a hot tub. I've never been much of a hot tub person but it looks newer, nice, and extremely clean. I think I'll be much less stressed about safety and drowning with the hot tub vs a pool! The kitchen is not that great but DH promised to replace the appliances and we may be able to make some changes to improve it. It's DH's favorite house by far, so I like seeing how excited he is. 

 

On the 2nd look, house #1's floor plan was even less appealing, house #2's neighborhood was less appealing, and house #3 was even more boring! I preferred house #5 but someone else got it before we could put an offer in. 

 

 

She's doing pretty well. She only had to stay one night in the hospital and has started walking short distances already (surgery was on both legs). She's sore and doesn't like casts but I think she'll be almost 100% by the end of the week! Thanks for asking.  :)

 

Wow, so you squeezed in not only your DD's surgeries but also going back and looking at the first three again plus two more?  And found a winner.  And your DD is doing pretty well, it sounds like.  So awesome!  Congratulations!  I definitely consider this a win-win scenario.  :)