A housing WWYD

[Pawz4me]

We're facing a bit of a dilemma.

 

For over eighteen months we've been trying to find a suitable house in our current area.  Our goal is to downsize and get out of the city limits but stay within the immediate area, which we like very much and is very convenient.

 

About six months ago we pretty much gave up on finding anything that suited us and started contemplating building on land we already own (inherited family land) in another part of the county.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with the area where the land is.  It's a very nice, safe area, but more rural than we are now.  There's a small town a couple of miles away with a grocery store, a handful of restaurants, etc.  But it's a 20 minute drive to get to real civilization -- health care and big box stores and things like that.  It would add about 16-18 miles a day (round trip) to DH's already long commute.  But he's planning on retiring in six years or so and says the extra driving isn't that big of a deal to him.

 

Since we hadn't found anything at all in this area we were interested in in all that time of looking, it seemed the best choice was to build.  We found a house plan and a contractor, and a couple of weeks ago we submitted our information to our credit union to start work on a construction loan.

 

And as luck would have it last week we found a house on the market in this area that we're very much interested in.  It's an older house (built in 1975) and although it appears to have been very well maintained, it will need some updating.  The big things are that it needs a new heat pump and replacement windows.  The heat pump is 21 years old, so we'd want to have it replaced before we moved in.  The windows aren't terrible by any means.  We could probably go another few years with them if we had to.  The bathrooms and kitchen could do with just a bit of updating, but nothing that we couldn't live with for awhile and work on whenever we decide we're ready.  The bedrooms and main living areas are carpeted, whereas if we build I'd go with some sort of hard flooring throughout.  The carpet appears to be new and very good quality, so it really wouldn't make sense to rip it out right away.  We'd have to live with it for a few years before I could justify replacing it.  But the floor plan would work really well for us.  And . . . .location.  DH's commute really wouldn't change significantly from what it is now (in fact, it might be just a tad less).

 

After doing what needs to be done to the existing house the cost would probably be close to even.  Maybe a bit less for the existing house.

 

So . . . what would you do?  Should we go for the location we want, or the shiny new house we'd like to have?  I'm thinking shiny new wears off, but location is constant.  But I'd love to hear what others think.

[lmrich]

Is this your forever home? Do both houses have a full bath on the main level? Are they built for wheelchairs etc. Do they both have the space for grandchildren to visit and spend the night? Who can maintian the land? Just helping you think through some questions that are for years to come. 

[OneStepAtATime]

Building a house can be really exciting but it is also a HUGE stresser. In fact, divorce rates go up when couples build. I'm not saying if you build you will divorce :), I'm just pointing this out to emphasize how stressful a process this may be.

 

Count on the estimated completion date to run waaaaay long. Plan on checking on the construction on a regular basis to confirm the construction company didn't cut corners and that there was no snafu in communication. Keep track of ALL documentation and don't make any changes verbally. Put it in writing and make sure both parties have to sign before changes are made. Be diligent about picking the exact brand/style on materials and include them in the written agreements. Budget in for significant cost overruns. You might get lucky but odds are against you. Make sure they have insurance and there have not been any complaints filed against them. Plan on this being like a part time job with significant time commitment needed. Etc.

 

Honestly, I'd pick the house in the better location. You like the layout, there is only one major thing that needs addressing before you move in, and again, better location.

[Serenade]

 

 

So . . . what would you do?  Should we go for the location we want, or the shiny new house we'd like to have?  I'm thinking shiny new wears off, but location is constant.  But I'd love to hear what others think.

 

If the location is important to you (access to shopping, etc), I would not move out to the country.

 

We moved out into the country a bit, and the shopping is one thing that frustrates me, and our town isn't even all that tiny.  I hate that it takes me an hour round trip to take my boys to martial arts, or to shop at Harris Teeter instead of Food Lion.  :-) 

 

However, the trade-off is worth it for me most days -- we live in a peaceful neighborhood with wide spacing of houses, and my backyard is a field where deer and wild life are quite common.   We would not be able to have what we have here if we had continued to live in the big city.   My DH has a longish commute, but mostly he doesn't mind too much.  He doesn't miss the shopping at all because I do most of that, and besides, he in the big city every work day if he needs something.  

 

For us the trade-off is worth it.  I never thought I'd miss the shopping, but I do.  None-the-less the peace of my small town means more to me than being close to stuff.   If I already knew starting out that I would miss the shopping and restaurants, I would not move out to the country, because that feeling will only get stronger when you are actually living the life.

 

Not sure if I made sense, but I tried.  :-)

[Pawz4me]

Is this your forever home? Do both houses have a full bath on the main level? Are they built for wheelchairs etc. Do they both have the space for grandchildren to visit and spend the night? Who can maintian the land? Just helping you think through some questions that are for years to come. 

 

Yes, forever home (either one).  One level living.  The floor plan we'd have built was chosen with aging in place in mind.  The existing home is suitable for aging in place, too.

 

The existing house has a little over an acre of land, but only a smallish amount of mowing (one side and most of the back are woods).  If we build it would be on about 3.5 acres of cleared land.  But my nephew currently farms it and several adjacent acres (as well as land we own across the road).  We'd probably let him continue farming all but the immediate area around the house.  It would still be a bit more to mow, but assuming he continues farming it we'd have some flexibility about that.

 

If we build the house will be slightly more square footage, but not significantly.  There would be more flexibility in how the rooms are used if we build.

[Pawz4me]

Building a house can be really exciting but it is also a HUGE stresser. In fact, divorce rates go up when couples build. I'm not saying if you build you will divorce :), I'm just pointing this out to emphasize how stressful a process this may be.

 

Count on the estimated completion date to run waaaaay long. Plan on checking on the construction on a regular basis to confirm the construction company didn't cut corners and that there was no snafu in communication. Keep track of ALL documentation and don't make any changes verbally. Put it in writing and make sure both parties have to sign before changes are made. Be diligent about picking the exact brand/style on materials and include them in the written agreements. Budget in for significant cost overruns. You might get lucky but odds are against you. Make sure they have insurance and there have not been any complaints filed against them. Plan on this being like a part time job with significant time commitment needed. Etc.

 

Honestly, I'd pick the house in the better location. You like the layout, there is only one major thing that needs addressing before you move in, and again, better location.

 

We've kinda sorta been down this road before -- years ago we bought a just barely started spec house where we did a lot of the choosing of stuff, and we've built in a development (pre-selected builder/several floor plans to choose from).  So we do have a pretty good idea of what we'd be in for.

 

 

If the location is important to you (access to shopping, etc), I would not move out to the country.

 

We moved out into the country a bit, and the shopping is one thing that frustrates me, and our town isn't even all that tiny.  I hate that it takes me an hour round trip to take my boys to martial arts, or to shop at Harris Teeter instead of Food Lion.  :-) 

 

However, the trade-off is worth it for me most days -- we live in a peaceful neighborhood with wide spacing of houses, and my backyard is a field where deer and wild life are quite common.   We would not be able to have what we have here if we had continued to live in the big city.   My DH has a longish commute, but mostly he doesn't mind too much.  He doesn't miss the shopping at all because I do most of that, and besides, he in the big city every work day if he needs something.  

 

For us the trade-off is worth it.  I never thought I'd miss the shopping, but I do.  None-the-less the peace of my small town means more to me than being close to stuff.   If I already knew starting out that I would miss the shopping and restaurants, I would not move out to the country, because that feeling will only get stronger when you are actually living the life.

 

Not sure if I made sense, but I tried.  :-)

 

LOL at the bolded -- Yes, exactly!

[Miss Tick]

I would go with the existing house. The problems are known (one always hopes), six months ago you probably wouldn't be hesitating. In 6 years you could re-evaluate. Mostly this is just instinct on my part!

[marbel]

Based on my own experience, I would not buy a house that needed a lot of work.  Because, in my experience, the work will not get done.  Or, it might... right before we move.

 

Your experience may be different. 

[MEmama]

Location.

 

You can change what you don't like about the existing house, but you'll never be able to change your location if country life doesn't suit you. 20 minutes into town would be a deal breaker for me. Being able to walk to everything I need is incredibly freeing.

 

That said, we made a huge trade off to live in the town we do. It means DH has a long commute, which significantly affects his evening time with us and how much he really wants to drive places on the weekends. Frankly, we love where we live but the commute isn't sustainable. Something will have to give eventually. I hate that we had to make the choice, even though our day to day lives are much richer for it.

 

It comes down to the priorities of your family and the realities of each choice.

[SproutMamaK]

I would go with the existing house. None of the things you mentioned are huge, stressful renovations. They can be done over time as you have the money and/or time. One acre is a LOT more manageable than 3.5. More time with your husband, less travel time/stress for him, closer to amenities... It's a win all around. Especially since you mentioned that you're planning to live here long term. When you get older, living out in the country and farther from services can cause some real issues. Being closer to doctors, health support, pharmacies, shopping, EVERYTHING, will make life much easier not only now, but much later on.

[JonesinIndiana]

We have been house hunting for 7 months and if we could afford to build, we would. We have a contract on a house with almost 3 acres and 1750 sq ft, all on one floor. It is a bit of a compromise in that we didn't really need 3 acres, one would have been sufficient, and we wanted more sq footage, but it has a good layout. It has 2 out buildings, one of which the girls and I have claimed for our SHE SHED! I'm hoping it will work as our schoolroom, scrapbook area, and hangout place. ðŸ¡ðŸ˜€

 

My thoughts on your situation:

- when your DH retires the extra mileage/time to work won't matter.

- you can build the house to exactly what you want

- think 20-30 years from now with the design, 1 floor, wheel chair friendly, walk in shower, etc

 

We moved from the most populated county in Florida and one of our goals in house hunting was getting what we didn't have in our 28 years in Florida: land and sq footage. We might biased. 😉

Good luck with your decision.

[xixstar]

I would get the existing house due to crazy stories from friends that have built houses just to learn how poorly some jobs were done.

[FriedClams]

I would go for the existing house with AS MAMY of the renovations done as possible before you move in. Life will get in the way and 5 year projects become 10 year....etc. Or, make peace with the "If this never changed I'll still love this house and be content here."

[JFSinIL]

I think in the long run you may prefer to be closer to "stuff" for basic errant running, etc.  How is the weather - would you be driving in deep snow in winter to get anywhere?  Is reception (cable, cell) good out in the rural area?  Are there more critters to nibble at your garden out rural? 

 

I'd get the existing house and rip out the carpets and either refinish the floors or replace with wood.  Bet it is still cheaper than building from scratch.  

[Cinder]

I'd pick the older house in the location you desire. If in a few years you decide you hate it or are still longing to build your own, the land will still be there and you'd likely be able to sell the first house due to its great location.

[regentrude]

Location. I would buy the existing house and update as needed.

None of the updates seem to problematic to me - we have done much of it in our current house while we are living in it, over the course of a few years (heat pump, floors, kitchen). Way easier than dealing with construction of a new house.

 

Also, if this is intended to be the forever home: how would you deal with driving for groceries and doctor's visits as an elderly person? How would that work if you could no longer drive at all?

[bettyandbob]

I'd go with the short commute. Plus it usually takes longer and costs more than original estimates, so building will increase you timeline for moving without knowing for sure by how much.

[Pawz4me]

I would go with the existing house. None of the things you mentioned are huge, stressful renovations. They can be done over time as you have the money and/or time. One acre is a LOT more manageable than 3.5. More time with your husband, less travel time/stress for him, closer to amenities... It's a win all around. Especially since you mentioned that you're planning to live here long term. When you get older, living out in the country and farther from services can cause some real issues. Being closer to doctors, health support, pharmacies, shopping, EVERYTHING, will make life much easier not only now, but much later on.

 

Yes, being close to health care providers is a very important long term consideration for us.  From the existing house it would be about a 10 minute drive to our doctor, dentist and a good sized hospital.

 

 

I would get the existing house due to crazy stories from friends that have built houses just to learn how poorly some jobs were done.

 

Thankfully we have a contractor lined up that we really trust.  He's been highly recommended by several people we know.

 

I think in the long run you may prefer to be closer to "stuff" for basic errant running, etc.  How is the weather - would you be driving in deep snow in winter to get anywhere?  Is reception (cable, cell) good out in the rural area?  Are there more critters to nibble at your garden out rural? 

 

I'd get the existing house and rip out the carpets and either refinish the floors or replace with wood.  Bet it is still cheaper than building from scratch.  

 

Utilities are an issue.  If we build the house will be serviced by a small local power company that is (not so jokingly) often referred to as the Hooterville Power Company. ;)  Those who're old enough to remember Green Acres will understand that reference.  And we'd be stuck with Time Warner for internet, which we're not happy about.  Winter driving isn't too much of an issue -- we usually only have a few really bad days a winter, and DH can work from home.

 

 

I'd pick the older house in the location you desire. If in a few years you decide you hate it or are still longing to build your own, the land will still be there and you'd likely be able to sell the first house due to its great location.

 

That's a very good point.  Although we're thinking we'll make the most of whichever we choose.  We're getting too old to continue house jumping.

 

Location. I would buy the existing house and update as needed.

None of the updates seem to problematic to me - we have done much of it in our current house while we are living in it, over the course of a few years (heat pump, floors, kitchen). Way easier than dealing with construction of a new house.

 

Also, if this is intended to be the forever home: how would you deal with driving for groceries and doctor's visits as an elderly person? How would that work if you could no longer drive at all?

 

Yes, as mentioned above driving/ease of access to things as we get older is a big consideration.  Unfortunately there is little to no mass transit in this area.  But in the existing house we could probably get a taxi if necessary.  Even taxis aren't particularly common around here, but they do exist.

 

 

I'd go with the short commute. Plus it usually takes longer and costs more than original estimates, so building will increase you timeline for moving without knowing for sure by how much.

 

Yes.  And since if we go ahead with building we'll probably be starting in late September or even into October, there's the slow down of the holidays and winter weather to consider.

[Halftime Hope]

If you are happy being in town, I would pass on building. Life is too short!

[Jaz]

Location, location, location! I'd buy the existing house.

[idnib]

Location is very important,  especially as we age. I would go with the existing house.

[KatieJ]

I would look at what I expect my life to look like after retirement. Is a less than ideal location now going to be worse after retirement, or better?

It sounds like you can fix up the older home to be what you want it to be.  BUt you can't move the new house closer to where the action is.  

 

 

[Runningmom80]

I say location.  I understand your frustration, we've been looking for about a year, and we're really discouraged.

[Corraleno]

I would (and recently did) choose the less rural location.

 

Last year I moved from a large, custom-built house on 3 acres in a rural-ish area to an older, smaller house on a much smaller lot that is closer to everything. As much as I miss my previous house, I absolutely LOVE being so close to everything. I was so sick of all the driving, and really tired of crummy internet and phone service and poor cell reception. I don't even like the house we're in now (small pokey rooms and bad layout), but the location is exactly what I was looking for — a quiet, safe, well-maintained neighborhood 5-10 minutes from everywhere I need to go. Fast internet, great cell reception, great city services, and a small manageable yard — I definitely don't miss having to take care of 3 acres and a lot of outbuildings. This house was also built in the 70s and needs updating, but I plan to do that bit by bit as time and finances allow. 

[KungFuPanda]

My measley 1/5 of an acre provides more yard work than I ever care to do. The location is great. I'm thankful almost daily that I can go from being out of milk to replenished in 15 minutes. Getting what you want in the location you want WITHOUT the stress and unknowns of construction is a win in my book. Also, seeing the way things develop over time, I place greater value on established neighborhoods. I've seen way too many housing developments pop up to trust that that nearby field will ALWAYS be a field.

[Incognito]

I voted location, but also, FWIW, in your posts you sound like you want the one with the better location as well.

 

I'm sure either way you'll have a nice home in which to create lots of happy memories.

 

ETA: I should add that personally, we have chosen the more rural set up and it works well for us (but we are not nearing retirement yet, so we may see otherwise later).  A 20 minute drive to town makes for more good audiobooks listened to, and more intentional shopping, but it is not FAR.

[Ottakee]

Yes, consider what could happen to the land around the home you want to build. It might remain farmland or it might be developed or ???

 

We bought 2 acres rurally and our neighbor behind is has 40 acres.....now there is a highway running through that property and through what used to be our 2 acres. We had to move and bought a 5 acres place and now there is talk of a strip mall, Walmart, gas station, etc just 1/4 mile away on our road.

 

I would chose the rural location but then again it is hard to have horses in the city.....but always be aware of what could change around you and never ever ever depend on the neighbor's woods for YOUR privacy.

[TechWife]

I think the older one gets, the more location matters. I'm not even talking about being elderly, but just being an empty nester. Being able to easily access a community, whether it be a church or special interest group is something that is very important. Additionally, the convenience of being able to get to amenities and having access to good medical care is really important as well. 

 

If it were me, I think I'd buy the older house, but go ahead and do the work on it before move in. It's much easier to have it done when you aren't living there. I mean, do the heat pump, kitchen, hardwood floors and windows and anything else you want to do. Consider having a walk in shower installed to make it easier to age in place. 

 

Check the plumbing and electrical carefully - they can be really expensive if there's a problem that crops up. Also, what kind of shape is the siding in - after that long it might be due for a replacement if it hasn't been done already. 

 

Location, location, location.

 

[lllll]

nm

[RioSamba]

I'd definitely choose the better location! For me, nothing else trumps a good location.

[BlsdMama]

We're facing a bit of a dilemma.

 

For over eighteen months we've been trying to find a suitable house in our current area.  Our goal is to downsize and get out of the city limits but stay within the immediate area, which we like very much and is very convenient.

 

About six months ago we pretty much gave up on finding anything that suited us and started contemplating building on land we already own (inherited family land) in another part of the county.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with the area where the land is.  It's a very nice, safe area, but more rural than we are now.  There's a small town a couple of miles away with a grocery store, a handful of restaurants, etc.  But it's a 20 minute drive to get to real civilization -- health care and big box stores and things like that.  It would add about 16-18 miles a day (round trip) to DH's already long commute.  But he's planning on retiring in six years or so and says the extra driving isn't that big of a deal to him.

 

Since we hadn't found anything at all in this area we were interested in in all that time of looking, it seemed the best choice was to build.  We found a house plan and a contractor, and a couple of weeks ago we submitted our information to our credit union to start work on a construction loan.

 

And as luck would have it last week we found a house on the market in this area that we're very much interested in.  It's an older house (built in 1975) and although it appears to have been very well maintained, it will need some updating.  The big things are that it needs a new heat pump and replacement windows.  The heat pump is 21 years old, so we'd want to have it replaced before we moved in.  The windows aren't terrible by any means.  We could probably go another few years with them if we had to.  The bathrooms and kitchen could do with just a bit of updating, but nothing that we couldn't live with for awhile and work on whenever we decide we're ready.  The bedrooms and main living areas are carpeted, whereas if we build I'd go with some sort of hard flooring throughout.  The carpet appears to be new and very good quality, so it really wouldn't make sense to rip it out right away.  We'd have to live with it for a few years before I could justify replacing it.  But the floor plan would work really well for us.  And . . . .location.  DH's commute really wouldn't change significantly from what it is now (in fact, it might be just a tad less).

 

After doing what needs to be done to the existing house the cost would probably be close to even.  Maybe a bit less for the existing house.

 

So . . . what would you do?  Should we go for the location we want, or the shiny new house we'd like to have?  I'm thinking shiny new wears off, but location is constant.  But I'd love to hear what others think.

 

 

Are you guys rural people?  Or would you constantly be running to the city for things, lessons, activities?

 

I love being rural.  To me, this would require NO thought at all.  I'd build on the land.  But I *ADORE* the days that I have no where to go.  I *LOVE* just hanging laundry out in the country, watching my chickens, having lunch under a tree, and listending to cicadas.  It would *not* occur to me that I could run to the city to do.... well, ANYTHING if I didn't have to run an errand that day.  My favorite days are the ones spent at home.

 

But if you LOVE to be running to music lessons, art class, a museum visit, and to see friends, or to shop for something, I suspect  you'd be very unhappy 20 minutes from it.  It would be such a hassle.

 

So which are ya'all?

 

ETA:  And, yes, rock roads mean a TON of dust if you like your windows open.

And, no, we have NO internet here.  None.  Only streaming through our data packages.  Something to think about.  It's all a trade-off.  I'm not sorry.  I actually don't love the dust but I do love the internet restrictions.  ;)