Would you buy your childhood home?

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I would.  It's in CO.  I think that says it all.

 

I would also buy my inlaw's house, if I could. It's also in CO and there are many happy memories there.  It's low maintenance and close to everything I need (mountains, trails, rivers, etc).

 

In reality,my ability to purchase either home is a pipe dream.  We cannot afford my inlaw's house.  We were priced out of that neighborhood 20 years ago. My sister has already moved in with my mother and laid claim to the house and everything in it.   :glare:

 

 

[tm919]

Yes, but only if we could pick it up -- with the yard and surrounding property-- and transport it to another town. The town I grew up in just doesn't really fit our lifestyle, but I always loved the house and the yard.

Edited May 13, 2016 by tm919

[lanabug]

I didn't buy my childhood home (my parents still live there) but I did buy a house 2 doors down from it.

When my grandparents got to the point that they needed to move off their farm and be closer to family, my parents approached their neighbors who were retiring and getting ready to move and asked if they would sell to my grandparents.  My grandparents moved in and lived there until their passing.  After my grandma died almost 3 years ago, my mother inherited the house and we asked her if she would sell it to us. She sold it to us for the same price my grandparents bought it. We spent about 4 months renovating and updating it and it has been wonderful for us.

 

We moved from our "dream" home that we custom-built right before we had kids. It was nearly 2300 s.f., 3 bed, 2.5 bath, office, 3 car garage, etc. The house we moved to is about 2100 s.f., with 4 beds, 2.5 baths, schoolroom, and 2 car garage.  While we went down in square footage, the house is laid out so much better for our lifestyle.  I miss my awesome master bathroom and the extra garage stall, but here we have a HUGE backyard with mature trees (pecan!), a sun room, and a much larger bathroom for the kids.  Plus the best part, having my parents so close - while we've had some boundary issues, we are very close and I love that my kids have such a close relationship with them. And I nearly always have a built-in babysitter! 

Lana

[SKL]

We actually had a nice house (when I was a child age 1-12) which still looks kind of nice.  I live a few miles from there now.  I have no plans to move, though.  :)

 

I found the house my family lived in when I was born and until I was about 1.5.  It is so tiny and cute.  But I can't say I see any point in buying it.  :)

 

There is a whole street named after my paternal ancestors.  I have thought about buying that someday.  But that area of town is kind of run down now.  I could see rehabbing it for charity purposes if I ever have that much money.

 

The house we moved to when I was 12 is the one my parents still live in.  Many years ago, I told my mom I wanted it, because of all the awesome oak woodwork.  It's about 100 years old and has some issues, plus it's kind of far from where I live and work.  So now I don't know.  I have given my parents a lot more money than the house was ever worth, so I guess I am sort of entitled to it.  If I inherit it, I'll have to figure out what to do with it.  Probably my sibling(s) would move in with their animals and trash it.  :/

Edited May 13, 2016 by SKL

[chaya]

we bought my husbands childhood home from my inlaws. shortly after we got married they moved overseas where all of dh's siblings were living.

I wasnt really keen on the idea, its a nice enough house on a beautiful property in a beautiful community that we totally dont fit into and I was worried about the 'strings' but dh really wanted it.

so, be aware of any attached strings (was entirely as I predicted but since the inlaws live 6000 miles away its only an issue when they come to visit).

I've learned to live with my neighbors, and am grateful that we have a nice house that we probably couldnt have afforded if we hadnt purchased from my inlaws (they did give us a good deal). my kids get a kick out of sleeping in dh's old bedroom and my brother in law gets a kick out of reminding my dh that he's sleeping in his dads bed. or that I'm in his mom's bed. (which I am not, we totally redecorated the master bedroom first thing!)

so yeah, overall, its a warm-fuzzy for us.

 

I would never ever not forever have purchased my own childhood home. too many demons.

Edited May 13, 2016 by chaya

[Seasider]

Not in a million years.

[TravelingChris]

The house that I lived in for the first few years is probably a drug house now.  It is in a really bad neighborhood though it was a nice neighborhood when I lived there.  I wouldn't live in either of the two apartments I lived in.  When we were stationed back in that area, we did move nearby to the area I lived in during high school but we rented a house instead and it actually was in a different school zone though the same post office. We definitely  had a chance to remain in that area or move back to that area after dh retired, but we like this city and its traffic patterns a lot more.  The horrible traffic jams in the last metropolitan area were bad enough to make us not want to live there.  We also like living in a much smaller city where everything we want to do is nearby.

[rebcoola]

Yes I would it is a lovely well laid out ranch with huge bonus room and awesome yard and I like the town has improved.

[umsami]

We couldn't afford it, and it wouldn't have enough bedrooms for all of us, but if it had more bedrooms and we could afford it, sure. 

[abacus2]

I wouldn't. It is smaller than my current home which feels too small. It is also more rural than I would choose now. 

[Negin]

Yes and I wouldn't hesitate for one moment. 

[Terabith]

I passionately love my childhood home. But the town is not a good fit for us, and it's now considered a very bad neighborhood. But I love that house. Still dream about it.

[HSmomof2]

Yes, I'd love to be able to buy my childhood home. It wasn't big (maybe 1600 sq ft), but had three large bedrooms, hardwood floors and nice yard. Unfortunately, it's in an area that has become very high cost of living, so we'd never be able to afford it now.

[SproutMamaK]

In my case... IF I could afford it (which wouldn't happen), yes I would. We had a 3 bedroom split level, plus a few spare bedrooms in the basement, on an acre and a half. When my parents bought the house it was run down and in the middle of nowhere but they fixed it up and built additions on to it, and then the area was gentrified. They got it for about 1 year's salary (I think around 15-20K at the time?) when they were around 25 years old in the early 70s. It's now worth upwards of 2 million. That being said, they sold it (unfortunately just before the housing boom in that area) about a decade ago, so no "friendly buying from family" would happen if it were to come up for sale. I'd love it, but that wouldn't happen for us, sadly.
 

On your case, heck no. No amount of money would be worth moving away from "civilization" for me. My mental strength goes towards planning school, dealing with the kids, raising babies, etc. Living rurally would mean so many extra challenges. Planning meals because you can't just pop by the grocery for 5 minutes, freezing food ahead of time, huge expeditions whenever you want to go somewhere, no regular social interaction with a large homeschool group, being uprooted from a church community, and none of the cultural experiences that I find so valuable for the kids like plays and museums and the symphony, etc. Plus... small town living where everyone knows everyone (and everyone's business)... no thanks. HOWEVER, that's obviously my own lifestyle preferences, so if you think you'd enjoy small town rural living, it would certainly be a HUGE opportunity for you, both financially and personally.

[lynn]

No but I would buy in the neighborhood I grew up in if Dh took a transfer. The Victorian I always loved went up for sale a few years ago but I couldn't convince Dh to transfer. I can dream....

[waa510]

Never. But my childhood memories were less than fond. I'd have liked to buy my grandparent's home (either one actually) but I'm not crazy about the location.