EMS83 Posted June 28, 2018 Author Share Posted June 28, 2018 Oh dear; I don't blame you! No one was hurt, though? I've seen that happening around here every now and then, though so far nothing that's landed on a house! I just don't know if I can sanely launch three young adults from this house when I know we can gain more space for not much more money, even for debt free living. That's honestly a tough one. If they weren't here 24/7, it would be a bit different. And I guess it would be hard to do differently in 1200 sq.ft., but we have the open-concept thing going on and I hate it. DH and I are both nook people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 On 6/15/2018 at 1:37 PM, CES2005 said: ?Now I'm getting cold feet because what if we go through this and end up with buyers remorse??? ?? ? try not to over analyze. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 Sooo... the big property went off the market--expired listing. So sad. ? It may come back, but if they give it new carpet and paint, I doubt they'll be any more willing to come down off their price (and trust me, it's overpriced). So for now it's between property #1 and a new one that's basically our house with more space in strategic places, and a 5 acre lot that they recently had harvested for trees (good for us because we wanted open land for gardens and goat and stuff). BUT it would be a lower mortgage vs. #1 which with be the max of our comfort zone. A detached garage is in the future of either property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 I don’t think you should buy any of the properties you’ve told us about. You don’t seem excited about them. I worry that you will settle on something you don’t really want, only to have a much better place come on the market in a few months. Please don’t feel like you’re trapped into choosing something that doesn’t feel right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 Oh it's not a lack of excitement; it's just exhaustion. And realism. ? There's no existing house/property I'd just totally fall in love within our price range. It would have to be a custom build to my specs for me to looooove it. But if I were just settling on something, Either I would have already quit or we would have already moved. Because there's plenty we can afford if we're just looking at the typical criteria and don't care how close our neighbors are. And on the flip side, settling for just anything isn't worth all the stress and cost of moving. No worries; I won't settle beyond acknowledging I won't get my perfect ever dream home until we're independently wealthy. ? I just think in trade offs. A smaller crappy house on 19 acres is definitely worth moving to, whereas the same house on 2 acres is easy to pass up. I'm potentially willing to sacrifice 400 square feet to get a secluded master if the properties are similar enough in other regards. For what it's worth, I didn't test drive my van. My first time driving it was to take it home after we'd signed all the papers. But I also knew I wanted that one for X price, and got it. If we buy a house now, DH probably won't even look at pictures and he's totally ok with that. We're just like that (however "that" is, lol). ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 5 hours ago, Catwoman said: I don’t think you should buy any of the properties you’ve told us about. You don’t seem excited about them. I worry that you will settle on something you don’t really want, only to have a much better place come on the market in a few months. Please don’t feel like you’re trapped into choosing something that doesn’t feel right. Actually I've been thinking about this, because my real estate agent said the exact same thing, even though I'd already made the "I'd have to build it to love it" statement. So now I'm curious what it is that makes me sound not excited, and what it is that sends the "I'm excited" vibe? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 1 hour ago, CES2005 said: Actually I've been thinking about this, because my real estate agent said the exact same thing, even though I'd already made the "I'd have to build it to love it" statement. So now I'm curious what it is that makes me sound not excited, and what it is that sends the "I'm excited" vibe? I’m sensing more of a focus on the flaws, rather than enthusiasm for the positives. It doesn’t seem like you LOVE anything about any of the properties and that you’re not choosing your favorite out of several good options, but that you’re trying to pick the lesser of the evils. Maybe you won’t find your perfect dream home right now, but I would feel a lot better if you at least had the option to buy a house that, with a little remodeling, would at least some day be a house you would be happy and proud to call your home. I’m just not feeling that from your posts right now. I know what it’s like to be frustrated with a lack of good options and to want to throw up your hands and choose anything just so you can stop looking at houses and being disappointed when they’re not what you want, but it’s a big emotional investment in addition to the huge financial investment, so you might as well keep looking until you find something that you like and want right away, instead of a house you have to talk yourself into buying because you don’t really want it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted July 6, 2018 Author Share Posted July 6, 2018 8 hours ago, Catwoman said: I’m sensing more of a focus on the flaws, rather than enthusiasm for the positives. It doesn’t seem like you LOVE anything about any of the properties and that you’re not choosing your favorite out of several good options, but that you’re trying to pick the lesser of the evils. Maybe you won’t find your perfect dream home right now, but I would feel a lot better if you at least had the option to buy a house that, with a little remodeling, would at least some day be a house you would be happy and proud to call your home. I’m just not feeling that from your posts right now. I know what it’s like to be frustrated with a lack of good options and to want to throw up your hands and choose anything just so you can stop looking at houses and being disappointed when they’re not what you want, but it’s a big emotional investment in addition to the huge financial investment, so you might as well keep looking until you find something that you like and want right away, instead of a house you have to talk yourself into buying because you don’t really want it. I see. I guess I'll try to watch my phrasing. I love the privacy and potential of these properties. ? They just each have come with considerations and they're so different, I'm having a hard time figuring out my and everyone else's priorities. We're not listed yet (though we're list-able), so I can certainly just stop looking and say, "Forget it; we're staying here!" (except nearly everything is in storage). I'm more afraid properties like these won't come up again for a while, really. I'm personally hung up on the 19 acres, but need a inspector and a contractor to tell me what needs work and how much what I want to do will cost, before I can even make a final call about how worthwhile the trade offs are. But it would be major to put me off because 19 acres. ? But as someone said, it may end up being one of those properties where you spend more to fix it up than you would have buying a move-in ready home on the same property. What's probably really best for our family overall is the cute two story on 5 acres, which is why I was ready to make an offer on it a couple weeks ago, but things got complicated with communication breakdowns with agents, and then I thought DH wanted a lower payment than that house would need... So I've sort of been at square one for the past couple of weeks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 1 hour ago, CES2005 said: I see. I guess I'll try to watch my phrasing. I love the privacy and potential of these properties. ? They just each have come with considerations and they're so different, I'm having a hard time figuring out my and everyone else's priorities. We're not listed yet (though we're list-able), so I can certainly just stop looking and say, "Forget it; we're staying here!" (except nearly everything is in storage). I'm more afraid properties like these won't come up again for a while, really. I'm personally hung up on the 19 acres, but need a inspector and a contractor to tell me what needs work and how much what I want to do will cost, before I can even make a final call about how worthwhile the trade offs are. But it would be major to put me off because 19 acres. ? But as someone said, it may end up being one of those properties where you spend more to fix it up than you would have buying a move-in ready home on the same property. What's probably really best for our family overall is the cute two story on 5 acres, which is why I was ready to make an offer on it a couple weeks ago, but things got complicated with communication breakdowns with agents, and then I thought DH wanted a lower payment than that house would need... So I've sort of been at square one for the past couple of weeks. Is the 2 story on 5 aces gone? one thing to remember if you guys choose a fixer......negotiate hard. Because most people will do what they can to AVOID a fixer. So if you take one it needs to be at a good price so that your inconvenience and hard work and money will be worth it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted July 6, 2018 Author Share Posted July 6, 2018 6 minutes ago, Scarlett said: Is the 2 story on 5 aces gone? one thing to remember if you guys choose a fixer......negotiate hard. Because most people will do what they can to AVOID a fixer. So if you take one it needs to be at a good price so that your inconvenience and hard work and money will be worth it. The fixer is the one I was going to knock down $67k. And I think that was being generous, honestly. My agent found out they're replacing carpet and painting before relisting, so I might only knock them down $62k. ? I think that's why it's been sitting for 18 months. But he hasn't come down to anything like reasonable in that time, so it makes me think he won't deal anyway. And no, the 2 story is still there; it's over priced as well, but not by nearly as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 On 6/26/2018 at 9:31 AM, Scarlett said: IThere is a lot of good sense in staying put in an affordable home. You mentioned earlier that you could have the current house paid off in 2 years if you worked at it. That might be a good strategy. It puts you in a really good position when you begin to upgrade if your current house is completely paid off. Also, there is huge peace of mind in having no mortgage. Once you get there you might decide to stay there! That was my first thought too. No matter how you slice it, moving and setting up again is expensive and time-consuming. And kids do grow up and we all get older. If you buy again, you have to consider your situation 5 years from now, 10 years from now, and beyond. We recently went from a large colonial with a large yard with slopes to a medium-sized split level with a flat, smaller yard. And I'm loving it. Mowing and yard work takes an hour a week, and it's easier to keep up the inside. I've decided that if we buy again, no bigger than this house. Mine are in college, so either or both could split in five years. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted July 6, 2018 Author Share Posted July 6, 2018 I'm gong with #1. I made a list of stuff that would need to be done before pigs or goats could happen (because people first). And the 5 acres is much smaller, but we can get back to normal and get going with that sort of thing a lot faster and cheaper. And if I just haaaave to have a secluded master on the main, we can save up for an addition. We only need 3 bedrooms right now, and I"m then only one that cares about the master being away from all the other bedrooms. Plus it has the front porch. So there. Now watch it go under contract tomorrow. ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 I'd pick #3 based on my basement-envy. We have a crawl space. Working on services, having services worked on is so inconvenient. I would *love* better storage space. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.