buying a house

amethyst1220

if you've bought a house, how long did you search before you found "the one"? any idea how many houses you looked at? just curious. DH is getting frustrated... i think it's too early for him to be frustrated, lol

Mrs.ABC

We looked at hundreds online and about 15 in person. We ended up buying a short sale which took about 8 months. It can be a very long and frustrating process but it's worth it in the end.

jhdance111

We looked at a ton online.

Probably about 30-40 in home - I kid you not. It's competitive in the area we looked initially.

We put bids on 6. The 6th was the one we ended up with.

For length of time? Eesh, I don't know if I remember but it was more than 6-8 months.

hollyfp

Also a ton online, for a while before looking seriously.

Looked in person for about 4-6 months.  We had pretty specific requirements so we didn't actually go into too many.  Lots of drive-bys though.

My mom (Realtor) found our house when we first started looking but we did not look at it (in person) because it was out of our price range.  Price dropped and then we saw it and fell in love.  It took about 9 months to close.  That was annoying but it was worth it.  Still nothing on the market like ours (for that price!)

It takes time.  If you have seen everything that fits your requirements in your price range, you'll have to wait! 

OSUWifey09

My parents looked at houses for three years before they found the one we have - and it took quite a few months to get all the paperwork settled, from what I understand. I know the right one will come, but from what I've heard from others, it can take quite awhile.

It kinda makes me glad that the military will be providing housing for us...but even THAT list is competitive, and we'll be waiting for a year before we can move on base. Sigh.

LarissaAnn

It can take a long time.  The key is not to settle for something you don't really want when it's going to be such a huge expense and a long-term investment.  Plus, you have to live in it for a good long time, unless you plan to flip it... so you want to make sure it's right for you.  Size, layout, number of closets.  No water/foundation issues.  Amount of cosmetic work needed.  I'm not saying you have to avoid cosmetic issues, just that it has to not be more than you're willing to take on.

Totally worth it to wait, though, and find the right place.  It's too big a commitment to settle.

KSMILEY 77

We looked casually for a year online while we were saving just to keep up with what was out there and what we could afford. Every once in a while, we would go actually look at places. One weekend, we were out and about and drove past this new construction neighborhood, so we went in, fell in love with a townhouse, kept going back to look at it, and eventually signed a contract to buy and build.

alyssa44

We started looking in March 2009 and didn't end up putting in a bid until August 2009 and closed September 2009.  We looked at at least 50-60 houses.  It is definitely a long and crazy process.

amethyst1220

thanks, ladies. ryan feels pressured to buy, move and get settled before the baby comes. we definitely haven't exhausted our options yet. i think tonight is only the 4th time we're going out to look at houses so 10-12 that we've seen so far. i'm not willing to settle, the townhouse we rent now isn't ideal for a baby, but we can definitely make it work if need be.

Five_letter

Buying a house was the most stressful horrific thing we've ever done as a couple.

Depressing. 

Ugh.....

doxgirl

We are the exception.  We looked at ton online and then only looked at two in person. We fell in love with our house immediately.

aligator423uf

We started seriously looking in Jan and had closed and moved in by March 10th. ) But I had an unfair advantage of being a realtor, so I got to see tons in our price range on the market. DH actually only saw 4 or 5 of the houses that we were contemplating.

We put an offer on one that didn't work out, but that was for the best in the end because we got our house instead. Our house needs some work, but nothing pressing like the other one which needed holes in walls repaired, a new roof, flooring, etc.

There was actually one other house that I liked better than ours, but it needed work too. The owner had just bought it a year ago and listed $10K over what she bought it for, which was probably $10K more than we wanted to spend or what it was worth. So even though I totally loved the house (DH didn't at all), it would really never work out. Since then she's pulled if off the market and is renting it.

So long story short: it can take a long time or a little, but don't settle. Wait until you find the right one