Maine Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
House Hunting and Snow- WDYT?
We've decided to buy a house and are about to start looking. Our lease is up at the end of June so we don't have a ton of time for our search. We're looking at 3 houses this weekend, but there is still SO much snow on the ground it'll be impossible to get a feel for the yard/land. One of the properties we're going to see is over an acre and we think it's important to be able to check out the land before we buy. Not all of the houses have good yard pictures and I'm not sure I'd trust them anyway.
What do you think...Are we crazy to want to wait for the snow to melt before putting in an offer?
Re: House Hunting and Snow- WDYT?
June actually isn't that far away in the grand scheme of house buying.
If you want to move before your lease is up/time it so you move when its up you would need an accpeted offer on a house no later than May... I think it's a good idea to get a feel for the houses and you can get an idea of the lot size, I wouldn't rule out a house I loved b/c I couldn't see the yard...
We viewed houses in one whirlwind weekend in January. There was a little snow on the ground and it rained the entire weekend. The snow was a minor concern- had the inspector been able to see the roof, they might have found what a mess the DIY job was. But yard landscaping wasn't a huge deal and we could get a good sense of the feel with the bushes and trees. In fact, it was kind of exciting for spring and summer to come around to see what would bloom! We were very pleased with the results.
The rain on the other hand was a nice shopping tool. We could see what the interiors were like on dark dreary days when you can't rely on bright beaming sun and it was very easy to tell which basements were dry and which weren't.
I'd say keep your appointments this weekend and if you see something you absolutely love, your gut will tell you if the yard is a make or break situation. If you aren't sure, maybe letting some of the thaw start will help, but I wouldn't wait until mid-April when things are really cleared out unless you are a real gardening fanatic that needs to see specific plants or sun patterns. You'll get an idea of what land you have to work with and from there you can always do your own work to plant, weed, and seed.
Ultimately though, you have to go with your instinct. If you want to wait, so be it- just make sure you are prepared for there to be potential stipulations on your closing agreement (like the seller closing on their next property- which can also take time) that could extend into June if you wait too long. Good luck!
I don't mean this to discourage you from your search, but...
We looked at our house in early spring 4 years ago, when there was still a bunch of snow on the ground. This helped the seller hide the fact that the house was in a serious fire in `01 (somehow this isn't something that needs to be disclosed! But, if a person were killed in the home, that needs to be disclosed to future buyers...), and the yard is/was full of broken glass and charred material. Many other flaws were well-covered as well, our inspector wasn't able to see many things that we've discovered since getting stuck in this house.
There were flaws we were aware of, and those should have been enough of a signal to run the other way, but we were too excited to become home-owners and were ignorant of the costs involved in the necessary fixes.
My general home-buying advice is that if the inspector finds anything of any significance - RUN AWAY!
My Wedding Bio! Not updated in a LONG time!
Go with your gut, but before you go any further make sure they turn the water back on before it's being inspected (if it's been vacant), really look for areas that could have potential drainage/flooding issues. I think up here Spring is the best time to buy because of the thaw!
We looked at homes during the winter with snow on the ground, but between DH and FIL (contractor) we felt confident when we were buying investment properties. DH also came with a shovel though to check foundation etc.
Goodluck!
Thanks, ladies. You've confirmed what I've been thinking. Good advice on having the water turned back on...I hadn't thought of that and one of the houses we're looking at tomorrow has been vacant for quite some time. The flooding/leaking is a major concern for us. The rental house we're in right now started having drips in the basement the other day when the weather warmed up and the plumber says its a leak coming in from outside and he could see that it's been happening for a while. Glad this isn't my house!
We'll probably go with an inspector recommended by our real estate agent and I hope we have a good one. I remember from the last time I bought a house what a difference it makes to have a good inspector.It hadn't occurred to me that the amount of snow we have could inhibit the inspector's ability to do his/her job. Thanks for that reminder.
The main reason we want to see the land at this one property is just to make sure it drains properly and that the water and septic systems are alright. From the pictures of the yard online no one has done any gardening there in quite some time. They didn't even bother to mow the lawn for the listing pictures! We looked the property up online and the owners are no longer in Maine.
We are doing our best to be very logical and non-emotional about the process. There's no reason we have to buy a house and we're not going to settle for something just because. My husband has told me to make sure I don't let any of the houses "steal my soul" because we will walk at the first sign of major trouble. I'll keep you posted.