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Which House would you buy?
Girls I need some help/advice, I know some of you have already seen these pictures, but I'm starting to question our house choice, as I worry its more than we can handle. I know Type A self and will want it to be perfect for my Holiday/Open House Party (NE and any Nesties that want to make the trip mark you calendar in December 3rd or 10th)
We are looking to relocate, and are going back and forth on which home we want. We have an accepted offer w/ a house to sell contingency on House A right now. But I keep wondering if its the right house..
We have found House A that is everything we want, but needs some work (no granite, s/s, every room needs to be painted, but the location is ideal (1 mile to the ocean) established neighborhood, quiet, mature landscaping etc. It is 3555 square feet 5 bed 4.5 baths. Loft for office Keep in mind the pictures aren't the best and their furniture placement is odd! Also there is a 4 season room off the huge great room that would be our tv room/den while the great room has the dining and more "formal" living room. There is no defined dining room, but you can do a dining/living area
We also have found a brand new construction,(house 
everything is done shiny and new, but the location isn't exactly what we want (it is 3 miles from the ocean) but its a newer subdivision, we worry about the value and also living in a construction zone, as they continue to build. Its 3 bed 2.5 bath plus den/office 2400 square feet.
We aren't afraid of some hardwork (we've done that on our current house) but I don't want to have project after project to work on for the next few years. Obviously any house you buy you have to paint/add your own style and I'm inspired by so many blogs and seeing the amazing transformations people have done. I feel like we can add a lot more value to House A vs B and in the long run its a better investment. But I know that I like shiny and new...
TIA for reading this far, any thoughts/comments/advice is appreciated:) Which would you buy?
The way life should be-
Re: Which House would you buy?
I think the ONE thing you can't change about a house is its location.
You can paint, update, renovate, but you can't MOVE the house.
I think you know what is best :-)
House buying rule #1: location, location, location. You cannot change the location of the house. Being a mile from the beach is huge!
It is hard to say which one I'd choose based off the inside pictures because I can't get a feel for the flow. I love the look of the outside of house A. But it is nice that B is brand spankin new. However, if all you have to do is paint and update the kitchen of A, that's not much work at all. Like you said, you'd have to paint regardless of where you ended up (and B looks very white). So that aspect is a push.
Basically it seems like it comes down to beach location vs. updated kitchen. I personally don't like the look of white cabinets, so that would be a huge negative for me. The nice thing about A is that you can update the kitchen to be exactly what YOU want, not what the builder of B decided.
We can make the inside of house A really anything we want, I'm just feeling very overwhelmed by everything we might be taking on. Living 1 mile from the ocean is amazing and also its near my favorite bluff that I used to go to when I would be so stressed out and just relax, and dream about writing my book. UGH we always do this, get settled and then decide to Move AGAIN! (Jaime do you remember when we moved before our wedding) UGH
I agree with everyone about location.
Yes, I do remember you moving before your wedding!! I think you always knew you wanted to get back to Maine and hopefully this is the opportunity you're looking for to do so!
Plus I'm looking forward to having you around!
Planning bio My DIY blog The Maine Bio
2012 Reading Challenge
I can't imagine cleaning a 5 bedroom house, but you can't beat being so close to the beach. I think you need to go with your gut. Both houses would need paint like Holly said, so I don't think you can really factor that in to your decision. I think you and TJ need to sit down and weigh the pros and cons of both houses together and really think about what work HAS to be done vs what you WANT done and the time frame (is it an immediate need or something for down the road) and whether the location outweighs the inconvenience of any work you would want to do vs moving into the brand new home. In the long run, I think it will because buying a house is really an investment (and usually a long term one). You don't have to do the work all at once and could set mini goals to do one or two projects a year to lower the impact on you both.
From experience I can tell you that just because a home is new construction and move-in ready doesn't mean there isn't work to be done. You'll always want to change something (or upgrade this or change that). Trust me on that!
Of my 3 posts on different boards only 1 vote for house B (not that I'd choose a house from an internet poll). So we'll see what the inspection turns up, you can paint a room in a day which isn't bad, but I know myself and know how I want everything done right away, patience is not one of my better qualities! Plus I can always go to the beach if I get fed up!!
Jaime-I expect a pinball tournament from you!