Buying A Home
jenn3745
member
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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.
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House Hunting - A Serious Frustration Situation
FH and I have been house hunting for about a month now. We've looked at quite a few houses and every single one seems to have one or more deal breakers. Sometimes it is even the perfect house but then has one major issue that makes it a DB. I know we hvaen't been looking long so I'm being patient and telling myself it's out there somewhere. And in the meantime am thinking hard about what I am and am not willing to sacrifice in a house.
Any advice (or similar situations) on looking for the right home and how to decide on what you will and will not overlook and what the right house is for you?
Re: House Hunting - A Serious Frustration Situation
It's a dog's life!
We've been looking for 7 months
There has only been one house in the past 7 months that I would have even considered buying but we didn't even make an offer because it had a one big deal breaker... no yard. Some things I can give or take but I have a list of 5 things that I just won't budge on, a yard being one of them. So, my advice is to make 2 lists.... "wants" and "must haves". Like you said, really think hard about your "must haves" and don't feel bad about passing on a home that doesn't have those things.
Our new houses are out there somewhere!!!
You do need to be realistic about what you can and can not change with a house in your price range. You can't change the location and it's not easy to change a layout or add more square feet (without a lot of money). You can change the walls, kitchen, bath, etc. You just need to decide what's the most important and what you can live without unless you are willing to wait.
I'd take another look at your list of needs vs. wants and reassess. If you're dead set on a particular area or neighborhood it can take time for that perfect house to show up.
Is there anything you're considering a "need" that you're willing to live without, at least for awhile until you can add it?
Is there anything on your want list you're OK if you bump off?
For example, one of the things on our must-have list was a large backyard. Our house had pretty much everything we wanted except this. However, it backs up onto a large park so we decided we were OK without a backyard.
But it sounds like you're already doing that. Sorry you're frustrated. PP is right - your home is out there! It took us about 6 weeks of seriously looking to find our house. Before that, H had been browsing the MLS for a few months.
We had a tough time at first. I agree with the other ladies that you should seriously think about wants vs needs. We did that, but were still having a really hard time finding something in our target price range. So we decided to up the ante so to speak and look at homes that were slightly more to see if it made a difference. We found the perfect house on our first try after that. It was $30K more than we had anticipated spending, but still well within an affordable range for us.
Good luck. You will know when you find the right one,
Like the other girls said - what are your needs, and what are you wants? We NEEDED a space that had an adult tv space some kind of playroom, and a formal teaching space for my piano. We said 3 beds plus an office was a must, and something that didn't need a ton of work (aka not falling apart). We were ok with needing cosmetic updates if the price was right, 2 and a 1 car garage, and the street could not have lane lines on it. We WANTED a nice yard, basement, 2 car garage, quiet street, some kind of deck or patio, large master (suite would have been a plus), and updated kitchens and baths.
What we got was a 3 bed, 2 bath house with an office and a playroom. 2 car garage, but no basement except a crawlspace. Laundry is in the garage, which I don't love, but it works. We have a separate playroom that is off of the family room, and the bedrooms are away from the main living space. We got brand new bathrooms but not a brand new kitchen. We got an AMAZING yard and deck with a motorized awning and a formal living/dining room that gives us a dining room and space for my baby grand piano.
Budget wise, we knew where the top was and while we are near it, we wouldn't go over it. There are so many unexpected costs with closing and setting up a house that I would say figure out where the top is, but try to be a bit under it.
RIP Dr. Irving Fishman - 10/1/19-7/25/10 - thank you for holding on for me.
You made my wedding day complete.
Don't push yourself because things will happen. Murphy's Law. Make sure you have plenty of room for savings. There are lots of extra expenses to owning a house. If you've settled on an amount you are comfortable with, then I would stay within that. We were trying to keep our mortgage under a certain amunt so that it wasn't a jumbo loan, but in the end we had to go over. Our budget could handle it, we just didn't want to do it.
In both of my previous home buying experiences though I was where you are now. I can't count the number of times I came home crying because I thought I would never found a house that I could afford in an area I liked. But I kept at it, and eventually had great experiences. When you find "your" house you will know.
I agree that these are three things that aren't easily fixed and it's good you listened to your gut.
However if you come up on things like this in a home again, consider what adjustments you might be willing to make to how you thought you'd use the space and how you can make it work. For example, if the master bedroom was very small, is the rest of the house large enough to offset that...can you still have your own space? That type of thing.
Sometimes you do need to think creatively and work around your preconceived notions about how you'll use X or Y space. Then if you think you can make it work even though it's not what you expected or originally wanted, great - make an offer. If you think through your options and keep coming back to NO you'll feel confident with the decision.
Don't force yourself to like a house that won't work for you but don't get stuck in trying to apply certain expectations to every home, if that makes sense.
What kind of properties are you considering? If you're stuck say on a SFH, take a look at some townhome/duplex or twinhome listings. Our place is a completely detached SFH but because of the HOA and zero lot line, these houses have to be listed on the MLS as townhomes. Many people probably filter out all townhomes and miss places in my neighborhood just because of that.
We have looked at a few of the "condo" SFH's in the area and liked them but we are currently trying to escape a very small condo and would rather own a home that we can stay in for 10-20 years and raise kids in etc... There are a lot in our price range in this area they just all come up short so far.
Must haves are a medium sized yard, 3 bed 2+ bath, 2 car garage on a quiet street. Would likes are gas cooktop, upstairs utility room, bonus room, master suite and... other things but nothing that isn't changeable
Ok, speaking plainly and only with respect: you have got to see past paint colors! Paint is by far the cheapest, fastest, easiest thing you can do to change a room or house. It is ridiculous out easy it is. And it makes a world of difference. Just plan on repainting where ever you buy. No one is out there painting their house your favorite colors! :-)
Carpet: the second cheapest, fastest & easiest thing to change.
In my opinion, what I look for in a house (after 16 years as a Realtor): what I call, good bones.
First, second and third is always Location. I'll say it again, nothing matters more than location. Let's put it this way, nothing will protect your investment more than location. Lastly, you can change everything about a house except its location (ok, you can move a house but that is getting silly). Location!
Good bones: walls, floors & roof - all in the proper places
Does it have a good floorplan? Is it workable for you & your family? Trying to change a floorplan rarely improves a property. Some things can help such as removing a wall to open up a space but major changes and additions usually show....poorly. Good spaces, they don't have to be huge but well proportioned and laid out.
Condition: doesn't have to be perfect or even updated but well built and in a condition that you can live with. Things can be fixed and updated. You can do it at your own pace and to your own taste. People pay more for 'cute'. Doing it yourself will save you money and add to your property values. Of course, its all about level is doable for you. Some people can handle a complete renovation, others only want to carpet and paint
Condition is more important, you want a good structure to work with 
Everything else is cosmetic.
Did I mention location? lol
Good luck. Most of all, hang in there. I know it can be frustrating but it is a learning process and a highly emotional process. Give yourselves a break and it will all work out
Bests!
Lighthouse State Beach, Santa Cruz.
Keep your housing budget reasonable and livable. 25-28% of your TAKEHOME pay for mortgage+PMI+taxes+insurance+utilities. Less if you have other debt (SL, Car loans, cc debt) You can go to 30-35% in a HCOL area.
Remember that there is a ton of extra expenses when you buy - closing costs, moving costs, utility deposits, yard equipment, repair/renovation costs, decorating costs, ladders, tools, etc.
Make sure you STILL have a good emergency fund in place ---after all of this!
Keep your housing budget reasonable and livable. 25-28% of your TAKEHOME pay for mortgage+PMI+taxes+insurance+utilities. Less if you have other debt (SL, Car loans, cc debt) You can go to 30-35% in a HCOL area.
Remember that there is a ton of extra expenses when you buy - closing costs, moving costs, utility deposits, yard equipment, repair/renovation costs, decorating costs, ladders, tools, etc.
Make sure you STILL have a good emergency fund in place ---after all of this!
We've seen every house on the market in our area that meets our basic sq ft/room size needs including the most expensive homes on the market. After 6 months we decided the best solution was to build.
If building or adjusting your budget is not an option my suggestion is to be patient or compromise. You really just need a home with good bones - changes can be made if needed.
Good luck
When we were first beginning to look, I also thought I wanted a second floor laundry. It just seemed like it made the most sense since that is where the bedrooms are. However, the more I thought about it the more I was ok with having a laundry room on the main floor. If we have a lot of loads of laundry to do, I wouldn't want to have to go up and down the stairs everytime I had to change a load of laundry.
Now our new list of must haves are
3 bed 2 bath
At least 1500 sq ft
basement
level yard
fireplace
If anyone's interested in some of the information feel welcomed to sending me an email!
Bsmithjr78@yahoo.com
Good Luck to All!
We are moving from coast to coast and only had 3 days to look at houses! Talk about pressure.
I was feeling discouraged after day two and the realtor suggested we revisit some of the houses we had seen previously. I must have been tired when I saw them the first time. Seeing them for a second time I saw things differently. In one house i thought the kitchen was too narrow and the living room was way too small. Looking at it again I realized it was not the case. I think we are going to bid on it.
I had it in my head that our next house would be perfect. I wish we had the luxury of looking for a year to find the perfect one. For us, it's just a matter of finding one that has the most checks on our list of things we want.
good luck. My only advice is to go back to some of the houses you liked and see them again. You might have a different impression the second time.