Would you buy your childhood home if it was for sale?

aimkins · February 2012

The house I consider my childhood home is up for sale. My parents built in 1999, they sold it in 2007 and it's back on the market now. It's bank owned right now.

My H thinks it would be "too weird" to buy it but I am infatuated with the idea right now. Financially, it's probably not realistic but I can't stop thinking about it. All the memories... everything.

I'm way more emotionally invested in this than I ever thought I'd be.

loveablesarah · February 2012

I'm in the process of moving into my DH's "childhood" home. Actually, it was his grandparents, then his dad's and now we are going to be buying it from his dad in a few years - renting until we are ready to buy. I guess he didn't live there as a child per se, but on and off during his teen - early 20's.

I have to say - for me - an outsider, it's kind of hard. I don't love this house. If I was out looking to buy a house - this is not the one I would have chosen. And if DH says "XYZ has always been here" one more time - I'm going to lose it. lol After 40 years of the garbage being in that spot, maybe it's time to try a different spot.

Anyway - I guess the short answer to your question is... yes. I would. But I'm making it very clear that there are some things that need to be done to make it feel like MY home. I have a real issue moving into a place that doesn't feel like mine. Painting, new carpet, ect.

sjb&apa · February 2012

I wouldn't buy my childhood home. I have great memories of growing up there, but I don't want to live there now. The only draw would be the sentimental connection, and that's not enough to make me buy a house.

In your situation, I would also not buy the family's former house, mostly because you said it wouldn't be realistic financially. It's not worth being house poor, IMO. You already have the good memories, I don't think you need the actual house the memories were made in, especially if it stretches you financially.

razamataz · February 2012

If it were in a different location, probably. But where it is now, as lovely as small town WI is, I don't think I could live there. As a vacation home, certainly, but not as a fulltime home.

It was a house that my family designed and built - on land that I remember "picking out" before there were roads or other homes. It is on a beautiful lake too, so it is very unique and special. We moved there when I was 13, but had been in the process of clearing the land and building for years before that.

It is the very heart of my family - so yes, if the circumstances were right, I would buy it.

Sadly my father is putting it up for sale this spring. It breaks my heart because I know no other family could possibly love and appreciate it like we do.

Janell's Nest · February 2012

I wouldn't...we had the opportunity to buy a "family home" a few years back, but it would have been too wierd. I would have felt like I couldn't change anything to the way I wanted because family would always remember it a certain way or question our every decision.

My parent's current house (the one I grew up in), I'd definately say NOOOOOO too because that house is like the house in Money pit, its old, and getting older, showing its age, and my parents just can't keep up with a house that's almost 100 years old. If the time ever comes where they want to sell, we'll sell to my RE team's builder and they'll demo it and build new.

MrsKizdoodle · February 2012

My parents still live in the house I grew up in. I know how much they pay to heat and cool the thing so NO I would not buy it. (It's a big wide open modern-ish house.) Plus if I owned it I would want my room to be the master bedroom and that would just be really weird since it's my parent's room.

If it was free.....well then maybe we'd talk. But no I would never buy it.

annieh2 · February 2012

I love the idea of buying my childhood home, but it will never happen in reality. The house has been in our family for four generations and I would love to keep that going, but it's located on a dairy farm in small-town WI. Due to my H's career, we could never live in that type of a location (though we love visiting).

The house is wonderful. It's totally the type of house my H & I would love to own and we appreciate the history of it. Each family that has lived there has made significant changes to it, so it's a very well kept-up farmhouse. Le sigh. Never going to happen.

Good thing I love our current house. I'm a sucker for old houses.

mbgreenwalt · February 2012

My mom still owns my childhood home. I wouldn't want to own it. It was a quick build in 1981 and hasn't held up well. I have all my childhood memories in that house, but I've been able to disconnect over the last 9 years. I don't have a room there anymore and it has all been remodeled. It just feels like my mom's house now. It is also on the east side of St. Paul in a not-so-nice neighborhood that I wouldn't want to raise my kids in. I could get the house super cheap because the resale values in my mom's neighborhood have plummeted. The house across my mom's just sold for $35K.

mrsadamswife · February 2012

I wouldn't... It would be too weird for me.

huwehotaling · February 2012

I don't think H and I could ever afford it - my parents bought it in 1980 and it has about tripled in value since then. The taxes in Minneapolis are also ridiculous. But, my parents are both retired and my mom already told me that if anything happens to them, H and I get the house. So there is a good possibility that we may end up with the house eventually. I know my H wants to sell it, but I wouldn't mind remodeling/updating and living there. It's a beautiful home.

wittyschaffy · February 2012

I would buy my parents' first house in a heartbeat. It is a block from Como and is really freaking cool. My parents restored it and it was beautiful and had all the cool stuff that old houses have.

jennyk213 · February 2012

I would absolutely buy my parents house and have talked to DH about it for when they decide to sell it (or when they pass away). The house itself is not my style but we could tear down some walls and move stuff around. I love the land it's on and I'm very emotionally attached to it..my parents built the house in the 70's and have taken immaculate care of it. They drew up what they wanted the house to look like and gave it to an architect to make plans. They helped dig and pour the foundation, put up the walls and roof. They finished every square inch of the inside except for plumbing, electric, the cabinets and the wood floors. I was 3 when they started it and in college when they finished the last room. I cannot imagine a stranger living there.

cheeseandrice · February 2012

I would, but only because it's exactly the kind of house we'd love to have anyway. I wouldn't do it just because it's a childhood home, and I'd want to make sure H was comfortable with the idea too.

(Though, realistically, this will never happen, since my childhood home is in Central WI, where I'd rather never move back to.)

MissFit29 · February 2012

My parents' house is pretty unique, but it's pretty big. I don't know if I'd want to live back there. But I would buy either of my grandparents' houses - it's been a long time since I've been in either one, so there's probably enough of a disconnect not to have conflicts with memories.

StrawberryBlondie · February 2012

If it wasn't in my hometown, I would in a heartbeat. Of course, that's assuming I was in the market to buy a house. I loved that house so, so much.

I would love to buy the family lake home. But we can't afford it. It seriously depresses me to think of someone else living there.

pattymctatty · February 2012

No. It's awkward and the layout is odd and I wouldn't even know the first place to begin to remodel besides fencing in the backyard (however, Kiz, you would be the first person I'd call!!). I love my childhood memories of the house and I think that's how I want to keep it for now.

DH's childhood house on the other hand, he lived in a more "ritzy" neighborhood and his house was very modern and posh and overlooked a river... I would live in that house in a heartbeat!

anitalynn · February 2012

Joe and I are very open about wanting to buy his parents' house when they are ready to downsize or move on. Their house is so out of our budget right now (well, they have payments that are lower than ours, but they can't just give us the house for what they paid for it ~18 years ago, so....) but we hope someday we can swing it. If they sold their house today, they would use the equity for retirement, and if they gave us a deal on the price, they wouldn't get much leftover cash.

It's not exactly the house MH grew up in - and we wouldn't buy that house, nor would we buy the house(es) I grew up in.

smoo&brown · February 2012

Never. I'm trying to convince my mother to sell it like tomorrow. It's a money pit, it's falling apart, and she can't even afford it anymore. I'm guess once it's sold the new owners will tear it down and build a new house. Good riddance...

MesmrEwe · February 2012

I would - in a heartbeat - if I could convince my DH to move down there that is... The funny part is their house has a closer value to our smaller house and it's one of the larger homes in that area.. They've done a lot in recent years to bring it up to being a more efficient home in terms of heating costs. Up until recently(past 5 years) they never had AC and even now they only turn it on just enough to take the "heat" out of the air...

Would you buy your childhood home if it was for sale?

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