July 2009 Weddings
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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.
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.
Buying a house help
We went house hunting and found one that we potentially like. I keep going back and forth on what to do. Will another house come out that is better??? Go for this one? Did we miss looking at something when we walked through?
Help...when you bought your house, what do you wish you had asked/done, etc? What are you glad you did or asked before hand?
The biggest negative is the small yard at this place, but we are finding that if we want a yard...the place is not going to be as nice or more expensive & this community at least has a pool & a bunch of sports fields to play on.
Link to the house is on the PB.
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home D
Re: Buying a house help
Are you working with a realtor? They should be able to give you a sense on how fast the house will sell (ie, if you need to bid now or you could look around a bit more). They could also talk to the selling realtor and ask them to give you a heads up if they get another bid so you can throw your hat in the ring too.
When we were house hunting, we sat down and made three lists: Musts, wants and deal breakers. It was easier having these lists because when we went and looked at places we could base our decisions on them. We didn't pay attention to repair type stuff as much - we knew a good inspector would take care of that stuff for us.
I think the house is nice. I think it depends what your priorities are whether to this is one - esp. with the yard. If you're just looking for potential places for kids to play, having close fields/a pool isn't a bad option. A yard was a big one for us because we wanted to have a nice garden and be able to have big BBQs -- neither of which are as easy on communal land.
Kate's Recipe Box || Relatively Bookish
We are working with a realtor. That area is selling fairly quickly in general, which is why I'm all frantic!
The yard..that's where I'm having an issue. I can't decide just how important the yard it. It was definitely important to have some yard for kids to play. But I'm not looking to garden (at this point). However, it would be nice to have some get-togethers, so I'm not sure. BUT we don't know that many people in the area yet, so I don't know!!!!
AH. This is stressful.
It's the best overall that we've seen overall thus far though. I LOVE the kitchen/family room space.
We found a comparable for $10K less that has hardwood and a finished basement, so we know we can definitely go in lower on the bid..and really..wouldn't buy it for more than that 10K less now.
I think DH likes it more than I do I this point, but I'm nervous if we let it go, we won't find something as good for the price.
The issue that we have/had when buying a house is realizing that if we really want to have a nice house, we have to spend more money. If you have the money, great! But it's not worth getting into a nice house just because you don't want to do any work. The debt isn't worth it.
Another thing to look at is the resale value-are you moving into a development? More often than not (at least out here) the homes are cheaply made with postage sized lots. Having a yard matters to me...even if there is a field, I'd rather just stand in my backyard and watch my kids play and not worry about other danger that may come along.
What kind of heating is it? Is it forced air or electric. I won't buy a house on electric only because it will cost hundreds more to heat our home here.
I think the biggest thing is do not become house poor. We've definitely been in that situation and it sucks. If the house is within your budget and you have all your payments figured out and you love the house, then get it. If you are stretching your budget...I don't think the stress is worth it.
Can you picture yourself living there? That's ultimately what I used to pick. We saw a lot of houses, but there were only two that I could really picture us in.
Thing were selling fast when we bought - super stressful, but you will get through it! Also, more homes go on the market in the spring because people like to move over the summer when the kids aren't in school. Good luck!
Kate's Recipe Box || Relatively Bookish
I REALLY like the house..if it weren't for the yard, I wouldn't be so hesitant..and could definitely imagine the neighborhood. It is super kid friendly & the age range seems to be right around ours, which is a huge plus to me.
Does the fact I check the listing often and hold my breathe to see if it went contingent mean something???
Though I think if we didn't get it, I would surive too (I think DH would be more disappointed than myself).
Do it! At least make an offer. I'd probably go 15k under (that's what our usual offer is when we buy a house) After looking at the house your yard isn't THAT small, you can still put a swing set on it. It's got a hell of a sledding hill!
The one thing I'm not crazy about is the kitchen, I would want something more open, but it doesn't show the complete picture so maybe it's open to a living area.
If the schools are good then go for it!
The kitchen flows into a eating area which flows into the family room. That's my favorite part of the house after seeing it.
Yeah, we could definitely fit a swing set.
And we were thinking of going it at 270 or 275 with closing closts. We'll see what the realtor suggests...she is putting a cost sheet together for us based on comparables, etc.
I have bought a townhome and a single family home by myself, so here are my thoughts:
Don't stress about this being the one that got away. There will always be another house. Both times I offered on a place, my offer was rejected, and then I found a better home for less money in better locations!
Having a huge yard = spending lots of time out there maintaining. We have a yard about 1/2 the size of my parents, and I'm so glad we do!
Once you move in, remember that you don't have to fix everything right away. We lived in our current home for a while before we did anything to change it, and I'm so glad we did.
I can't see the PB while I'm here at work, but I'm jealous of the price! That's great!!!