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First Time Homebuyer (and losing my mind already!)
So here's a bit about us...DH and I are married 3 years this July, and on our 5th year in our little 1bdrm apt. It is TIME to move on. The market is in our favor, we're both in well paying jobs and have built up our little nest egg.
We've started looking in our area - must haves for us are 3 bedrooms, 1/2 way between our jobs, in a good neighborhood, garage or basement (in a perfect world, both), decent kitchen/bathroom, yard big enough for small garden, off-street parking...I think that about covers it. Prequalified for $250+ but would ideally like to stay under $215.
We've seen 10 houses - and have 1 that is considered a front runner. It meets all the required criteria - 3 bedrooms, etc. GREAT neighborhood - where we live it can be difficult to find neighborhood developments, tends to be big country roads. THe price is right - under $200, it's on the smaller side 1033 sq ft, but with a finished basement, garage AND enclosed porch. It looks good to us - we don't know much about roofs etc, but we did a visual comparison w/ a roof DH's dad said had maybe 5 years left on it (he's a contractor!!) and it looks to be in better shape.
DH wants to put an offer in and I am FREAKING OUT. Some issues with the house for me - odd windows, how do they cool it? Did not get to see the attic but there is one. Definitely needs a new stove, which is not a deal breaker really, just work we'd have to commit to do. Only 1 bathroom...possibilty of putting .5 bath in basement. The listing said community sewer - our agent thinks it's septic (again doesn't much matter - most homes around here are septic, but community sewer would rock my socks).
I felt frustrated after getting home yesterday - I was really excited about the house while we were there, and then came home and started to worry. Is it too small? (We have no kids yet and I know this is a bit ridiculous..it's way bigger than our 1bedroom apt and we've been here comfortably for 5 years). How do they cool it?! Shouldn't I be able to see the attic as a prospective buyer?
Our agent was going to draw up the paperwork but I sent an email this morning asking to see the house one more time and asking for clarification on some of those questions...
Am I being unreasonable?? Are these things that get answered after you've made an offer?
Re: First Time Homebuyer (and losing my mind already!)
No I don't think it is unreasonable for you to ask some questions before making an offer, and we for sure went on second showings for houses we were considering making an offer on. I think it is totally normal to have some fears in buying a house-it is a huge purchase!
We went back for second showings on three houses-all of them we really liked on the first showing. Two of the houses we realized when we went back that they weren't really what we wanted. The third, going back cemented for us how much we really loved it. And it was nice to take a closer look at things that we maybe didn't the first time around.
I think some anxiety around making an offer is totally normal, but you're pointing out some pretty big concerns here. I think you're right to be cautious and 10 houses is not a lot (I think we saw 40 over the course of two months). I absolutely think you need to see the house again before putting in an offer and you need to get your questions answered.
Cooling is a huge issue if you like AC in the summer. What if you got in there and realized you had to sweat it out?
I would also think carefully about the amount of space you're getting and how long it's going to be practical. I don't have kids yet, but I know they have a lot of crap that takes up space. Realizing that the number is different for everyone (because everyone has different ideas of "enough space") H and I said 2500 sq feet was our minimum plus we wanted a finished basement. When you go back, try to envision where you're going to put things. Think about cribs, pack-n-plays, baby swings, and all that kid crap you're sure to own one day. Does it fit and fit in a way that allows you to feel sane?
We didn't see the attic in our new house (the inspector did) as it was too hard to climb up into. We're taking the inspector's word that all is well up there.
I also wouldn't assume anything on the age of the roof. We thought the roof on our soon to be house was much older than it was, but it's just a bit funny colored because of the trees over it. Our inspector told us it actually has ~17 years left on it.
Can you see the house again later today or tomorrow (lots of listings around here require 24 hours notice). If you can see it again, you will notice things (good or bad) you didn't the first time around.
Email your agent. She can email the sellers agent and find out the answers to your questions (cooling, age of windows, and septic vs.sewer). The answers to these questions may change the price for you. For example, we wanted sewer and the house we are buying had septic, but said they have pipes in the main road for a sewer connection. So we only agreed to pay a certain price IF the sellers put in a sewer. We put that in the offer.
IMO the size of the house will be too small for kids. Unless the SQ doesn't count the finished basement-then it could work, because it would give you an area for the (hypothetical) kids to play. We have a two bedroom condo we're renting now (I think its around 1000-1200 SQ) and it is tight. Kids have toys (and as babies and toddlers big toys-bouncers, doll houses, garage ramp toy things, etc.).
That bring said, you said it was in a great neighborhood. That you can't change. Can you build up or out if you guys stay there for 7-10 years (I'm assuming you'll have kids during this period)?
I didn't see the size of the house on my first reading. That sounds really, really small to me. In fact, it is not much bigger than the house we are staying in right now I can tell you that it is extremely tight with just the two of us. I can't imagine having children there as well.
My advice is also that if you don't really see yourself living there, then don't buy it. A house is too big an item to have regrets over.
Our agent called me first thing this morning after getting my email and said she would get in touch with the seller's agent to clarify some of my questions - cooling, windows, septic. The cooling is pretty significant, but the septic is not going to be a deal breaker, like I said almost every house in our area is septic, only if you're in certain spots (villages, cities) so we have no expectation of sewer, just an added bonus.
We're going to meet up this afternoon to take a look at it again.
The SQ footage does not include the finished basement or the enclosed porch - which is how I see it working for us. But I will certainly go into it today looking at where all the "kid stuff" would go. We don't want more house than we need, but we also want enough space.
Building up - I suppose we could? The thought had crossed my mind as well. The neighborhood is great, and yes we'd likely have kids within the next 7-10 years. Fitting comfortably is certainly at the forefront of my thinking.
I already feel better after having talked to our realtor this morning...now it's a matter of going back in with a critical eye. And of course, assuming it passes inspection...who knows what that will find.
I read your follow up and good to know that the sq footage does not include the basement or porch. Those are great "bonus" items. As long as you like the feel and layout of the 1000+ feet and are ok with only having 1 bath then I would schedule another showing. It's amazing the things you pass over the first time through. Really spend time in each room though.
Its totally within your rights to ask and see whatever you want. Remember you will have a home inspection too so the inspector will need to look a the roof and attic as well.
Also as a note: a stove is not a big deal to replace unless you want to convert from electric to gas (unless there are already gas lines in the house). A 1/2 bath in the basement is a bigger project. More likely than not, you'll have to get an "upflush" toilet. They are more expensive and made for basements because gravity works against toilets (water and waste) when you try to make it flow up and out (instead of down and out on a 1st or 2nd floor). And depending on the accessibility of plumbing and the ceiling space in the basement to access electrical and plumbing, that could make it harder.
Happy to hear that you will be able to go back and see it again. Don't feel bad if you ask to see it even another time before wanting to make an offer. We saw the same house four times before we made an offer. We liked it from the beginning but there where new and different things we saw each time. Some times it would be something we liked and sometimes not. Go and see it as many times as you need.
It's good that the finished sq ft doesn't include the basement and porch, as long as those are useable spaces. We looked at the house that was 1700 sf ft but a finished porch area was 200 ft of it. The porch due to is size and shape wouldn't have been all that useable for us.
I believe that when it comes to finished sq ft, it really has more to do with layout and window and door placement. When DH and I started looking we said we wouldn't buy anything under 1700 sq ft. We are under contract now for a house that is 1500 sq ft but with the layout its perfectly fine. The rooms are construction in such a way to provide amble wall space and lots of room for furniture and such. For example, in the master bedroom there is only the door to the bath and the door to the room because the closet is off the bath. It's nice because we saw other homes with four or more doors in the master because of closets and bathrooms entrances.
Whatever you do, just make sure you are comfortable when you make the offer. It's a big commitment and a lot of money!
Our house building adventure (UPDATED 8/20/12)
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Thanks everyone for your responses and advice!
Yeah - the basement is an additional 900 SQ of space. So total SQ of livable space is 1966 (the house is 1066 not 1033 as I thought) - not including the porch. Which seems reasonable to me. I'm headed back today with the realtor to take a 3rd look. I also spoke with her and asked her to get answers to my questions which she said she would do.
Yeah, my FIL mentioned the upflush toilet bit - which would be a bit of a production, but we'll see. I lived most of my life with only 1 bathroom, and a family of 4 and we survived. I'm not opposed to doing the work, but if we find we're okay with out it..well then, okay.
I know we're not going to find a house that has absolutely everything we want, the way we want it. The other house that was up for consideration is very similar, but the basement is unfinished (and takes on water it seems) and the 3rd bedroom is VERY small. In the house I'm going back to, the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are equally sized and the basement is finished, has a dry bar and a fireplace. I can see finishing the basement being an activity that DH and I just put off and never gets done - but we trade the .5 bath for that.
The biggest pieces for me are the location (we LOVE this one), decent sized kitchen without being too big (yes), and enough room for us for at least the next 7-10 years. I think my third look today is going to help a lot. I'll probably take more pictures too - I took a ton yesterday.
$3,000 isn't going to make a huge dent in your mortgage payment, so I wouldn't let that be a deal breaker, especially since it's under your max budget.
Don't sweat the in-laws. My FIL thought we should have offered lower on each of the four houses we put offers on. When it came down to it though, we were in a competitive market and we had a better idea of what would work because we had seen so many houses.
Eeeeeexactly our feelings - it's a difference of about $35. And we would not be willing to lose the house over that...it's very much what we want.