Lets Play Househunters

TheDuckis · April 2011

I'm going to post pictures of 3 houses. You tell me which to buy.

House 1:
Price: Highest (by a substantial amount)
Location: A block from the highway (as in you can hear and see it), in a town slightly north of our target area. BUT, walkable to a nice little downtown with shops and restaurants.
Features: 3 bed/2 bath 1380 sq ft. Really nice yard. Solar panels, all kinds of green updates. Cute little sun room/breakfast nook off the kitchen. Master bath is well-updated but TINY. All the rooms are on the small side.

[img]http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/bigphoto/766/81110766_0.jpg[/img]
[img]http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/bigphoto/766/81110766_1_0.jpg[/img]
[img]http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/tmbphoto/766/genTmb.81110766_3_0.jpg[/img]
[img]http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/bigphoto/766/81110766_8_0.jpg[/img]

TheDuckis · April 2011

ugh, what did I do wrong? the images are clicky at least.

zsazsa-stl · April 2011

I love this game! Hurray up and give me choices!!

zsazsa-stl · April 2011

Also, tell us what commutes are from each. I count that as highly important info.

tawillers · April 2011

::repeatedly clicking refresh::

DG1 · April 2011

Well, the yard is stunning. And the house is adorable with a lot of character.

But 1300sf? How long are you planning to be in this house, and what life stages will that include? Obviously, you can have lots of kids and pets in any size house - people do it all the time - but *I* wouldn't want to have to squeeze into a space like that if I didn't have to.

Then again, if it's just the 2 of you and you'll move before big family changes, it's pretty danged cute.
(ETA - that's for House 1)

TheDuckis · April 2011

House 2:
Price: Mid range, very comfortable amount for us.
Location: Right in the town we want to be in, but not walkable to downtown. About 2 miles to anything interesting.
Features: 3 bed/2 bath, 1430 sq ft. Gorgeous high ceilings, amazing kitchen, nice landscaping/big yard. Rooms aren't tiny, bathrooms are not spectacular, but nice enough. Possibly major annoyance: the garage, which is where the washer and dryer are, is technically attached, but has a separate door, so I'd have to go outside to do laundry.

http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/bigphoto/783/81116783_1_0.jpg
http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/bigphoto/783/81116783_3_0.jpg
http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/bigphoto/783/81116783_4_0.jpg
http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/bigphoto/783/81116783_8_0.jpg
http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/8/bigphoto/783/81116783_2_0.jpg

baconsmom · April 2011

Why do you want a big bathroom? You shower and sht in it. And it has to be cleaned. I am a tiny bathroom fan (hence us buying a house with three tiny bathrooms).

Are the main living areas a good size? How's the kitchen (and does it matter)? What about storage? Have you looked up the crime statistics relative to where you already live/have lived recently? (That was esepcially helpful for us, but then, we moved from the ghetto.)

baconsmom · April 2011

I'm drawn to house 2, but worried all that dark wood would be, well, dark.

**O-Face** · April 2011

I like the feeling of #2 better than #1. I think the minor annoyance can be overlooked by more sqft and also the more open feeling. JMO.

hmonkey · April 2011

i like house 2 -- nice built ins! the washer and dryer can be moved, no? and it's not like you will be going outside in midwest winters to do laundry.

TheDuckis · April 2011

House 3:
Price: Higher than house 2, but still a good deal lower than house 1.
Location: Also in the town we love, technically walkable to "downtown."
Features: 3 bed/1.5 bath 1500 sq ft. Really cute courtyard between garage and back of house. Smallish yard. Very modern design. The 1.5 bath thing is nearly a deal-breaker, but I feel mildly better that there's a powder room for guests, and the full bath is fairly large. All 3 bedrooms are pretty big and have nice closet space.

http://imagescdn.gabriels.net/nytimes/ImageReader.aspx?IDClient=136&IDListing=2836-81116948&W=379&H=286&ImageURL=http%3a%2f%2fmedia.sothebysrealty.com%2fsirimages%2f299t33v1gwfv4z22tpctmc8f_PMAS.jpg&BypassGlobalProxy=false

http://greathomesanddestinations.nytimes.com/LocalImageReader.aspx?IDClient=136&IDListing=2836-81116948&W=297&H=222&ImageURL=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.sothebysrealty.com%2Fsirimages%2F68j7y2781w31m4ycdnphmpk6_PMAS.jpg&BypassGlobalProxy=false

http://greathomesanddestinations.nytimes.com/LocalImageReader.aspx?IDClient=136&IDListing=2836-81116948&W=297&H=222&ImageURL=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.sothebysrealty.com%2Fsirimages%2Ffpdytv6g1y7wm7y6xrw3ytwv_PMAS.jpg&BypassGlobalProxy=false

http://greathomesanddestinations.nytimes.com/LocalImageReader.aspx?IDClient=136&IDListing=2836-81116948&W=297&H=222&ImageURL=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.sothebysrealty.com%2Fsirimages%2Fxcef44rmy77p48yj0a0bsxk9_PMAS.jpg&BypassGlobalProxy=false

DG1 · April 2011

So far, I vote House #2. Walking is awesome, but 2 miles isn't bad, especially if it's bike-friendly. If you buy it, you can knock out part of the wall and actually connect the house to the garage.

And don't listen to bmom. I LOVE my giant bathroom!

**O-Face** · April 2011

I'd say #2 still, I love the open kitchen, but if you're already waffling on the bathroom issue, you don't want to think later, "I KNEW I should've picked the other one!".

zsazsa-stl · April 2011

The cabinets and ceiling in house 2 are gorgeous!!

3 bedrooms? 1 for Mr & Mrs Duckis, 1 for guests, 1 for Zsa!!

*Barbie* · April 2011

the proximity to the highway is a dealbreaker for me, so house #1 would be out.

my *FAVORITE* house that I saw in TX was backed up to a major road. (not a highway, but 2-3 lanes in each direction and a lot of commercial space) - you couldn't *see* the road, but the gorgeous backyard was completely cancelled out by road noise.

house #2 is pretty (wondering why there isn't a front view), but i'm not liking the whole having to walk your laundry ouside to the garage.

re: DG - My parents' house is only about 1300sq ft (3 bed/2 bath) - and wasn't too bad growing up with 2 parents/2 kids. they have a partially finished basement and added a second bathroom down there, so that was fantastic. I think it would be a little crowded if you went for more than 2 kids in a house that size, or had less than 1 bathroom - but that's not a bad size house. (then again, this is coming from the person who was looking at 4500sqft houses in TX for 3 people, so take that for what it's worth - we got something that's 2500sqft , but will likely upsize/build if we still live here in the next 7-10 years)

ETA: of the 3, i like #2 the best - but if you're still "meh", keep looking. remember to look for potential - ugly paint/wall paper/flooring can be changed.

TheDuckis · April 2011

Zsa, the commute from houses 2 and 3 will be virtually the same for H. House 1 will be slightly longer, but not by more than 5 minutes or so.

As far as square footage, our current house is about 2000 and we use less than half of it. We will likely have 1 or 2 kids, and possibly add another dog while in this house. House 1 would be tight, but workable. House 2 has nice big living spaces and smaller bedrooms, which is fine with us. House 3 has larger bedrooms but smaller living spaces.

TheDuckis · April 2011

Hmm, front view of house 2, sorry I forgot it.

*poof* didn't realize the link listed the address.

tawillers · April 2011

My vote is for #2.

Cant_wait! · April 2011

I love #2, it's beautiful. That kitchen!

#3 would be my second choice, that kitchen is also amazing.

I would not want to live by the highway, so #1 is out for me.

nicoleg1982 · April 2011

FWIW, at stbx's house, our laundry room was in the garage and I loved it. It wasn't heating up the house, the buzzers/doors opening/closing never woke the baby, and we could disrobe nasty yard/hiking/dog clothing in the garage and not trek dirt through the house.

TheDuckis · April 2011

Yeah, I'm leaning toward 2 as well. When I said the bathrooms weren't spectacular, I just meant that they're not as OMGAMAZING as some of the others we've seen. They're still nice and functional and don't need renovations. The laundry thing is going to bug me, but we're thinking that since the garage is so huge we can finish off a part of it and bust a door between it and one of the bedrooms. It will make for an awkward layout, but it will be workable.

We're probably going to submit an offer tonight. There's already at least one other couple putting an offer in, and the owners aren't looking at anything until Thursday. So no guarantees, but at least if we don't get it I can say I didn't want to do my laundry outside anyway.

**O-Face** · April 2011

Ugh, I hate the offer/counteroffer process but YAY for looking regardless.

DG1 · April 2011

I think I'm leaning toward #2. #3's kitchen is gorgeous, but the ceilings seem low, which can just make everything feel cramped. (Then again, we're tall. Short people may not feel that way.)

#3 has some weirdness outside, too, but nothing dealbreaker-y.

And yeah, like I said, I know you can raise kids in smaller spaces. Heck, the ILs had 2 kids in about 13-1400sf and only one (small) bathroom and a tiny kitchen with just about no storage or work space. And if you live in Manhattan or something, you probably don't have much choice. But I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to.

On the other hand, we are in 2500sf now, and for some reason the boys are always underfoot, like we only use 10sf at a time and just all move around together. It is ridonk.

I do like bigger bedrooms for the kids. I would like for them to be able to play in there, have room for a bed, dresser, AND desk, etc. I also want most of their toys in their rooms instead of in my living room. But it just doesn't work that way in my house.

loveshine1 · April 2011

I love all 3 houses. I know this isn't a help, but I'm loving that contemporary look.

Architecture in FL sucks in comparison to those 3 adorable houses.

zsazsa-stl · April 2011

Pictures for #3 aren't working for me except for the pic of the front. Poo. #2 is beautiful, but walkability and closet space might win me over to #3.

All of these houses are really pretty, so I'm guessing that you are opting for aethetics over a little more square footage and I don't think it is a bad idea - less space to air condition. We midwesterners are just spoiled with the cheap square footage. I'm pretty sure you could buy a very nice 4,000 sq house here for what you will be spending on 1,500 sq there.
ETA: Actually you could probably buy an 8,000 sq house in MY town, but don't move here. The space isn't worth it.

TheDuckis · April 2011

I know what you mean, DG. And I know if we had kids we'd be using a lot more of our space here. Thing is, anything over 1500 square feet here takes you over $1M. The few larger places that are in our price range either have zero yard (absolute dealbreaker), are in really undesirable neighborhoods, or are in such disrepair that they aren't even liveable. It was a major shock to see how tiny the places were when we first started looking, but that's just how people live out here.

We're still planning to move back east in 5-10 years, so this isn't a permanent home by any stretch. Some day I will have my walk-in closet and giant bathroom. Until then, I'll just spend all my time in that awesome, awesome kitchen.

**O-Face** · April 2011

::gasp:: Holy hell @ 1M for >1500 sf.

TheDuckis · April 2011

I know, O-face. I made a comment to one of H's friends (who is loaded and has lived here his whole life) that a million dollars should get you a lot more than 3 bedrooms, and he laughed at me.

dharmabunny · April 2011

From the pictures at least, #2. Gorgeous living spaces. The sex. I'm more in the BM line of thinking. Holing up in a bathroom like an escape is a bad, bad habit. Especially with limited bathroom space where you need to use the sh!tter (this from a 1 bath family). Better IMO to have everyone flushed out of their private spaces and interact as a family, entertain as a community.

Now for the cold, calculating b!tch points to consider.

I'm all for the most comfortable financial option. Because there's always hidden costs. Property tax hikes, expensive repairs, an HOA, job loss or paycut. Hell, even a bumpy road to kids that involves a RE.

Also consider resale value later (if it's got multiple offers now, chances are likely when you resell, you'll not have a huge problem with it either). And is the place/neighborhood a DIY hell? I can't tell you how terrified I get of dealing with house repairs in our house because the jackhole that lived there before fancied himself a DIYer. And effed it all up (PVC pipe used in a water main anyone?). So we end up having three times more work to fix it, or just call the repair dude to get it done right. Also note geography. Has this area been the victim of any natural disasters? Flooding? Wildfires? Are you in a floodplane? Are there natural phenomena like springs in the area? In your property line? Do you see any sizeable cracks in the side of the house? Granted a home inspection will ferret a lot of this out, but there are some things I would not even make an offer if I saw some kinds of substantial damage.

Have you driven through the neighborhood at night? Does it seem like a parallel universe? Would you be terrified of leaving your property line when the sun goes down.

I'd also definitely not go for #1 for another reason. A lot of those "green" upgrades are a sucker's bet, and not always thought out too well (bamboo flooring in dry climates cracks and comes unglued like crazy). Put that up there with granite countertops. And the solar power may be lovely for the util bill savings. Until it breaks down. Then who fixes it? Do you have to fix it, like can you hop on the grid seemlesly and not have to rely on that solar at all? Where do you get parts and panels? Will they still be in production 2-5 years from now?

Cant_wait! · April 2011

Dang I wish I'd run my home purchase by Dharma! So many good points to think about (and had I done everything she posted above, I would not have bought my house.)

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