-LOCATION. A nice town with ample greenery and equally sophisticated shopping. Good proximitiy to a real city was a plus also. Decent school district (though not a huge must as this could only be 5 years and we've only just had a baby). -SIZE. Something big enough for an expanding family should the market not allow us to sell for a profit when we want out. Big enough for folks and friends to visit. -INTERIOR. Appropriate rooms and layout. We like a bunch of smaller guest rooms (don't get too comfortable, now) and an open floor plan for the shared rooms. Split level was ideal for us as we hate big staircases but like to sleep on a second story. Weird, right? -LOT. We dig running around on grass, but we're lazy about maintanance. We've got enough grass around the house to entertain a little, play catch, sunbathe, but no volleyball tourneys here. We bought within our budget, a little over what we'd intended but comfortably affordable for us. Our house is in good condition with ugly kitchen and bathrooms. We wanted to do those ourselves because our dream kitch is under 3k. I didn't want to pay 50k for someone else's dreams. In retrospect though, we should have bought a smaller more simple home with a bit more land. There's a ton we didn't think about in the way of personal preference. Too many nooks and crannies and crawlspaces and hideaways here. And.. I dislike basements. Never had one so how could I know? Anywho, sorry to ramble. Hope this has helped. Best of luck to you in your search and please keep us posted.
amorcitos
February 24, 2007
We bought for forever (we also rented forever). While we aren't "dream home" folks, we do appreciate great value and great location, both of which we got, along w/the opportunity to update a place with great bones. And, really, we feel like we are in our dream home--part city, part mountains (Colo.).
We did have a few requirements, however and a nice-to-have: Hubby needs huge garage (2-car min; preferred 2.5) for all his gear-head projects. We needed 2 baths for when guests visit. In the event we need to care here for parents and because we both have home offices, we needed min. 3 bedrooms (master, 1 guest, 1 office).
We feel blessed have landed such a great deal--all because it needed updating, it was part of an estate and the market was softening.
Good luck to you--I hope you find more than you imagined or hoped for.
Snakeophelia
February 24, 2007
I didn't set major goals for my first home. They were: old house, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lots of natural light, close to my job, a garage, inexpensive, stone or brick exterior (I hate siding), and in move-in condition. Luckly, there's a neighborhood outside of Philly where rowhomes fitting this bill can be had for less than $100K. My neighborhood is congested, ugly, and a bit stinky, but it's safe and convenient. Our house is an old rowhome, which is what I always wanted, in an OK school district (not important to us). And it's got a graveyard in the back (as you can tell from my photo), and dead people make excellent neighbors.
I bought with the expectation that we'd be here five years, but we'll probably be in it for seven before we move. We have done some home improvements and it feels really good to now know how to sand, paint, shop for windows, etc. I highly recommend an inexpensive home as the first home, since you can make changes or not and not get too stressed out about what it does to the resale value. For our next home, I have few more lofty goals:
1. More than one bathroom! My husband likes really spicy food! 2. Between 1500 (what we have now) and 2000 square feet. 3. Park/graveyard/open space nearby. 4. Less traffic congestion in the immediate are. 5. Stone exterior. 6. It can be in more of a fixer-upper condition - I'd rather buy a fixer upper in a nicer neighborhood than a great home in a less nice neighborhood. 7. A backyard, preferably with a deck and enough room for an above-ground pool.
We don't have to worry about schools, which is a huge help in this area. I am adamant about my next home also being an old home - it drives me crazy to see people with one kid rushing to buy these overpriced, oversized homes on tiny plots of land. Buying a used house is the ultimate in recycling.
lilybee
February 23, 2007
Just the idea of being able to afford to buy a place rather blows my mind. We've just moved from London, England where you can buy a parking space for £90,000 (approx.$160,00 US) and a studio (bachelor) flat in a cool/nice/safe area starts at £190,000 (approx.$330,000 US) Coming from London puts the rest of the world in perspective, price wise. We hope to buy here, in Toronto, next year, and because we can suddenly afford and actual house, (with an actual kitchen and everything!) we're thinking of buying and flipping till we've got the hobby farm in the 'burbs...
DIY Maven
February 23, 2007
Always and forever a fixer-upper because it's just so much fun to transform them into something beautiful. Also, we have a rule about lots/yards: you can always remodel, add-on or fix your home, but if you live next to an eyesore, there's nothing you can do about it. It's the location x 3 idea. Also, for adding-on, we make sure there's room on the lot to do so.
jasimar
-LOCATION. A nice town with ample greenery and equally sophisticated shopping. Good proximitiy to a real city was a plus also. Decent school district (though not a huge must as this could only be 5 years and we've only just had a baby).
-SIZE. Something big enough for an expanding family should the market not allow us to sell for a profit when we want out. Big enough for folks and friends to visit.
-INTERIOR. Appropriate rooms and layout. We like a bunch of smaller guest rooms (don't get too comfortable, now) and an open floor plan for the shared rooms. Split level was ideal for us as we hate big staircases but like to sleep on a second story. Weird, right?
-LOT. We dig running around on grass, but we're lazy about maintanance. We've got enough grass around the house to entertain a little, play catch, sunbathe, but no volleyball tourneys here.
We bought within our budget, a little over what we'd intended but comfortably affordable for us. Our house is in good condition with ugly kitchen and bathrooms. We wanted to do those ourselves because our dream kitch is under 3k. I didn't want to pay 50k for someone else's dreams.
In retrospect though, we should have bought a smaller more simple home with a bit more land. There's a ton we didn't think about in the way of personal preference. Too many nooks and crannies and crawlspaces and hideaways here. And.. I dislike basements. Never had one so how could I know?
Anywho, sorry to ramble. Hope this has helped. Best of luck to you in your search and please keep us posted.
amorcitos
We bought for forever (we also rented forever). While we aren't "dream home" folks, we do appreciate great value and great location, both of which we got, along w/the opportunity to update a place with great bones. And, really, we feel like we are in our dream home--part city, part mountains (Colo.).
We did have a few requirements, however and a nice-to-have:
Hubby needs huge garage (2-car min; preferred 2.5) for all his gear-head projects. We needed 2 baths for when guests visit.
In the event we need to care here for parents and because we both have home offices, we needed min. 3 bedrooms (master, 1 guest, 1 office).
We feel blessed have landed such a great deal--all because it needed updating, it was part of an estate and the market was softening.
Good luck to you--I hope you find more than you imagined or hoped for.
Snakeophelia
I didn't set major goals for my first home. They were: old house, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lots of natural light, close to my job, a garage, inexpensive, stone or brick exterior (I hate siding), and in move-in condition. Luckly, there's a neighborhood outside of Philly where rowhomes fitting this bill can be had for less than $100K. My neighborhood is congested, ugly, and a bit stinky, but it's safe and convenient. Our house is an old rowhome, which is what I always wanted, in an OK school district (not important to us). And it's got a graveyard in the back (as you can tell from my photo), and dead people make excellent neighbors.
I bought with the expectation that we'd be here five years, but we'll probably be in it for seven before we move. We have done some home improvements and it feels really good to now know how to sand, paint, shop for windows, etc. I highly recommend an inexpensive home as the first home, since you can make changes or not and not get too stressed out about what it does to the resale value. For our next home, I have few more lofty goals:
1. More than one bathroom! My husband likes really spicy food! 2. Between 1500 (what we have now) and 2000 square feet. 3. Park/graveyard/open space nearby. 4. Less traffic congestion in the immediate are. 5. Stone exterior. 6. It can be in more of a fixer-upper condition - I'd rather buy a fixer upper in a nicer neighborhood than a great home in a less nice neighborhood. 7. A backyard, preferably with a deck and enough room for an above-ground pool.
We don't have to worry about schools, which is a huge help in this area. I am adamant about my next home also being an old home - it drives me crazy to see people with one kid rushing to buy these overpriced, oversized homes on tiny plots of land. Buying a used house is the ultimate in recycling.
lilybee
Just the idea of being able to afford to buy a place rather blows my mind. We've just moved from London, England where you can buy a parking space for £90,000 (approx.$160,00 US) and a studio (bachelor) flat in a cool/nice/safe area starts at £190,000 (approx.$330,000 US) Coming from London puts the rest of the world in perspective, price wise. We hope to buy here, in Toronto, next year, and because we can suddenly afford and actual house, (with an actual kitchen and everything!) we're thinking of buying and flipping till we've got the hobby farm in the 'burbs...
DIY Maven
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