Posted on 09/29/2014 8:39:21 PM PDT by Califreak
I forgot about those magazines. I got one and found this really great house listed.
Problem was it was already sold.
Like about ten years ago.
Maybe their information is more up to date nowadays.
It depends on what you mean by perfect. My husband was offered a job at his interview 200 miles from where we lived. We visited the only realtor open on that Monday holiday, and visited the only home advertised for sale that day in the newspaper. It was a simple 3 bedroom ranch style house on a rather barren looking hill with 2 1/2 acres of land terraced down to a stream. The landscaping was a few scrawny bushes, a maple tree, and evergreen seedlings.
In his mind’s eye, my husband saw gardens. In mine, I saw room for two children to run and play. Within nine years we had a son and a daughter,
who built forts and hideouts. Both went on to run cross country in high
school and college.
We added 3 stories, possible because of the hill—two car garage, family
room with woodstove and outdoor deck, and upstairs office/hideaway. It met our changing needs through our lives, and is now an exciting place for our two grandchildren to explore. Trees and flowers have grown lush, and
the land by the stream seeded into what has become a forest.
For us, perfect was what we needed from the house as we all lived and
grew here. We couldn’t have imagined the lovely setting we have now. In
a way, buying that modest house was an act of faith, and the perfection
came from dreams fulfilled and the work we did side by side along the
way.
Amen, Brother FReeper!
BUMP to a truly beautiful post!
Ping to a lovely post (#62) I think you’ll enjoy reading as much as I have. A treat in very nice writing!
Thank you! This morning I taught my 3 year old granddaughter a favorite song by Crosby, Stills and Nash:
I’ll light the fire. You place the flowers in the vase that you bought today...
Our house is a very very very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
But everything is easy ‘cause of you.
I always loved that song!
I forgot about those magazines. I got one and found this really great house listed.
Problem was it was already sold.
Like about ten years ago.
Lol! Got to move fast with real estate! You were 10 years too late!!!!
3 months. I worked extremely hard to find it. It was a hail mary pass really, it was the only way I was ever going to be able to “buy” a house in my situation. The house had lots of flaw, and was far from ideal. However, after all the work we have put into it, and despite all the work that is left, the house is now “perfect”. I couldn’t be happier.
Two or three weeks, if I recall correctly. We will have been here for twelve years as of tomorrow.
I live in DC, and avoiding a commute was a high priority. With the neighborhood settled, the rest was easy. We looked at about a dozen houses, which was enough to box the compass on comparables. We didn’t get everything we wanted in the house, but 30 years and a lot of remodeling/refreshing later we’re still here. (Ah, the joys of an old house ....) I have worked several jobs over the years and have never commuted more than five miles. My current office is a mile from home.
First house I bought for $92,500 and sold two years later for $168,000. Then I bought a home for $262,000 and sold it a few years later for $479,000. It's amazing how much more a home will sell for in a nice neighborhood just by modernizing the kitchen (most expensive part of remodeling) with modern brand-name appliances; sanding and polishing hardwood floors and having fresh coats of neutral paint indoors and out.
Key is to have a good neighborhood. Drive around your prospective neighborhood on a Friday or Saturday night. Make sure no riff-raff is hanging around. You want to hear crickets, not police sirens at night. Make sure you are surrounded by prosperous people who work for a living. If you go downtown and see check cashing joints, early payday loans, and such, STAY AWAY, no matter how nice the house is. Unless you live in the desert and have no choice, look for wooded lots surrounding the properties. You don't want to have neighbors peering over their fence into your yard - and vice versa. Unless you really have a desire to live in the city, ensure at least a 2 acre lot around the house.
Also, if you use a realtor, be aware of their steering practices if you don't know the area. I recently purchased a home in Fairfield County, CT. It's one of the most affluent areas of the country but there are pockets of nasty areas such as Bridgeport and Danbury. There are some very nice homes in the outskirts of those areas and realtors are desperate to unload them on unsuspecting buyers because they've been sitting on the market for months - the locals know better. Early in the process, my wife and I were shown a home that was spectacular but we couldn't believe the price. It was less than half of what a similar home in the area would normally cost. Later that night we took a drive around the area and we immediately found out why. Unless we took a direct route to the interstate, we had to pass through some very seedy areas to get to where we wanted to go. Unacceptable.
If you are going to live in a suburban area outside a major city, you want to have at least a couple miles separation between your neighborhood and the "sketchier" parts of town. Ideally you would want to settle in a town that has no "sketchy" areas if you can afford to do so.
Good luck.
Some have suggested that you build a house (or two) first and then build your dream house. There is a lot of truth to that idea. One learns from one’s mistakes.
If it’s possible to get a basement, then get a house with that. Makes for much better long-term storage of food and other supplies (i.e., cooler). Needless to say, try to have an unobstructed view of the surrounding area and enough windows facing all directions. Speaking of windows, the thicker the framing, the easier it is to pile sandbags. Houses in Europe have window sills from 12” to 24” thick.
That’s my dream house.
Our idea of perfection isn’t something that has everything new perfect landscaping and all. We don’t mind an older house but all our stuff hs to fit, the drive way and garage has to be the right size, don’t care about dens and offices, just reasonable sized bedrooms where our kids won’t hit the wall when they roll over in bed. A sturdy mold free clean house with good roof. Don’t care too much about fancy landscaping and decks. We can plant a lawn and add shrubbery. We want a backyard with a secluded feel and a little room for a few veggies. Don’t want to be the only WTs on the block. Don’t mind something pretty old as long as there’s no moldy dank verminy smell. We looked at a halfway decent one this weekend. It was freshly painted with updated kitchen and bathrooms but still had a really mousy moldy mousy smell. My nose was itchy and icky for an hour after we left.
When we go through the house we look for things like water stains on the ceiling, open and close everything, run water ask a ton of questions.
We have mold in some of our walls. I worry about getting into something and finding mold after we’re stuck. I really have to narrow things down and control my emotions. All of us run around all excited at the newness and then come down after getti g away from it and realistically picking it apart.
I guess it’s going to take a while.
We absolutely love the neighborhood we’re in but houses are kind of expensive here. We have sort of an absentee landlord who hasn’t raised the rent in almost a decade. We like that part and contribute by doing small repairs. We try and keep it up as much as practically possible for renters. Things like very small imrovements in the yard, painting, new faucets if old ones are too far gone just minor stuff. We would buy this one but too many problems need addressing.
LOL!
Totally OT but bringing laundry in. The kids always leave their weapons in their pockets. (little multi-tool knife things)
Just found a tiny one. Probably my daughter’s.
They aren’t little punks or anything like that. Just want to have self defense.
I think that's the trick...an actual list of what you're looking for, including things you don't want.
Make sure you know the community you're buying into...not just schools and property values. Police reports for safety, types of recent construction, any major construction anywhere nearby, how the local gov functions, etc
If you are living in California you need to take the neighbors into consideration. Nothing worse than bad neighbors when you live on small lots.
Move to the country and build your own version of the perfect home. That’s what we did. Now we realize things we didn’t think everything through enough. Take your time and understand nothing is perfect.
Or just learn to be happy wherever you are. Happiness is a choice you must make daily.
You might have to leave the immediate area to find what you want. It doesn’t matter whether your requirements are reasonable if the prices are above your budget.
Instead of a 30 minute drive to Boston, we now have a 60 minute drive. It’s worth it to us, and fortunately, my husband doesn’t work in Boston.
Sounds expensive. And stressful.
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