Had to build my own!
My theory is in order to have the “perfect” house you’re going to have to build three from scratch. Every house you build you’ll find some things you wished you had done differently. About the fourth house you will have worked out all the kinks.
Build it yourself.
We found a house that fit us rather quickly, but as time went on and our needs changed, we did lots of work on it. Maybe don’t look for perfect. Look for potential.
There is no perfect house, just one with flaws you can live with or fix.
My wife and looked at 40-50 houses, over a 6 month period, some we looked at twice. We considered EVERYTHING possible. It was still in the downturn after 9/11, so it was a total buyer’s market.
Our Real Estate agent later told us she had NEVER shown anyone so many houses. We didn’t realize until then how taxing we were. She was such a sweet-heart.
Having said that we love our home.
If looking at existing resale homes, you’re very unlikely to find the absolute perfect house. Agree upon your must-haves in order of importance, agree upon your like to haves in order of importance, zero in on the neighborhood(s) that you want to live in and do a combination of watching the listings and driving around those neighborhoods.
You’re going to want to change at least a few things in any existing house you could buy. Hopefully it’s all aesthetic like paint or light fixtures.
I know people who looked for over a year before one that worked for them well enough to make an offer came on the market.
Never did.
I had a starter home and then the large house.
They were absolutely terrific,but not perfect.
I’m now in a condo that I love-—also not perfect.
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Lender took two,year? Is that because of your qualifications? A loan can be funded in 3-4 weeks.
Perfect home? Depends on your definition.
We found our place in the country, the middle of the Orange growing belt in the Inland Empire of Southern California in 1987. We had been looking for only a few months, and stumbled across this place quite accidentally as it was in final stages of construction. A builder had intended to live in the house he built, but something happened, and changed his mind. We walked right in to a small bit of Heaven on Earth (other than the Coyotes), and just upgraded this year with the intent to live here until we croak.
We are both recently retired.
Does that help?
no such thing as the ‘perfect home.
real estate is tough in california way way pricey.
Home is what and where you make it. it is about the love and the people. The things and the structure need to be functional not perfect. I have been equally at home renting a room and living in a house
I wanted to live on a boat then I married and Iowa girl...
I'm not sure what your lender has to do with it in the search stage of things. You should find a broker to work with to help you find what you want.
Location, location, location.
Then buy the worst house in the best area you can afford.
For example that could mean the smallest house, in the best subdivision.
Or it could be a deep fixer, in a great neighborhood.
Unless you have a fairly large budget you will not find the perfect home, just one that you can make work for you.
So, we fixed up our own perfect house.
lol! Its like a wife! Get one and get started! lol
You will never find the perfect house. What is perfect today, will not be perfect down the road. Find one with your top 5 priorities and call it a day.
We found a wonderful country house in a month, then had kids, then the fire ants invaded, then the city decided to move the city limit through the middle of our house, etc.
Then we changed jobs so immediately onto another house which we gutted and remodeled into our new and improved “perfect” house. Contractor was a thief and made a mess of it so now it’s falling apart. And taxes have gone up 10% every year so we and everyone out here are getting taxed out of their homes. Neighbors are now renting out to vacationers so it is noisy. There’s new regulations encroaching on us and less regs that used to protect property owners. The VFD/EMS is wanting to quit which means new taxes.
Just today, I have been drawing up new house plans for when we can no longer afford this one’s taxes. There’s always something. So, no, there is no perfect home. Find one you like well enough rather than drag it out.
It all depends on what your needs are. We found our house by accident. We drove past the neighborhood and decide to turn around and go look at the house on our list from the realtor. Huge lot etc.. And 14 years later have the most expensive house in the neighborhood. 3 phases so far of remodels and a few more left. Everyone’s homes in the neighborhoods have gone up in value over $100,000. : )
Good luck!
PS. We are in Ca also, Torrance.