New Home?

[smhogar]

My husband and I are looking at buying a new house. I have seen so many and they are all very nice. How did you know which house to buy? which one would be your home?

Thanks,

 

[golfgal]

It's kind of like when you go into labor when pregnant, you just know. It just feels right. It has most or all of what you want in a house and it "feels" like home. The first house we bought we looked for a year at houses. The next house we found in a day. This house we looked for about 3 weeks. You just never know.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Firstly you narrow down the area you want to live in which narrows down your choices.

Then you have your list of "must haves", "wants", and "would be nice".

It must, for example, fit my furniture. Measure your stuff and then take a measuring tape when you look at homes. Know your measurements. Sounds silly however furnishing a home is not cheap.

I have a lot of furniture that I cannot afford or want to change right now.

Next house we are looking to be our last house for retirement so we will have a whole different list.

 

[cornflake]

It's like love, you just know.

People tell you that and you don't get it, until you walk into the place that's right and it just feels right. It feels like home. Not like 'well, I could see doing blah blah, that's a nice blah, that floor would need to be redone...' It's just different. It feels like it's already home, even if you want to renovate just as much as the 20 other places.

If you're not sure, and thinking about bidding on something - ask yourself 'how would I feel if I lost this place, if someone else swooped in and bought it?'

If it's 'huh, disappointed because I've been looking so long and...' 'annoyed' 'I wouldn't want to start over...' or anything but 'so upset, like devastated, because it feels like it's my house'? That's not it.

Which doesn't mean you can't buy it, some people plan to move a bunch, buy for investment (though not the best idea lately), buy for the short term, etc., in which case, get something nice you can live with. But if you're looking for the long term - for YOUR house... wait for it, you'll just know. From the minute you walk in, seriously.

 

[rszdtrvl]

We had narrowed it down to 3 homes in the end. We had not looked at any in person though.

We got to house #1, and didn't even need to go inside. It just was not for us.

We got to house #2, and loved the backyard, even though it was not fenced (easy fix). I didn't like the kitchen, which if you wanted to, you could run a circle from the hallway/front room/kitchen. I could just see dogs (we were going to get a dog as soon as we bought a house) chasing each other in a big 'ol circle as I was cooking dinner.

We got to house #3 and it was perfect. Backyard was not as nice as house #2, but was definitely a good size. Kitchen was the exact layout I wanted. One bedroom in the front of the house, and 2 in the back as I wanted.

DH and I didn't even say a word to each other - all it took was a look.

The minute we left the house, DH told the real estate agent that this was our house.

I agree : narrow it down to the area of town you want, bedroom specifications, layout preference. Things you would be willing to do without and things you won't budge on. I wanted a second bathroom, but was willing to take this house with only one. It was not as important to me as other things were.

And you will know when you enter *your* home!

 

[Eeyore98]

I agree with others who say it just feels like home. We must have looked at 20 different places, and none really seemed right for one reason or another.

The night we went to look at the place we bought, it was the first of three we had on our list to see. We just knew. It wasn't perfect, but it fit us. We didn't even bother looking at the other two places on our list for the night - we headed off with the agent to write an offer.

 

[CrazyMe]

I agree, you just know. We looked for months and months and nothing. Then one day we went out and looked at about 20 homes in a pretty big area, we both remembered this "one" and that is where we still are living happily today, 8.5 years later!

Good luck in the search, you will find your home in time!

 

[Lehuaann]

When you walk in, the house will speak to you.

Jk, not really - but as others have pointed out, it will feel like home. However, even that isn't enough sometimes.

Our previous home felt like mine when I walked in - gorgeous 127 yr old historic with crystal chandeliers, wood floors, and in need of repair - MINE! After selling that and moving we again found another 'perfect' home. I would literally drive-by everyday just to dream about living in it. However, after long consideration, a shared driveway (to the neighbors advantage) was a huge deal breaker. If it was an issue for us, we could see it being an issue for others. A home in repair is fixable, a shared driveway is not.

Also, location is everything. I would rather have a smaller home in a fantastic location, then a larger home in meh location. But that's me.

 

[indimom]

We looked at a LOT of houses, in a wide price and age range, but when we found "the one", there was no doubt in our mind.

Our prime criteria was for a 3b/2b with a moderate sized yard in a particular area. There were many, many houses that fit our criteria, but most had a drawback or two. Many of these houses were relatively new and in move-in condition, we just didn't love this or that....

But when we found the house we loved, the deal breakers just became a challenge.

We ended up with a 100yo home that needed new windows and doors, a new kitchen and an upgraded bath. It only had a small storage shed, no garage, and no driveway. And it had an ancient heating system and window A/C.
But the price was ridiculously low and we knew we'd have enough cash from the sale of our first house to complete the necessary upgrades.

In the first six months, we replaced the kitchen/a bath/exterior windows & doors/heating & air/electical and plumbing. Over the next two years, we updated the rest of the house and added a two-car garage and a driveway.

We saw the potential and we put a lot of sweat equity into it, but I love it!

Good Luck with your search!

 

[Katy Belle]

We are in our 5th house, in our 22 yr marriage. We move with DHs job every 4-6 years. We are pretty efficient at narrowing down houses now. We start with price, sq footage, # of bedrooms, # of bathrooms, type of garage, age of house, location. We are usually given 3 days and make an offer by the end of the 3rd day.

This time we easily narrowed it to 3, out of about 20. Most have something that you wont love. Of those 3, one was a bit higher in price and the Realtor knew they wouldnt come down much, so we eliminated that one. The other 2 were very similar, but in different neighborhoods. DH thought this neighborhood would be better for resale, so here we are! So for us, its pretty much process of elimination. I dont always fall in love with the house before we move in.

Fuuny thing here....We are now friends with the people who bought our 2nd choice house! Was shocked when we went over! I like their wood floors better than mine! But we have more space, Im happy here.

 

[dngnb8]

My husband and I are looking at buying a new house. I have seen so many and they are all very nice. How did you know which house to buy? which one would be your home?

Thanks,

Certain rooms are important to certain people. Since I do all the cooking, the kitchen is very important. My wife traveled to where we live now 3 weeks before me to hunt. She had this house picked. The living room and master were great, the kitchen horrible.

She doesnt cook much so the kitchen wasnt a priority to her. I walked in and said, nope, I aint buying this. She was upset, but I wasnt about to spend my life cooking in that kitchen.

Everyone lives in certain rooms more then others. Those rooms will me more important to them.

 

[golfgal]

Certain rooms are important to certain people. Since I do all the cooking, the kitchen is very important. My wife traveled to where we live now 3 weeks before me to hunt. She had this house picked. The living room and master were great, the kitchen horrible.

She doesnt cook much so the kitchen wasnt a priority to her. I walked in and said, nope, I aint buying this. She was upset, but I wasnt about to spend my life cooking in that kitchen.

Everyone lives in certain rooms more then others. Those rooms will me more important to them.

This is true. I think this is the hardest part about buying your first home, not knowing how you will use various rooms. I think you also don't look at things like how much storage does the house have, etc. I suggest bringing a parent or someone that knows you to look at houses with you--or even just look at a couple that you have narrowed your search down to.

Make up a list of must haves (again hard for your first house). For this last move my must haves were main floor laundry in a LARGE laundry room, an open floor plan between the kitchen and family room, I did not want to be able to see kitchen counters from the front door, and a third living space/family room for the kids when they have friends over (teenagers).

Then go to would very much like to have list--mine was a nice jacuzzi tub, again, nice to have for us, wouldn't have been a sale killer if it didn't have.

One bonus we got was our fenced in yard. That has been great for the dog and it allowed us to put in a dog door so we can leave her home overnight. It wasn't on our radar at all looking at houses though.

I will NOT buy another house that has wallpaper everywhere-nope, never, won't even look at one if they have photos on the website showing wallpaper everywhere.

 

[SpecialK]

When we were looking, we'd go through houses and imagine day to day life there. Cooking, bringing in groceries, doing laundry, doing office work, etc. It helped to see myself walking through activities to see if the layout would work well.

 

[golfgal]

When we were looking, we'd go through houses and imagine day to day life there. Cooking, bringing in groceries, doing laundry, doing office work, etc. It helped to see myself walking through activities to see if the layout would work well.

That is another one I think people forget. I did NOT want to have to shlep bags and bags of groceries up several flights of stairs so that eliminated any split entry houses.

Some friends moved to our area and were really having a hard time choosing between 2 places. One place was smaller but newer, the other place had a REALLY nice kitchen and more room. They were both about the same distance from work, nice areas, etc. It finally came down to having to go up and down 25 steps every time they had to go to the car.

 

[smhogar]

Thanks for all of your advice.

Guess a house has not talked to me yet.

I will keep looking.

 

[disykat]

When we sold our first house in less than a week, we were in a crunch to find a new place. It was a pretty hot market in our price range, so two houses we offered on fell through.

In two weeks, we went to 44 houses. Most we walked in and had to force ourselves to even consider them. Those two had felt workable, but we weren't heartbroken.

We walked into our current house and our realtor met us at the door really excited. She said "I found your house!" and she was right. Even with this house, it was missing a pantry and a 4th bedroom, it was smaller than we wanted, and it was too close to the neighbor's house. Other than that, it met our list.

If you are finding all the houses great, it probably means you're fortunate to be looking in a price range where your wants and needs are both met by many that you look at. Check that it meets your "list," pleases you esthetically, and is in a neighborhood you like - then go for it!

Our list was... 2000+ sq ft., trees, nice yard, kitchen with dishwasher and eating bar, pantry, master bedroom and bath slightly separate from other bedrooms, 2 car garage, linen closet, close to move in ready, and a fireplace.

Our list doesn't seem extreme, but not a single house we offered on had all of it. The thing all three had it common was that they were clean and just felt like they'd be workable in our life. As others have said, the "feel" is important, but be wary about expecting that feel to hit you in the face.

 

[arminnie]

I never had that "feel" for the best houses I've owned. Mostly because they were in horrid shape, and it took the realtor to convince me to overlook the trashed out shape.

I had a beautiful place on the water in the San Francisco area. I thought it had been a rental that had been trashed, but it had been owned by an older alcoholic couple who smoked. It wasn't that old - but everything from the kitchen countertops to the hardwood floors were ruined. I had to basically redo it from the studs. But oh that location. It was magical.

The place I am in now in Arkansas was AWFUL. Dog urine down though the carpet and subflooring. The kitchen had plastic cabinets that had been painted (now were peeling). Again I took it down to the studs because the location is terrific.

For me location is everything. I always lost my shirt when I went with new homes out in no-name locations.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

I don't know that I've gotten that lovin' feeling in any of our houses.

We're big on location location location. Once you buy, you can change the weird wallpaper, but you can't change how close you are to the schools or your work.