opinions please? Buying a house

[_19disnA]

I would not jump into buying either just because they are the only ones on the market right now. New listings show up all the time. If working with a realtor, give them an idea of what you budget/needs/expectations are and let them continue to seek out places that match those requirements.

Since interest rates have gone up, I think you find prices cooling off from where they were a year ago. Many were overpiced and would have been a bad time to buy.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I'm in the "keep looking" camp. Is offering less money for house #1 an option? A single bathroom house isn't the best, especially with multiple people living there. Even after kids move out, if you have guests or something, I'd personally want a second bathroom.

And I think the "big" house will feel even larger, once the kids the move out (6 years?).

according to my realtor she doesn't think it's feasable to expect anyone will take a lower offer right now, but I sure would be more comfortable if that house was $10,000 cheaper!

 

[barkley]

I'd keep renting and keep looking, personally. Something more appropriate will come up. This is a terrible time to buy a house. Inventory is always very low in January. Wait until late spring, summer. Look again then.

i'm on the same page.

house #1-house would own YOU not the other way around, and i speak from personal experience when i say that a 'simple' upgrade on a septic system runs at 5 figures (i paid about 7K pre-pandemic). you don't want to be on edge when expenses go up. realy nice school systems also tend (in my experience) to equate to higher school bonds and levies which mean higher property taxes. the ongoing cost of ownership vs. the initial is vital to consider.

house #2-does not fit your needs now or later. also-you said it's rural, do your asd son or will your special needs dd be able to drive? if not and they will be reliant on public transportation-make sure it's available to you. even para transit which drives one mile outside the radius of the regular bus service area is 10 miles one way from our rural neighborhood.

Nothing in between, nothing new on the market in the last 2 weeks, and before that I lost out on a couple of in between houses because they get snapped up so fast in this market!

the f.o.m.o. buyers are starting to recede. market is softening is many areas-in some it's starting to revert to a sellers. i'm betting some of the homes people overpaid by 2 and 3x near me will be up for sale come spring when they get their first adjusted UP property tax bills (some are going to see them double what they were last year).

keep looking-and don't take the kids to ones you don't feel financially or emotionally comfortable with. my kids never saw a house until AFTER the deal was accepted (one of mine is asd-too difficult to get him to understand his wants and desires don't drive the way the real world operates).

 

[RogueX]

My line of thought is the 1st house may seem nicer but could be a finely polished turd. You won't discover it's flaws until after you've bought it, moved in and then get hit with some issues that start eating away at your money.

The 2nd house you acknowledge has issues, and not pushing you to the limit of what you want to pay gives you more wiggle room.

I personally don't see what the big issue with the 1 bathroom situation is. I've lived in 31 places in 46 years and have only ever had 1 bathroom in those places (at one point shared by 7 adults).

I would go with house 2.

 

[TwoMisfits]

according to my realtor she doesn't think it's feasable to expect anyone will take a lower offer right now, but I sure would be more comfortable if that house was $10,000 cheaper!

So offer 30K less (your realtor does have to make any offer you want)...and see what they say. In a market that is on the cusp of going down (which this market is), some sellers will jump before they have to price adjust anyway.

And either way - you'll know you can't afford it if they refuse or you'll have the house at the price you can pay for it - win/win...

 

[barkley]

That's something to think about, I haven't checked into the zoning laws but I guess that's a possibility to split the plot of land and build something small, I also was thinking I could look into putting on an addition too if my son stays with me permanently. There is a large, stand-alone 2 car garage on the property (sorry I didn't mention it in the original post but the garage is not super close to the house so it didn't really factor in to my decision) with the second house that has electricity and could probably be converted to living space with permits. I actually didn't look through the garage real well because I wasn't planning to use it, I'll have to ask the realtor about it. I really am leaning toward that house anyway because like you said, I don't want to be house poor and I'd rather have more disposable income. Both houses are move in ready but I feel like the cheaper house has a lot of issues with it that I'd want to change pretty much immediately for my own comfort , like the dishwasher thing, and the laundry is in the basement and I kind of hate that but there's really nowhere to convert to a laundry area in the upstairs parts of the house so I'd just have to accept that and deal with it.

DO NOT ASK THE REALTOR-check with a local to you property law attorney.

i have lost count of the number of new neighbors i've had over the years who relied on what their realtors told them about ADU's, subdividing property, putting on extensions and the like. many places with septic only have limited bathrooms b/c that's all a builder or developer could get approved-and it gets no easier over the years. ADU's are strictly restricted in many areas-where i'm at it takes over a year of very costly studies and permits, is only for senior family members (has to be very close to main house) and cost a fortune to build. tiny houses are being illegalized in many places (and you can't just cheaply add on to a septic). subdividing? can't do it under 10 acres in many places (and mortgage companies are not fond of approving it). garage to living space conversion? entirely illegal in every place we've lived (2 states/3 counties).

if you are seriously considering the place with the 'apartment'-require written proof it was legally built, has all current permits and is ALREADY included in the property tax calculation. illegal apartments are popular where i am (they build them to live in while main house is done)-and new owners learn after the fact they can't legally use them, have building violations (so insurance coverage either ends or goes WAY UP), owe property tax penalties and end up having to pay big money to remove them. BE CAUTIOUS!

 

[sam_gordon]

Can I pick door #3 - wait and find a better house than either of these two? Spring is coming and a lot of housing will enter the market...

One thing I was going to say, OP mentions about no new houses on the market in the last two weeks. I'm surprised there are any new houses on the market in the last month. Who wants to worry about putting their house on the market around the holidays. I would expect a lot in March and going forward as people start making plans to move after kids are out of school.

I don't know anything and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so I could be WAY off base.

 

[Kestryl]

As someone who went without a toilet in their master bath for seven months because of a plumbing/leak issue, I’m glad we have two other toilets in the house. Sure, I may have been able to push for something quicker if I had to, but the earliest I could get anyone to come look was three weeks.

But it also sound like the first house is too much. It sucks, but keep renting.

 

[lisaviolet]

You have enough advice, so I just want to give best wishes on everything.

Actually wait! I do want to give advice - never buy something where you have slight agitation about, wait for the place that you're at absolute peace. Even with bidding wars, you just never know. I was in constant bidding wars in a downtown market and two places I got for strange reasons. One was at a lower price than another offer, because I actually refused to play on with that one and backed down and out, but regardless the buyer simply trusted us more and did not take the higher offer. So weird crap happens, even in crazy markets..

---------

But in more important words, I have been on here a long time and therefore I know where you have been & how you have singlehandedly kept everything together. You should be so damn proud of yourself, it could not have been easy at times.

I am very happy for you & your family. All the best with your choices.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I personally don't see what the big issue with the 1 bathroom situation is.

I think people approach things with "could do if have to do" "don't want to if I don't have to"

I don't think you'd find many people willingly if there were other options choosing to have 7 people share 1 bathroom, doing it by necessity doesn't mean it's ideal or workable truly by all.

 

[disneychrista]

House 1 seems like too much house. House 2 might be too small and the one bath would be a no go for me.

I'd keep looking. There has to be a "just right" house out there somewhere.

 

[RogueX]

I think people approach things with "could do if have to do" "don't want to if I don't have to"

I don't think you'd find many people willingly if there were other options choosing to have 7 people share 1 bathroom, doing it by necessity doesn't mean it's ideal or workable truly by all.

Very true

 

[seven dwarfs]

It is never a good idea to be house poor. Don't buy the more expensive one. It isn't just the mortgage that is higher. Fixing things that go wrong, more to go wrong, higher taxes among other things. The world is unstable right now and I do not see electricity or food cost going down. Every single thing has gone up and will continue to. So those things will be a hit too. Also, it's more to clean!!! You could buy the small one now. Save as much as you can and try to sell it for something better later on. Also kids grow up fast and move on; one day you won't need all that space. I do understand the temptation though. If I could go back, I would build my house 1/3 of the size it is.

Good luck with whatever you decide. You are a good person to tackle this alone and must care as you are seeking other opinions. I'm sure whatever you decide, you will make it work.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I would see if I could extend the lease on your existing townhome....1-3 months, and keep looking. I think there's a "goldilocks house" somewhere between the two options that you've listed.

 

[DLgal]

i'm on the same page.

house #1-house would own YOU not the other way around, and i speak from personal experience when i say that a 'simple' upgrade on a septic system runs at 5 figures (i paid about 7K pre-pandemic). you don't want to be on edge when expenses go up. realy nice school systems also tend (in my experience) to equate to higher school bonds and levies which mean higher property taxes. the ongoing cost of ownership vs. the initial is vital to consider.

house #2-does not fit your needs now or later. also-you said it's rural, do your asd son or will your special needs dd be able to drive? if not and they will be reliant on public transportation-make sure it's available to you. even para transit which drives one mile outside the radius of the regular bus service area is 10 miles one way from our rural neighborhood.





the f.o.m.o. buyers are starting to recede. market is softening is many areas-in some it's starting to revert to a sellers. i'm betting some of the homes people overpaid by 2 and 3x near me will be up for sale come spring when they get their first adjusted UP property tax bills (some are going to see them double what they were last year).

keep looking-and don't take the kids to ones you don't feel financially or emotionally comfortable with. my kids never saw a house until AFTER the deal was accepted (one of mine is asd-too difficult to get him to understand his wants and desires don't drive the way the real world operates).

Agree with not taking the kids until you have chosen a home, but given the special needs in play, I get that is not always an option.

 

[DLgal]

One thing I was going to say, OP mentions about no new houses on the market in the last two weeks. I'm surprised there are any new houses on the market in the last month. Who wants to worry about putting their house on the market around the holidays. I would expect a lot in March and going forward as people start making plans to move after kids are out of school.

I don't know anything and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so I could be WAY off base.

True. I live in a very hot housing market and there have been VERY FEW new listings in the last 2 weeks. It's not unusual.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I am also in the ask to be shown other listings camp. Definitely also a wonderful idea to consider a basement apartment with a bathroom. Dad and I share a 1 bathroom apartment. Zero complaints. How grateful to God I am for the roof over our heads. That said, should we ever be able to move, we both recognize how handy a second bathroom would be, just a 1/2 bath for any guests and as others have said to have for ourselves when needed especially with any possible issues in the only full bath.

Hug to you and prayers as well. Moving os never any fun. I would imagine less so during the ongoing pandemic. I would not want to possibly twice in a relatively short time frame. Pray on it and do what is right for you.

Thank you for being such a loving mom. Your children are blessed indeed.

 

[DLgal]

Ask your apartment manager about going "month to month" after your lease is up. Almost every place will allow you to do this for a slightly increased rental price.

 

[mjkacmom]

Very true

When we bought our house, it had one bathroom, upstairs, we added a powder room to the first floor (family of 7 but were 3 1/2 when we bought it). My UL’s are 95 with mobility issues, I’m going to make sure our next house has a bedroom, full bathroom and laundry of the first floor. Heck they can’t visit us because we have 3 entrances but all have many stairs. My SIL lives near them but only has a bathroom on the second floor, they can no longer go there either.

 

[DisneyHardin]

If it were me and these were the only 2 houses I could choose from, I would go with the bigger house. Personally, I'm a homebody, so I like having a good sized house to be in. Sounds like the apartment would be perfect for your son to live in and have some independence as he grows older.

I do agree though, with other posters that it sounds like you should ask your landlord about going month to month on your lease while you do a little more house shopping.