Tell me about your house...

[Miss Jasmine]

I'm going to guess from your questions that this is your first house. There is a HUGE difference in our first house vs. our third house.

Good point. Your first home is rarely your dream home.

And don't go by what everyone here has, like bananiem said, you need to figure out what YOUR needs are. Good luck!!!

 

[bananiem]

I also wanted to add that housing costs vary greatly from city to city and state to state. Also, many regions have certain styles of houses that other regions do not have. You really should concentrate on the area that you are moving to and what's available there, then whittle down your choices.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Your first home is rarely your dream home.

DH and I did build our dream house as our first house, but I know we are not the norm.

 

[EthansMom]

Not exactly answering your questions, but here's what DH and I look for when we're buying a house:

1) Good neighborhood -- no broken cars in the neighbors' yards, houses nearby seem in good repair

2) Good schools -- even if this doesn't matter to you, it will probably matter to people looking to buy it from you later

3) Low crime

4) Three bedrooms minimum -- you may not need three bedrooms, but most families that are buying houses do need three bedrooms. You increase your ability to sell if you have three bedrooms. You could always use one as a guest room and one as an office.

5) Two full bathrooms minimum -- same reason as #4.

6) Clean House/House in Good Repair -- When first looking at houses, a house that is clean, decluttered, and has had obvious maintenance (lawn mowed, no obvious broken parts), is often a good sign that the stuff you can't see easily has been taken care of. Have the contract state that the sale is contingent upon inspection and have a professional inspector let you know what may need work on the house. Ask your realtor what other inspections he/she recommends -- a termite/pest inspection might be a good idea in FL too.

Each individual house may or may not include the appliances. The stats for each house will state what is and is not included. On our first house, we had to buy a new washer and dryer. Don't forget, you'll also need to buy lawn equipment, possibly need to buy some new window coverings, etc.

Having had both carpet and wood, I vastly prefer wood. With carpet, dirt gets down into the pile and you can never get it all out. With wood, the dirt and dust have nowhere to go. Wood is also much better if either of you suffers from allergies or asthma.

As a buyer, you'll have to pay closing costs. A good buyer's agent realtor should be able to give you an idea of closing costs in FL. On our first house, we were able to finance some of our closing costs in the following manner: we paid the sellers $5000 more for the house and the sellers paid $5000 toward the closing costs -- that's a pretty standard way to roll your closing costs into your mortgage. Your closing costs could include a variety of taxes, your mortgage points, mortgage fees, inspection fees, and possibly a survey (if you have it done).

Good Luck!

 

[dcgrumpy]

1. How many square feet is it?approx 1700 sf
2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have?3 bedrooms 1 1/2 baths
3. Do you have a garage, carport..? detached 2 car garage and a detached 1 car garage that we use as a shed
4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other?hardwood downstairs, carpet upstairs in the bedrooms
5. Do you have a patio or porch?we have an enclosed sun porch, we plan on adding a wraparound porch
6. Do you have a laundry room?no
7. What are your favorite features of the house?I like that it's old and has a lot of character and the lot is a decent size.
8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be?closet space, apparently people didn't need closets in the early 1900's
9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have"
10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination?gas
11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it?it's gas, it's nothing special. I hate electric stoves
12. Anything else you would like to add?
13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value? We paid $307K in September 2004, it appraised for $420K this past summer
14. Did you house come with the appliances?yes
15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost?we paid, I don't remember exactly it was somewhere between $15K-$20K
__________________

 

[Katie]

1. How many square feet is it? 3800
2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have? 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths
3. Do you have a garage, carport..? 2.5 Car Attached Garage
4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other? carpet everywhere, but kitchen and laudry room!(getting ready to pull the carpet from bathrooms and replace with tile)
5. Do you have a patio or porch? porch in front, large deck in back
6. Do you have a laundry room? yes--near my bedrooms...love the location!!!
7. What are your favorite features of the house?open floor plan, laundry room locations, large large walk-in closets!
8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be? have a basement! i would gladly trade 1000 sq ft for a basement!
9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have"-1. ranch 2. full finished basement 3. laundry on main floor 4. eatin kitchen 5. every bedroom a private bath
10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination? gas!
11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it?Jenn Aire-cooktop with grill and oven in wall! Wouldn't recommend either!
12. Anything else you would like to add? Somewhere where the kids can play when they get older and feel comfortable being at home, alittle privacy for them, yet, having them in the house and being the hang out house would be nice!
13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value? Bought in 1994 for 136,900. would probably list around 200,000 now!
14. Did you house come with the appliances? Yes, the house was only 5 years old. I replaced the dishwasher because have to a top-line dishwasher..call me spoiled!
15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost? We did, i don't remember what it was. This was our second house!


I can NOT express loud enough, a place for the kids to go hang out with their friends. We do NOT have a basement, and it is our main regret! We have a 1000 sq foot great room in the middle of our house, that they could play basketball in, but it not kid-friendly! We are always on the look-out for a house with a basement, walk-out would be the best!!!

 

[mudnuri]

here's the house the X got...where I spent 13 years.

1.1900
2. 3 bd 1 bath
3.1 car attached, 1 car detached as well- thought neither are bigger to put any car other than maybe a VW beetle. The 'vette use to fit, but thats it.
4. hardwood common areas, carpet in kids bedrooms and playroom
5. deck off the back- 25x25 (perfect!) it is in the back, so when the kids are out back playing, you can sit and watch, and with the 9 foot sliders, you can see out to them from the kitchen.
6. no- laundry in basement
7. deck, and yard
8. more bathrooms
9. laundry room on same floor as bedrooms
10. electric
11. Kenmore Elite (all appliances are) smooth top super capacity range
12. nope
13. paid 72,000 appraised now at 148,000 18 years later (he bought it 1st marraige)
14. way back 18 years ago yes...
15. If I remember, his parents paid the closing costs as part of a wedding gift.

Hope that helps
Brandy

 

[MomofKatie]

1. 1850 sq ft., 2 story
2. 3 bed, 2 1/2 bath
3. 2 car garage
4. Wall to wall carpeting and vinyl in baths and kitchen. Small hardwood foyer.
5. Concrete patio
6. No laundry room- reach in laundry "closet".
7. Faves- bonus room above garage, location and public schools, low maintenance brick/vinyl siding exterior, nice open floorplan.
8. I'd spend extra $$ on better grade flooring- our carpets are horrible after just 5 years!!
9. Must haves: level lot on non-busy street, walk in closets, updated kitchen, formal dining room, good size bathrooms, adequate overall sq footage.
10. All appliances are electric. Gas heat and water heater.
11. Builder grade GE electric range w/ raised heating elements. It's fine for our needs, but a more upgraded range would be great, too!
12. Bought as a new build in 2000. Built on a slab- no basement. Located in a cul-de-sac in a smallish subdivision. Put approx 12% down- paid PMI insurance for first 18 mos, until refinanced and equity rose.
13. Purchased in 2000 for $135,000. Appraised in 2005 for $170,000.
14. All appliances except fridge were included with home.
15. We paid closing costs. Builder offered to pay, but would have upped the selling price by $5000. I don't remember the exact amt, but I think it was around $3500 due at closing.

 

[mallcat]

1. How many square feet is it? 1650, plus 1100 sf finished basement
2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have? 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths
3. Do you have a garage, carport..? Detached garage
4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other? Carpet in bedrooms, ceramic in kitchen and baths, hardwood in living and dining areas, laminate in basement
5. Do you have a patio or porch? front porch and rear deck
6. Do you have a laundry room? yes
7. What are your favorite features of the house? cape cod style
8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be? Maintenance free front porch, trex rear deck
9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have" one level living for when we get older
10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination? electric
11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it? raised burner - hate it. Will upgrade when old one dies
12. Anything else you would like to add? eat in kitchen or nook
13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value? Paid $105k, Now worth $375-400k
14. Did you house come with the appliances? yes
15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost? Closing costs in 1997 were $2700

 

[scanne]

1. How many square feet is it? With the finished basement, we're close to 4000 square feet.
2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have? 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.
3. Do you have a garage, carport..? We have a two car garage.
4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other? We have tile in the foyer and bathrooms, vinyl in the kitchen and carpet everywhere else.
5. Do you have a patio or porch? Just a small patio out back.
6. Do you have a laundry room? Yes with a sink. The laundry is upstairs.
7. What are your favorite features of the house? The volume foyer, our master bedroom with the sitting room and the finished basement.
8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be? I would put hardwood floors in the foyer, living room and dining room, tile in the kitchen and change the carpet from berber to something more plush. But this is how the house was when we bought. We're making changes slowly.
9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have" - Nothing. This is our "dream home" and it has everything we wanted!
10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination? Gas.
11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it? Gas stove with typical gas burners.
12. Anything else you would like to add? We have an island in the kitchen which is great for food prepping! But I want corian countertops instead of the laminate we have!
13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value? We paid in the low $400,000's. The house is 5.5 years old. When the home was new, it was priced in the mid $200's.
14. Did you house come with the appliances? Yes.
15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost? We did, but I can't remember how much. Maybe around $3000.

 

[icebrat001]

Wow, I'm learning a lot from this thread. I'm printing it and taking it with me!




I'm going to guess from your questions that this is your first house. There is a HUGE difference in our first house vs. our third house.


I would suggest you answer these questions to yourselves:
1). How long are we going to live here? We are thinking 7 years, maybe a couple years more, but no more than 10.
2.) How many bedrooms will we need? must have a master bed room, an office and possibly a 3rd bedroom to act as the "gameroom", we would convert this room into a nursery should we decide to have a child (probably 7 years from now)
3.) What are the MUST HAVES? Must have lots of square footage, I am tired of living in a cereal box! Lots of closet space, large rooms, a nice size kitchen, a seperate dining and living room or living room and eat in kitchen, a garage (Although, it's not an absolute must have but it's really close), a yard. We're still working on that list.
4.) Really look at the finances. Many times lenders will tell you the highest limit you can afford, which leaves very little room for saving money for extras. We realized this, we plan on purchasing $100,000 k under what they told us.
5.) Think about how much remodeling you want to do. lol, we are clueless on this, we can't even organize our own closets, I know p athetic. I want a house that needs as little work as possible. I think if we needed things done it would take a long time for us to actually get it done because we would put off calling someone to help.
6.) In my opinion it is worth every penny to buy a house in a good school district. And each school district has it's "good schools" and it's "not so good schools." We will keep this in mind. I guess that's another question to ask the fellow DISer that's been helping me.
Happy house hunting! It can be really fun!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Please tell me about your house. Dear SO and I were pre-approved for a home loan and we are flying out to house hunt in 3 months. So i'm just trying to get ideas.

1. How many square feet is it?

2300 square feet

2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have?

3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms, although we enclosed our living area and made it a 4th bedroom. It's my office.

3. Do you have a garage, carport..?

I have a two-car, detached garage with an actual soundproof room in it! The guy that lived here before us ran a radio station out of it. I store my real estate crud in it. It can scream all it wants, but nobody can hear it.

4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other?

Hardwood throughout the entire house, except for the bedrooms, which are carpeted. Travertine tile, with black granite inserts in the bathrooms.

5. Do you have a patio or porch?

I have a back patio that we're fixing to lay either brick, or flagstone down on. Our front entryway has a small vestibule.

6. Do you have a laundry room?

Yes, indoors.

7. What are your favorite features of the house?

The floors and the windows! We have lots of arched windows throughout the house and the floors are so warm looking.

8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be?

Bigger laundry room, no doubt.

9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have"

Bigger laundry room, and another living area.

10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination?

Electric appliances, gas utilities. I get slammed by both utility companies!

11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it?

You can see pictures of both my kitchen and one of my bathrooms, here: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smbnobles/my_photos

We recently remodeled both rooms. Have the master bathroom to go!

12. Anything else you would like to add?

My advice would be to spend your "upgrade" money on hard surfaces, since they take the most abuse and are the most expensive to replace. I'm referring to, floor coverings, countertops, etc.

13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value?

Keep in mind, Houston has one of the best housing markets in the nation. I paid less than $200k and it's worth about $50k more now. This is over a four year period.

14. Did you house come with the appliances?

Not refrigerator, or washer and dryer. We replaced the others.

15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost?

I had some seller contribution, but I paid about $7k myself. I can't remember the exact total.

 

[ducklite]

1. How many square feet is it?

2960+/- under air, plus three car garage and screened lanai.

2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have?

Three bedrooms including the master suite, plus a den that was originally planned as a bedroom and could easily again become one by replacing French doors with wood. (There is a closet in the den which is what most appraisers use to determine bedroom or den in room count, so technically we have 4 BR's.)

Three full baths, the master bath is split into two rooms, one is an oversized shower and toilet, the other is jetted soaking tub and double vanity.

We reworked the floor plan so that we have in effect two master bedrooms, as DS's room also has a private bath.

3. Do you have a garage, carport..?

Three car oversized garage. And so much junk in it right now only room for two cars LOL!

4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other?

Combination of tile and carpet.

5. Do you have a patio or porch?

Screened lanai (porch) that runs almost the full length of the rear of the house, and accessible through the guest bath, French doors in the family room, and the master bedroom.

6. Do you have a laundry room?

Yes, it's between the garage and diningroom. It's not huge, but it works.

7. What are your favorite features of the house?

The open floor plan between the kitchen and family room and the ample closet space. The huge shower in the master bath with dual heads. The hand held sprayer in the garden tub--makes cleanup a breeze.

8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be?

Rework the kitchen to include a Sub Zero and wine cellar. And I'd tell the builder I didn't want the GE dishwasher, it SUCKS, give me a high end Fridgidaire, I don't care how much it costs.

9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have"

I've pretty much got them in the house I own now.

10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination?

Dryer, built in grill on the lanai, and water heater are gas, the rest are electric.

11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it?

Flat top electric. Jury is still out. It's not as easy to keep clean as I was assuming it would be, it scratches very easily, and I'm glad I ran gas to it, because I'll probably replace the electric with gas down the road.

12. Anything else you would like to add?

A pool and hot tub. A wine cooler and Sub Zero.

13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value?

+/- $400K, it's worth close to double now.

14. Did you house come with the appliances?

Yes, except the W/D.

15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost?

We paid closing costs, I have no idea, I think the check I brought to closing was in the $45K range, but some of that was impounds and maybe additional downpayment money.

Anne

 

[icebrat001]

Thank you for showing me your pictures. Your kitchen and bathroom are beautiful. That was a great remodel in your kitchen.

2300 square feet



3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms, although we enclosed our living area and made it a 4th bedroom. It's my office.



I have a two-car, detached garage with an actual soundproof room in it! The guy that lived here before us ran a radio station out of it. I store my real estate crud in it. It can scream all it wants, but nobody can hear it.



Hardwood throughout the entire house, except for the bedrooms, which are carpeted. Travertine tile, with black granite inserts in the bathrooms.



I have a back patio that we're fixing to lay either brick, or flagstone down on. Our front entryway has a small vestibule.



Yes, indoors.



The floors and the windows! We have lots of arched windows throughout the house and the floors are so warm looking.



Bigger laundry room, no doubt.



Bigger laundry room, and another living area.



Electric appliances, gas utilities. I get slammed by both utility companies!



You can see pictures of both my kitchen and one of my bathrooms, here: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smbnobles/my_photos

We recently remodeled both rooms. Have the master bathroom to go!



My advice would be to spend your "upgrade" money on hard surfaces, since they take the most abuse and are the most expensive to replace. I'm referring to, floor coverings, countertops, etc.



Keep in mind, Houston has one of the best housing markets in the nation. I paid less than $200k and it's worth about $50k more now. This is over a four year period.



Not refrigerator, or washer and dryer. We replaced the others.



I had some seller contribution, but I paid about $7k myself. I can't remember the exact total.

 

[ducklite]

There are photo's that chronicle my house from vacant lot to final almost fully furnished on my web site

Anne

 

[SC Minnie]

1. How many square feet is it? 2200-- our 1st house was 1700
2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have? 4br 2.5 baths
3. Do you have a garage, carport..? 2 car attached garage (one of my must haves)
4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other?carpet,tile, and hardwood-- plan on taking up all the carpet downstair and replacing with hardwood
5. Do you have a patio or porch? front porch running the length of the house and a good sized deck on the back
6. Do you have a laundry room?laundry closet-- would love to have a laundry room big enough to keep an ironing board up
7. What are your favorite features of the house?location
8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be?what we plan to do in a couple of years-- expand family room/kitchen/laundry room as well as master suite
9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have"?-- attached garage, large laundry room
10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination?comdination-- stove/hot water gas, dryer electric
11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it?regular gas that came with the house
12. Anything else you would like to add?
13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value?We paid 175 7 years ago. It has increased in value over 30% since
14. Did you house come with the appliances?one dishwasher and stove/microwave
15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost?Don't remember

 

[barkley]

just thought of something to add-had it done after we bought and would do again on a future purchace. had the backyard regraded and a drainage system installed before we landscaped. while our neighbor's yards become swamps during the rains ours drains out. also had a drip system put in and hooked up to the timer system the sprinklers are on-it is so nice esp. with the raised planter boxes we had done for the veggie garden.

after we moved in we also had a small inexpensive upgrade done on the "plant shelves" in the living room. the builder put in lights on the shelves-we had it rewired to add a plug that works off the same light switch. so i can put a holiday village on the shelf and plug it in with no cords showing.

i remember the builder trying to get us to select some upgrades based on "but look what it will do to your resale value"-yeah, some upgrades add to resale but i have never known a sale to be made or broken based on interior vs. exterior hinges on cabinets now having it plumbed from day one to be able to accommodate a water softner (though we dont use one) i can see being a good investment

 

[MommyPoppins]

1. How many square feet is it? 980sft-living
2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have? 3, 1
3. Do you have a garage, carport..? 1 car garage
4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other? carpet/tile
5. Do you have a patio or porch? nope
6. Do you have a laundry room? nope, washer/dryer are in the garage
7. What are your favorite features of the house? None, thank goodness we are building a new one
8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be?
9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have" Are new home "must have" an indoor laundry room, open kitchen/living space, and a large master bedroom/bath with a garden tub.
10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination? electric
11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it? I recommend a glass top, I LOVE MINE!!! We have mostly kenmore appiliances
12. Anything else you would like to add?
13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value? We paid $55,000 in 2000 and we just sold it for $182, 500 But our new house is going to cost around $175,000 to build and we had to pay $52,900 for a half acre.
14. Did you house come with the appliances? Yes, but not a dishwasher, we had to cut out the cabinets and put one in
15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost? are closing costs were almost 3000 and the county paid them. It was a program for low income families, if you stayed in the house for 5 years you didn't have to pay them back, but if you moved before then you have to pay them back, we are probably going to have to pay them back because our 5 year mark isn't until July.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Thank you for showing me your pictures. Your kitchen and bathroom are beautiful. That was a great remodel in your kitchen.

Thank you! We did a LOT of it ourselves and are very glad it's over, but it was well worth it.

Believe it or not, the bathroom was worse than the kitchen!

 

[DisneyStar006]

My family home:
1. How many square feet is it? No idea?
2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have? 5br/2.5 bath (But when purchased, it was 4br/2.5 baths)
3. Do you have a garage, carport..? 2 car garage
4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other? All of the above, Mostly carpet, but hardwood in the hallway and 2 of the bedrooms, tiles in the kitchen, laundry room and conservatory
5. Do you have a patio or porch? Yes, a patio
6. Do you have a laundry room? Yes
7. What are your favorite features of the house? The conservatory, beautiful all year round in there, its like bringing the outside inside
8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be? Hmmm, not sure
9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have" A conservatory, deck, patio etc, somewhere to eat or sit outside in the summer
10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination? Combination
11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it? Raised
13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value? (Keep in mind my parents brought it in 1988, and house prices are generally higher in the UK anyway) They paid the equivilent $246,000 for it and its now worth in the region of $616,000, some of this is due to the large addition we built, but most of it due to the massive appreciation of house prices in this area of the UK in the past 17/18 years
14. Did you house come with the appliances? Yes


My first house I'm a similar age to you
1. How many square feet is it? Again, no idea
2. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you have? 2br/1bath
3. Do you have a garage, carport..? No
4. Carpet, tile, hardwood, or other? All, Carpet througout the living areas and bedrooms, tiles in the kitchen and hardwood in the bathroom.
5. Do you have a patio or porch? Kind of, we have a small yard which is a patio, but no garden
6. Do you have a laundry room? Kind of, we have an out building with a dryer in, but the washing machine is in the kitchen
7. What are your favorite features of the house? The location, lol I don't really like anything else about it.
8. If you can go back or change anything about your house what would it be? There is too much to put here, lol but if we had it all it wouldn't be in our price range
9. If you were going to purchase another home, what are some of the things that you "must have" A laundry room, seperate living/dining room
10. Are your applicances gas, electric or combination? Gas
11. What type of stove do you have (flat burner, raised, whatever, what brand, do you recommend it? Raised
12. Anything else you would like to add? -
13. If you don't mind sharing, can you give a range of what you paid for your house? Did it increase in value? We rent, but if sold today, the price would probably be in the region of $176,000. It would also need some $ spending on improvement.
14. Did you house come with the appliances? It did for us as renters, but I would guess not when purchased
15. Who paid the closing cost? How much were your closing cost? -

Congrats on getting on the property ladder, its definitely a smart thing to do, I wish I could! Good luck with finding the perfect house!

Edited to add: My first (and only lol) house above is probably not an accurate representation, as we have to live close to the city center for transportation reasons. If we could, we would live further out, in a better house for less money