How much did you compromise when buying a new house & why?

[MaisOuiMadame]

It's not The One & although it was AMAZING, neither Mr T or I feel too sad about deciding not to go for it.

As several others and yourself already said: that's really the answer to your question!!!

I absolutely had a lit of pressure finding the right home the last time around (we rented a way too small furnished place at an astronomical price, coming from abroad).

I'm still happy we didn't settle. I totally understand getting antsy though. The one absolutely great thing is that you and your DH are in the same page. It has always been lie that with DH and myself as well, so no tensions there and that's really the most important thing! Best of luck and lots of househunting -dust to Team T!!

 

[Austina]

Well decision made @Ally T, it wasn’t the one for you, and something better IS going to come along.

Yeah, premier league, one of them splashed all over the front pages of the Sunday’s when he was caught with ‘white powder’ around his snout!!!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Your house is out there waiting on you--you just haven't found it yet!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[TooPatient]

Compromise was very limited when we bought this house last year. I wanted no stairs, this has three floors. We both wanted natural gas. This doesn't have (and won't as the nearest line is probably 30 miles away) any gas. I decided the stairs aren't an issue as we can add an elevator if/when I need for an amount of money we could manage. We both decided the lack of natural gas is not an issue as heat pump and induction cooktop are suitable substitutions and the biggest priority was being out of town. (No area out of town had gas...)

The things I looked at as I was searching for homes that would interest us:
Was it in the price range we wanted to stay in?
Was it in an area we want to be?
Is the general layout good (or easily modified)?
Looking at the list of must have features, does it either hit all of them or can it be added with an amount of time, money, and work we can manage?

This house had absolutely no fence when we bought it. Contractors added fencing around a small area before we moved in so dogs have a safe place to potty. The big yard will be fenced once I decide the type of fence we want. White carpet came out and the downstairs laminate got installed instead. Old appliances out and replaced with our preferred new ones.

Another possibility we looked at would have meant finishing a small guest house (really small, like 500 square feet or less) in order to have our nice speakers and theater area set up. Plus adding a covered area plus concrete or something from the house to the guest house to get between them in the cold/wet/dark. It also would have meant giving up my china cabinets and cutting our book collection to 1/4 or so. There was no way to meet our needs without $$$$$$ modifications. (Log cabin so any additions or changes would have been very involved). DH loved the look of the house and the area. He really wanted to buy it until we started talking through what all it would take to put this or that in.

Looking at them on the computer first helped. I was able to narrow it down without driving to each. We also had a good idea what we would need to do for each so could judge how much we could offer given the expenses to get what we wanted. In our area, houses are selling very quickly. Often within hours of listing. The log cabin had several people bidding on it the day we went to look -- the first day listed. It was sold over asking by the end of the day. The store owner at a place I get kitchen stuff from said he and his wife sold their house within two days of listing at more than 50% above asking. (Listed at $800,000 and sold for $1.3 million). It was exhausting, but I spent hours scrolling through listings. Saved possible options. Went through to toss out the ones that obviously wouldn't work as I looked at more detail. Went through again with DH and sent the most likely to the realtor. Any still for sale by the next morning, we visited.

Other thoughts....
Maybe a less expensive house with major remodel if in a good location. (We toyed with that idea. Just be careful of building supply coat and availability as you could end up stuck with it as is for awhile depending on what it is like near you.)
Semi-custom new construction?
Could you stay in your current home and have one built to get everything you want?

You are in a good position since you have a place that is okay now. Not ideal, but okay. Take the time to make sure you at least have room to add what you want.

 

[ringbling17]

We just moved last year and we did compromise on a few things. The house we sold in NJ was our dream house but since I was working in Delaware, my daughter went to high school in De. and my husband is retired, we decided to search in Delaware.
This new house is smaller than the one we sold and a different floor plan. We actually wanted a smaller house since the kids will eventually leave and I do prefer the floor plan of this house. It’s also just easier to maintain and we are saving a lot of money from maintenance costs, utilities and property taxes. Property taxes alone are 1/4 what we used to pay in NJ.
Some things we compromised on were the lot size (and in retrospect backyard privacy from our side neighbors) - it is .34 acres. I really wanted half an acre or more but the homes we looked at on .5 acres or more were all septic. I did not want a septic system at all due to issues with our previous home. We wanted a walkout basement- all my previous homes had walkout basements. This home does not but I do plan to eventually add it. Also a basement bedroom and bathroom- again all my other homes had this and this home does not. We miss our side entrance garage and driveway. We had a three car garage and huge driveway where we could fit 16 cars and now we have a front entry garage and driveway. We can fit four if we park close enough together. Also our street is really narrow. We didn’t realize this until we moved in but when neighbors have parties it gets really hard to drive down the street when cars are on either side.

Things we didn’t compromise on and/or love about the house include the location- we wanted to stay in a certain school district and stay above the Canal. I also wanted to be within 20 minutes drive from where I worked. We live on a cul de sac street but not right on the cul de sac (there are no houses on the actual cul de sac). We love it bc our kids can play and no crazy drivers come down the street. We love that our homes are a little closer too BC everyone watches out for each other but we all still maintain our privacy. We also did not want a stucco home or a septic system.
Also the floor plan - I really wanted a living room and dining room attached. Most homes including the one we sold had a formal living room separate from the rest of the house. I didn’t want that at all. Our living room flows into the dining room. I prefer that BC it gets more use. And we have a kitchen morning room. Our old house had a sunroom off the living room and we never used it. I love sitting in our sunroom and drinking coffee. Lastly we have a farm behind us. From my deck or sunroom the view is serene and quiet. They grow soy beans and from my backyard to the next street over it is about 1/2 mile distance so it’s nice to not have neighbors directly behind me. Of course we don’t have privacy from our side neighbors but that’s what landscaping is for.

When we first walked into this house my husband did not like it at all. I think he’s finally grown to like it but it’s taken some time and work. We still have not bought new furniture for this house. We made a few minor changes like paint and carpet but no major renovations.

I think you will know it’s the “ONE” when you get that feeling in your heart. It’s just a feeling you get. It won’t be the perfect home but when you can overlook the things you don’t like and the home still gives you a feeling of happiness, that will be the home for you. When we saw this home I had that feeling. It wasn’t perfect but I could see us in it and making it ours.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[ringbling17]

Our original house was more isolated however, and now we live on a cul-de-sac. We really enjoy having neighbors who are friendly and whom we have chats with, wave to, can call on... we are introverts so we like the casual encounters without big to-dos. Everyone has plenty of land and there is privacy, yet we feel part of a little community. I thought I loved having a lot of acreage and total privacy, but for me it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I enjoy knowing we've got people around, and people we can count on.

I could have written this BC it’s exactly how I felt/ feel! Our NJ house had more land than my current house and it just felt isolated. We had neighbors on either side, in front and behind us, yet we never met them in the 8 years we lived there. We only met one neighbor in front of us and that was BC we both moved in months apart. Everyone else was a stranger and if we met them on the street we would have no idea they were our neighbors.
I thought when we moved to NJ it would be great. We wanted land and privacy coming from NY, but it was very lonely for me and my husband. I couldn’t even meet any neighbors at the bus stop BC the bus stopped in my driveway and my kids where the only ones that got on it.
We are introverts too but to not talk to anyone at all was very hard. We had no family near us and my co-workers lived far from me. It really was a lonely 8 years!
My kids also had no friends in the neighborhood. There were very few kids to begin with and they were mostly older and their school friends lived miles away.
Living in our new neighborhood has been great. I’ve made friends, have walking partners, and my kids have friends. We watch out for each other too. I can go away and I can ask someone to take care of my mail, feed the cats and in general just watch our home. And we do the same for them as well. It’s a nice change from the old neighborhood.

 

[rainydaze]

I could have written this BC it’s exactly how I felt/ feel! Our NJ house had more land than my current house and it just felt isolated. We had neighbors on either side, in front and behind us, yet we never met them in the 8 years we lived there. We only met one neighbor in front of us and that was BC we both moved in months apart. Everyone else was a stranger and if we met them on the street we would have no idea they were our neighbors.
I thought when we moved to NJ it would be great. We wanted land and privacy coming from NY, but it was very lonely for me and my husband. I couldn’t even meet any neighbors at the bus stop BC the bus stopped in my driveway and my kids where the only ones that got on it.
We are introverts too but to not talk to anyone at all was very hard. We had no family near us and my co-workers lived far from me. It really was a lonely 8 years!
My kids also had no friends in the neighborhood. There were very few kids to begin with and they were mostly older and their school friends lived miles away.
Living in our new neighborhood has been great. I’ve made friends, have walking partners, and my kids have friends. We watch out for each other too. I can go away and I can ask someone to take care of my mail, feed the cats and in general just watch our home. And we do the same for them as well. It’s a nice change from the old neighborhood.

Yeah, wow, I could have written *this* post! Right down to being in the last house for 8 years!

We had a super long driveway and there was a house tucked into the woods at the beginning of it. One day, before we moved, I noticed a light was on and started noticing that this light was always on with no other changes. I finally asked our mailman (whom we were friendly with) if he'd seen our neighbor and if everything was ok (because it didn't appear there had been any activity for weeks). He looked at me with a shocked expression and said the neighbor had moved out a year ago!! We had no idea! (He didn't sell the house, so there was no sign out front. He held onto it and sold it after we'd moved.)

 

[Elizabeth35]

I will go along with Missy and others--location is the primary decision. Everything else can be fixed or compromised on.
Just find a spot you love and make the best of it. It's only a house.
99% of us never have a 'dream' home and compromise in some ways.
We bloom where we are planted-lol.

 

[ringbling17]

Yeah, wow, I could have written *this* post! Right down to being in the last house for 8 years!

We had a super long driveway and there was a house tucked into the woods at the beginning of it. One day, before we moved, I noticed a light was on and started noticing that this light was always on with no other changes. I finally asked our mailman (whom we were friendly with) if he'd seen our neighbor and if everything was ok (because it didn't appear there had been any activity for weeks). He looked at me with a shocked expression and said the neighbor had moved out a year ago!! We had no idea! (He didn't sell the house, so there was no sign out front. He held onto it and sold it after we'd moved.)

Lol! I was friendly with my mail lady too. She was the only one I saw on a regular basis. She was so nice and would hand deliver me my mail instead of dropping it off in the mailbox. We actually exchanged Christmas presents every year. I still have some of them!

 

[rainydaze]

Lol! I was friendly with my mail lady too. She was the only one I saw on a regular basis. She was so nice and would hand deliver me my mail instead of dropping it off in the mailbox. We actually exchanged Christmas presents every year. I still have some of them!

Lol, same! He always used a fun knock. We didn't exchange presents, but I would leave him a tip and a nice card. Turns out he was an artist (very sadly he passed in a car accident, hence the past tense) and he would create beautiful thank you notes for me.