Buying a home. Want opinions.

[codex57]

My wife and I are buying a new home. It''s currently being built. However, the time to actually get the loan process is nearly upon us. This makes the decision fairly final and so my wife is getting pretty antsy and nervous about whether we''re making the right choice or not. She''s a little worried about resale, even tho we have no idea when we may do that. So, I was hoping to get some objective opinions from the PS family.

First, what factors do you guys consider to be the most critical when first looking at a house?

Second, do you guys think we should stick with the house we''ve chosen or back out and look for another?

Here''s the description of our house and situation:
The city is expanding like crazy. There are going to be lots of new homes built over the next several years so, for resale purposes, if people want a new home, they''ll be able to find it. Our house is right next to/behind the third of 7 giant housing developments the city has planned. They''re still trying to finish this third development, but for some strange reason, our builder started our little area.

The good news is that it''s right next to that 3rd planned community. You can''t really tell it doesn''t belong. However, we have no HOA fees to pay since we don''t belong. We''re also relatively close to the freeway and major shopping (well, what serves for major shopping in this city). Finally, we love our floorplan. We searched for months before and after we put the deposit down and have yet to find a house with a nicer floorplan. Even houses in the 4000 sq ft range aren''t as open and logically designed as ours.

The bad news is that the city is basically split by a freeway and we''re on the "bad" side. The East side runs up into the hills and is likely the more desirable location. However, looking at the map, it looks like the East side is all built out so any new developments will be on the West side like us. The West side has railroad tracks that run along it. Our neighborhood is far enough away that you can''t hear the trains really. But, they''re going to be building a highway bypass and it''s going to run up along my new neighborhood. The houses across the street from our house are up against the wall that separates the neighborhood from the bypass. The Bypass is going to be a 4 lane road (2 on each side) and looks to be on ground lower than our neighborhood. At most, the same level. There seems to be a ton of space btw where the Bypass would go and the wall blocking in our neighborhood.

Do you think being on the West side and next to the Bypass will turn off a lot of people?

The other major issue is the shape of our yard. We''ve basically got a backyard and a sideyard of approximately the same size. It''s just that both are kind of in the shape of a triangle, where one side extends far away from the house, while the other runs quite close to the house.

!\
! \
!xx\
!xx \
-----\

That''s sort of how my lot looks like, with the x''s being where the house is. The back and side yards are a lot bigger than the pic, but that''s the basic shape. You can fit a smaller sized pool in both yards. You''d just have to rotate it a little.

Think the weird lot is going to turn off a lot of buyers, or would the sheer size be enough to offset the weird shape?

Sorry this is so long, but I appreciate any opinions.

 

[ladykemma]

HOAs have been known to annex neighboring areas, so be careful -- that you may well find yourselves unwitting, unwilling members of a Home Owners Association.

HOAs aren''t that bad, just know who to talk to and how to play the game.

 

[flopkins]

codex - DH and I were discussing similar topics this past weekend, and we found the following NOlo book very helpful in discussing all the options and things you should look for. linkie

Is the lot on the corner? Is that why it''s a weird shape? Personally I would be a tad uncomfortable knowing I would be so close to a freeway bypass, but that''s just me.

 

[codex57]

Apparently, it's a "key lot". It's next to the corner lot so my yard is facing the backyards of about 3 other houses, including the corner one. I looked up the term and apparently a "key lot" is often the most undesirable lot on a street. Not sure by who's standards, which is why I'm asking you guys' opinions.

Yeah, my wife's REAL worried about that bypass. I'm not worried at all because 1) it's a dinky little 4 lane bypass. The main street to the neighborhood is the same size, but without the huge buffer zones and 14 foot retaining walls to block it off; 2) there's not enough money right now to finish it and they haven't even bought all the land needed so who knows if/when it'll be done; and 3) one of my groomsman lives in a house who's backyard is basically the 605 freeway down in LA and it's no big deal. The 605, like most SoCal freeways, is HUGE. However, b/c of the retaining wall separating his neighborhood from the freeway, the noise isn't a big deal. You can sorta hear traffic in his room if you strain(which is in the back of the house), but even in his backyard, the noise isn't a big deal. Out in his front yard, you wouldn't know the freeway was back there. I would be in the house across the street from his so no way would there be any noise.

Still, most people don't have my experience of knowing someone who lives right next to a major freeway. If you guys don't know and are hesitant, we'd like to know that cuz that's how potential buyers would feel.

Being annexed into that development with HOA wouldn't be the end of the world. There are pluses and minuses to it so that I think it washes out. It's supposed to be "prestigious" so my wife wouldn't be totally opposed to that actually happening. I don't like the HOA fees, but the rules would keep my neighbors in line. We're slightly worried our neighbors will be ghetto since these houses are among the more affordable ones. Still, we're talking $400K+ so I doubt they could ever be THAT ghetto.

 

[asscherisme]

OK, honestly, I would never ever buy near a highway. In fact when we were looking to buy (I''m on my 3rd house) a HUGE criteria was could you see or hear the highway. If the answer was yes, we passed on the house.

Also, unless both you and your wife are on board, I would pass. If you buy and have trouble selling, she will be blaming you since she was hesitant to begin with. Its not easy selling a house in good conditions, if you are hestiating before you even close on it thats a red flag.

All of our homes felt right and my husband and I were both on board.

Our current house, my husband did not even see before we closed. We were relocating and he sent me out to buy a house. We had a long list of criteria, school district etc.

I found a house I loved and the first thing my husband asked me was: can you see or hear the highway and does it have a nice large lot for our kids.

As for the train, I did live near a train route on our second house and hated it. We were not too close and I was surprised how much we heard. Those train horns in the middle of the night drove me NUTS. They would wake me up. but to my husband it was like white noise and did not bother him at all. I actually liked the house a lot, and I will tell you that the house sold the day we put it on the market. but it had a great lot and was not close to the highway. It was also (in your words) on the "right" side of town in a great school district.

I think that for a home purchase you should both love the house. Its a HUGE committment. And getting out is not easy if you make a mistake.

I''m sorry to be a downer but you asked for honest opinions.

Here is what we always looked for:

QUIET street (I currently live on a coldesac and LOVE that) and can''t see or hear the highway.

Good schools, really helps resale as well

Nice floor plan that flows well and is easy to keep an eye on the kids

Nice basement, prefereable finished but if not then potential to finish

Central air

NOT electric heat

Nice lot, flat lot and useful back yard

Move in condition, well kept up.

Netural colors are nice but I will tell you my current house had horrible awful wallpaper and paint and I have been gradually removing it and repaiting. I looked past the ugly walls becaus the house had everything else I wanted.

I gotta get off the computer now but hopefully this helped a bit.

Good luck in your decision.

did you put down non refundable money?

My husband and I walked away from a house we had cold feet on and we lost $8,000 but figured it was a tiny amount compared to what we would have lost had we moved in and then tried to turn around and sell it again. Actually, the $8,000 was legal fees. We had a $50,000 builders deposit down and backed out at close because the builder made all sorts of HUGE mistakes while building. He refused to refund our deposit when we would not close. So we SUED him to get our $50,000 back. It went to court and we WON the case and got back our $50,000 but the court did not award us legal fees. Big headache and such a bad experience that I will never ever build another house again.

So as a buyer a big plus to your potential house is that it is already built. I have several friends who also built and said never again. There is something nice to buying a resale insead of new.

 

[jetmal]

ok, my 2 cents here.....

I would pass on this lot. I agree with assherisme...on all points. Mostly the freeway, and the lot size/shape are the things that would bother me most.

Can you still use this builder, and this home floor plan, but find another lot???? If the answer is no, then I would scoop up that floor plan you love so much, and run with it to another builder, or an archetic who can come up with a "copy" (just like we do here on PS!!!)

good luck

 

[asscherisme]

Oh, I forgot to mention, that house near the trains was in Long Island. AND we had a friend who bought a house right off the LIE (Long Island expressway) From the upstairs windows and from their backyard you could see the huge green highway sign. The retaining wall that was there was kind of a joke and useless. They ended up selling and moving to relocate.

When my husband and I first saw the house they already had bought it and in the car driving away we both said to each other, what the heck were they thinking buying so close to the LIE.

Your wife is right to be worried. Highways can be expanded.

On a related note, how sad is it that 400K gets you on the bad side of town. Housing prices are so out of control. But I know what you are saying. for $400K you could not touch a house in our school district either. Makes me worried for my kids. I joke with my husband its a good thing we have a nice big house with a finished basement because the kids willl probably live with us forever LOL.

 

[allycat0303]

Well we just recently bought our first house, so I can tell you what we looked for:

a) Location. We didn't want an apartment complex within a 7 mile radius. We were really looking for suburban, upscale neighborhood.

b) NOT on a busy street, or even within a 9 mile radius of a a highway (although our house is a 13 minute drive from downtown)

We sacrificed a lot of much bigger/less expensive/newer houses to get those two criteria met. After that, we looked for a house of a reasonable age. Ours is a 1975, which is older but there are a lot of 1950's houses in Montreal too.

We barely looked at decor, kitchen, bathroom except to ensure that it was clean and new.

The house we finally bought had been almost completely renovated EXCEPT everything is totally NOT my style. The kitchen/bathrooms are ultra modern. However, since it was our first house, and we KNOW we are going to sell it when I finish school, I decided it was a good compromise to make because I realize that the house was a terrific price. And it's pefect for us for now.

I can tell you though, that my next (final) house will either be built for us according to specifications, or I'm going to make my boy crazy trying to find every single feature that I want. I'm lenient with a starter house, but for the final product I'm not going to compromise.

But for your situation. I would NEVER buy near a highway. I wouldn't even consider it if the house was inexpensive because it's something that you can't change and it's bound to become annoying. I would consider looking around a little bit, a house is a really big purchase, so there's nothing lost in checking other options.

Good luck!

 

[fire&ice]

...hum having trouble posting...

What I said

Don't know about the nuiances of CA real estate - but the most important factors in real estate are LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

Personally, I would buy the crappiest house in the finest of locations.

 

[codex57]

Good stuff, good stuff. I appreciate all the honesty.

I''ve been to the areas that are next to the freeway that''s currently open. You can''t see or hear the freeway. You CAN hear and even FEEL the railroad track that''s right next to it.

If I pass, that leaves us with a dilemna. Where would we buy? Rent for another few years until some new area pops up? Right now, even tho the market is slowing, the homes in the better location are about $200K more. And they''re not really all that far away.

However, we love this floorplan. Everything we''ve seen, including those that cost far more, sucks in comparison. We only found one other good floorplan, but it''s close to those stupid railroad tracks and the freeway that actually exists currently + you have to pay HOA and other taxes. There was a plan that we like, but don''t love completely, on the good side of town up in the hills, but it costs $400K more. Seriously overkill for a first home.

That''s what''s hard. If we ditch this one, I don''t know where we would go. A future freeway really bothers you guys that much? I don''t even know if we''ll even be in this house by the time it''s done. At my parents house where I grew up, the two freeway projects near us took 15 and 20 years to finish. I also refuse to be that far from a freeway. Too much SoCal in me. I need freeways within a reasonable distance. 9 miles is not reasonable to me. 5 is severely pushing it.

 

[Mara]

codex...we've owned our townhouse for 3 years now and we have learned a few things since then. not sure how long you plan to stay in this house, but think about the future or rather your future. we knew we did not want to stay here for longer than 5-7 years so things like school district was not an issue for us...nor was having a great surburban area for 'kids' or whatever. we bought in a transitional area and the area around us is growing like mad too. so much has happened in the 3 years we have been there, and lots more is slated to happen in the next 3 years as well. we bought this place because we loved it and it was kind of dumb luck really.

first off, if you are going to live in the house for any serious amount of time aka 5-10 years, then the floorplan IS very important. you live in the house and you should love it if you are paying the mortgage, taxes, HOA etc on it. for me a yard/lot is important but not AS important as the inside of the house for us both to love it. it would bother us if we didn't love our house and yet had to pay a mint to live in it every month. for us things like floorplan, livability, creature comforts kind of thing are important.

in terms of resale, it's hard to 'predict' what is going to be desirable by the time you sell. does your lot have any sort of cool view or a view that not many other houses have? we lucked into this one because we are the only house in our complex that has great views both out the front and the back. so we have a unique model and we didn't even realize it since they did not allow us into the house until we had bought it! the painter said 'fabulous view' and we were like 'whaaa?'. we also have a partial view of downtown but the new building is obscuring that as well now. we also have an end unit which is much more desirable than inside units, and there is one end unit on the end of each building whereas there are 3-5 inside units for every 2 of ours. so our end units are more in demand than the inside ones. we knew we just wanted an end unit, not WHY. but now we are happy we have one.

the freeway thing might kind of bother me, but if you can't SEE it then i wouldn't worry about it so much. one idea though that we suggest, we did this when we were looking since our places were very close to the train station...we went over at midnight when the house was being built and we stood next to it and we listened. what sort of night noises do you hear? anything that might keep you from sleeping? the train noises for us were mild and rather soothing and we just heard them late at night. but since then they have build another complex between us and the train station so we don't even hear that anymore. is there other planned development around you which may negate the freeway noise even more? also if the area is already packed then the freeway housing may not be a big deal at all, in our area there are tons of things going up near freeways. i would probably not want to live there personally, but people ARE snapping them up because housing is still scarce.

anyway...bottom line for us is that resale is all fine and nice, to think about it i mean, but you are going to live in this house, so buy if you love the house, the floorplan, the lot, the community, the neighborhood. buy because you want to be THERE and not because you hope it's going to make you a mint in 10 years or whatever. good luck!!

ETA...oh and if you can check out planned development for around that area. there are some things that may be even more positive than you expected. there is going to be a whole foods going up in 2008 a few blocks from our places and we are so excited! our value is already high but that would be even better. they have also put in a drugstore and other retail shops near us. it just keeps getting more urban which is a positive for couples like us who want to move INTO the area eventually. it's interesting to see online what is going up near you and most cities have their planned development somewhere on their websites.

 

[JulieN]

Date: 8/10/2006 11:49:22 AM
Author: codex57
Too much SoCal in me. I need freeways within a reasonable distance. 9 miles is not reasonable to me. 5 is severely pushing it.

Yup. I live like 2 miles away from the 91 and a mile away from the railroad. I used to hear the whistles at night, but it was very diffuse and I didn''t notice it after a while. I suspect living by the freeway is the same-you get used to it.

 

[asscherisme]

OH YES, the freeway would be a deal breaker for me. So would the train. And the combo, lethal for my husband and me.

I grew up right outside DC and HAD to be near the beltway but not on top of it. We lived about 1 1/2 miles away which was great because we were super close to hop on anytime we wanted but not within sight or hearing distance of it. And no where near trains.

 

[allycat0303]

Codex57,

I read your post over carefully to try and imagine it. So basically your more worried because it''s on the west side which is a less desireable location? I don''t think that is an issue as long as your neighborhood and those around you have similar houses/condos (i.e you don''t have to pass through a seedy area to get to your home)

Well if you can''t hear/ see/feel the highway (or the train) then I don''t think it''s going to be an issue for most buyers. Although from your post it seems that you are going to be across the street from the wall of the bypass. And that for me would be an issue.

However, if the floorplan is perfect and it''s exactly what you want then I think it would be a good idea to get some sort of time frame for how long you are going to stay there. If you are planning 15 years and the potential freeway doesn''t get to you, then go for it.

If you are going to stay there for 5-6 years and are hoping to resell it, then I''d be a little selective. Is it possible to get a home in the same neighborhood but so you are not facing the house that borders the potential freeway? So kind of like getting the house right behind yours?

-----> From your post it confuses me if you are buying a stand alone house, or if you are buying a townhouse. In Canada HOA fees are for condos or townhouses. So the only little thing I''ve noticed is that I''ve visited a couple of townhouses that didn''t have HOA fees, and what happens is that sometimes you get a neighbor that doesn''t maintain(or chooses strange colors) for their house. And then that can affect the resale value of your house if you get the townhouse right next to yours where the owers don''t take care of their house. But I could be mixing up terms, and you''re getting a stand alone house.

I''m sure you know best. It''s the pre-buying jitters because it''s the first time. Even after we bought our house, I was still making sure we got a good deal by checking listings in our area regularly. I look every 2 months...so far I''m thrilled all thought if I see a better house................

 

[pinkflamingo]

I think the combination of the key lot, the trains and the highway would be a deal breaker for me. The house will most likely not appreciate as much as other parts of the neighborhood due to the location. Maybe a few streets over, it would be less of an issue, but if your comps are going to be houses that back up to a freeway, the value of your house may shoot down.

We found a lot of beautiful homes near the tracks. When I say NEAR the tracks, I mean within 1/2-1 mile. We live just over 2 miles from the tracks and can still hear them, but quietly, and they don't wake us up. They blast the horns in the middle of the night, and there are all sorts of petitions going around to stop the night whistles, but reality is that it is a safety issue and it will cost tax payers millions to build safe/ no whistle crossings on all the cross streets.

I would maybe look into an older home. I am not a fan of a lot of the newer homes being built these days. Friends and realtors have had endless problems with construction quality. We looked specifically for an older well maintained home. (1987 and we are the second owners).

Also, I need to say that if your wife isn't on board with this- and you are about to shell 400K into this, I would seriously reconsider. we bought our house last year but prices have really skyrocketed around here and we got such an awesome low mortgage that I really don't see us moving for a loooong time. Maybe if the interest rates fall again. It is more likely we would put an addition on the house someday, or add a pool once our 5 year old is older. Moving is such hard work and really, I think you need to find someplace you will be happy longterm. I think finding another great floorplan would be relatively easy. jmho

 

[aljdewey]

Codex, I''m one of those who doesn''t worry a great deal about the highway. In fact, I find it rather convenient to be located right off the highway. As you can see below, my house is where the pink dot is......end of a dead-end street, and we''re next to a highway that''s 3 lanes in each direction. We''re about 400 meters from it. I don''t think I''d care to be on the street that abuts the highway, but one street further over is fine.

If we are on the back porch, any noise from the highway at all just sounds like wind rustling through trees. It''s not distracting at all. Our neighborhood is beautifully quiet.

I''ll emphatically echo what F&I said.....that location is the primary thing, because it''s the only thing you can''t change if you don''t like it. You can get that floor plan elsewhere, but you can''t change the surroundings once you''re there.

I think that just like diamonds, a couple''s need really determine how they choose. We don''t have (and won''t) have children, so we didn''t want to live in a town where a high percentage of tax dollars were needed to support schools we won''t use.

I''ll echo Mara, too.....how you choose will really determine what your imagined plan is. If you are only going to be there for 5-7 years, then the highway that might eventually happen isn''t likely as big a concern as it would be if you were going to be 30-year residents. If, however, construction starts next year and you want to be out in 5-7 years, then it''s a big consideration---prospective buyers will have a harder time envisioning the home of their dreams in the midst of a construction zone.

My advice: buy something that you love enough that if it doesn''t sell as quickly as you''d hope, you''d be okay staying there for a while longer until it does.

 

[codex57]

Thanks again for all the input.

I imagine we''ll be here 5-10 years. My wife is thinking 2 yrs, but I don''t see how that''s quite realistic. She also wants to buy a rental in 2 years in the bay area (a place where a home half the size of ours goes for twice as much... literally, since 2 of her friends just bought).

As for HOAs, yes, they''re typically associated with condos/townhomes. However, certain communities (usually gated) also have them to help pay for the gates, security, community pool/center, etc. The city we''ll move in is planning on 7 planned communities. Most of them will have HOA fees. We''re right next to the 3rd one being built, but since we aren''t part of it, we can''t use their stupid pool/gym or be subject to all the restrictions they have. No biggie.

I only say "bad" part of town b/c the East side runs up into the foothills so they get views. Accordingly, the homes also run about $100-200K more for approximately the same square footage. There''s really no "bad" part of town in it being seedy.

There are also no "old" homes to look at. "Old" around here means either 5-10 years old, or these tiny little 1300 sq ft cute little homes that''s in the city''s "downtown." I''m thinking 1940''s for these homes? I have no desire to live in the really old homes.

There are 2 other bordering cities that make up this little region. The prices in those two cities are, again, $100-200K for the same square footage. In the best city, the homes in our price range drop to the 2000 sq ft range and are RIGHT up around the railroad tracks. Again, old is either 10 yrs old, or practically historic and not in a part of town we''d like. All overpriced IMO, and especially compared to the brand new house we''re considering. This whole region was pretty much dirt until about 10-5 years ago.

Waiting about half a year would get us the same floor plan around the corner. Lot would be better, but the freeway would still be about 6 houses further than our current house. I can''t see how comps would really be any different. Also, I''m not convinced the freeway will even be done in 5-10 years. Best case scenario has it done in 6 years. That''s assuming the city can come up with $50 Million (in today''s dollars and current construction costs) more and buy out a bunch of land from the current private owners.

Mara brought up an interesting point about having a "view." The east side gets the cool views she was talking about since they''re up higher (some of the houses). However, the one advantage of my weird lot is that the home will have a nice view into the big side yard as well, instead of the fence like all the other lots. I''m getting the feeling that the lot isn''t a real deal breaker and depending on how it''s done and the person, it can be a good or bad thing.

The main breaking point seems to be this future highway. And yes, directly across the street, those houses will have the bypass behind them.

 

[codex57]

Date: 8/10/2006 2:29:45 PM
Author: aljdewey

My advice: buy something that you love enough that if it doesn't sell as quickly as you'd hope, you'd be okay staying there for a while longer until it does.

Hmmm, good advice to think about. If we're forced to stay there, it would be fine. Wife's just getting jitters cuz we're talking a LOT of money. So, she's worried about stuff like "what if we need to sell really quickly in case of some emergency?" Note the fact that neither of us has a job where we could get transferred.

I'm going to try and attach a pic of the neighborhood. We're lot 121. It looks like there's going to be grass, open field, and minor vegetation btw the actual freeway road and our neighborhood. In about 4-6 months, they'll build out to lot 129 (or so) or 144, which is the next time our floorplan would be available in an ok plot.

Oh, one advantage of our current location (instead of waiting to see what gets built in the future or being on the East side) is that we're right next to what counts as the major shopping district in this city.

 

[codex57]

Here''s a pic of the neighborhood. Area''s so new, the online mapping places don''t have all the streets/neighborhoods yet.

Anyways, the red square should be where my house will be. My ugly yellow line is where the future freeway bypass will be. It''s going to be the same size (in lanes) as the yellow colored street (the Pkwy) that Yahoo Maps drew out. I guess the Pkwy counts as the major road in the area. Houses run up along it and people seem to drive nearly freeway speeds on it (even tho the speed limit is 35).

 

[allycat0303]

Codex,

It sounds like pre-buying jitters to me. When we bought our house it is being paid for on my boyfriend''s salary alone because I''m in school. So I worried about "What if you lose your job?" It was constant. I was attached to a calculator for like 2 weeks before. My boyfriend said that we would survive WW3 the way I was putting money aside. We bought a much less expensive house then he could afford and we have 1.5 year of mortgage payments in reserve (just in case) as well as our savings. That helped a lot because I''m a true worrier. I get comfort in the fact that we never have to worry about mortgage.

For you, even if one of you gets transferred it doesn''t mean you have to sell that quickly. If the market is in a huge downward turn, you could always rent the house for a while until the market is better or you find a buyer. And since you have solid jobs, it''s a non-issue. If the house looks good, the floor plan is good then I would jump. It sounds as though you''ve thought it through (and thought it through again, and again

) and it''s the best solution. I think with starter homes, sometimes you need to make a little compromise. And for the sound of it, it''s only the freeway that''s the compromise. Everything else seems to be a non-issue, so just concentrate on making sure it the freeway won''t be an issue for you.

PS. Got drawings?? I love seeing different style houses in the US, they have such different styles then the one Canada

 

[Allisonfaye]

Here is my point of view on buying a house with a potential location issue. Possibly the proposed freeway doesn''t bother you, but if you were hesitant to consider purchasing, you can bet others will be too when you go to resell it in however many years. You effectively eliminate a percentage of the pool of potential buyers.

Secondly, am I correct in that there has been little or no construction yet in this new planned community? That would concern me as well because you can look at something on paper but you will not know until the entire neighborhood or a good portion of it is completed how nice the area will be.

I will even use us as an example. Our neighborhood was well established. The government owned a naval air station in a suburb of Chicago which was sold to developers. It is a pretty nice area and some of the homes go for as high (not on our side) as $2.5 m. Our street was the last one to be completed and there were no houses backing us yet. When they eventually did complete the house behind us, I was shocked to see the size our backyard. I hate it. I want to move after less than two years.

Good luck with whatever you decide.


I realize you are going to be on a bigger lot so that probably isn''t an issue but these are the kinds of things you don''t necessarilly thing of when an entire area is under construction.

 

[divergrrl]

Codex:

There are 3 rules in real estate:

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.


Buying on the West Side for you might be a good option, IF: The new areas are going to be bought by homeowners and not primarily by investors (this is happening in Phoenix & its driving costs up artificially---and then you have too many rentals & it drives the value down some) and if the new area is up & coming, then you will find yourself getting into it early, and making a good investment.

If you''ll be able to hear the freeway, that''s a bad thing. Some friends of mine have a very expensive house in a chi-chi subdivison & you can''t even hear yourself think in their backyard. It''s terrible & they are having a hard time selling because of it. Other than that, their house is fantastic.

My husband and I had a philosophy when we bought our place in 1999. Buy in "the" most desirable area, in the best neighborhood we could afford (in the best established school district) and don''t buy the most expensive or largest house. Then we sat on it for a few years, did some remodeling, an addition, and voila...6.5 years later our house is worth 4.5 times what we bought it for.

Now we have a tank of a 102 year old house (built solid & strong--no old home surprises) and we added 1600 sq feet onto it & did a full kitchen remodel (and new plumbing, electrical, & hvac for the whole house) for the price of $75 per square foot (DH acted as GC and did about half the work himself) in an area where homes are going for $200 to $250 a sq foot. So we got a big (3200 sq ft) house for a little house price, and yeah, we lived in a construction zone for 2.5 years, but it was worth it. I''ve got 1/3 of an acre on a dead end street..I''m the last house, and I''m in a killer zip code. For about half of what it would have cost me to buy new.

And we did it with a baby.

But if you don''t have the stomach for that kind of life (living with drywall dust up your nose for months..it is hard--but we live for that stuff..I swear, I married Bob the Builder--but he didn''t know how to do that stuff before we started) you can still look for a new home (ahhh..modern conveniences..there are definite advantages) in a great neighborhood...but just make sure that the location is one that will have growth in the right direction--go the city or county offices & find out what projects have been approved in your area---and that there is no obvious detraction from value. Flag lots, key lots, the freeway noise is a big one.

But most of all...if you fall in love....go ahead and buy. We fell in love....really bad red brick with hearts linoleum and all (its now travertine stone floors...but ahh...I fondly remember that nasty floor) and now I''m in a house I can live in for the next 40 years.


Good luck!

Jeannine

 

[divergrrl]

One more thing...you did not say if you have kids or not..but should a baby pop into your future, you and your wife will want to strangle the train that wakes the baby that **finally** went to sleep after a sleepless night or whatever.

While I''ve never created a quiet home for my son (wanted to condition him to sleeping through anything...since being in the womb is equivalent to the decible level of a vacuum cleaner being on for 9 months straight) he will wake up if something very loud rattles the house...like accidentally setting off the house alarm etc.



Jeannine

 

[codex57]

The fencing on our yard is half done. That's why the strange lot size question came up. We're undecided if it's a good thing or not once we see it finished. Friends don't seem to think it's a big deal. One even came up with the brilliant point that the narrow end of the yard makes it easy to put up a fence to cut off a pool, so you don't have to have a huge fence around a pool. Or, it's a good place to fence off dogs, etc.

They look about 1/3 of the way done in our neighborhood. However, the planned community right next to us looks about 80% done. I'm not too worried how this section of the city is going to turn out. It's looking gorgeous right now. The first 2 planned communities in this city turned out stunning. I'm prolly giving it away, but I heard on the radio recently that this city was the fastest growing in California or something like that. The city planners have done a great job so far.

We initially weren't hesitant. We were sold when we first saw the house cuz we LOVE this floorplan. It's just pre-mortgage jitters right now cuz it's a LOT of money we're talking about. We're prolly weird in this, but we've only financed one thing before and that was just a TV. We're not very comfortable with the idea of debt. I guess you can say we live well within our means.

Thanks for mentioning a baby, Jeannine. No kids now, but we're planning on starting in the very near future. The train isn't an issue. That's why we bought in this neighborhood. My parents' first house was apparently under the flight path of an airport and it drove them nuts cuz the airplanes would wake me up. So, one of the first things we did was to wait for the train to blow it's stupid whistle and see if we could hear it. It's pretty faint and I don't think it'll be a problem where we are. Even in the homes next to the train/existing freeway, the freeway noise was not noticeable. Like I said, it's this dinky thing that you can hardly call a freeway. The train, tho, that thing can be murder if you're too close.

 

[codex57]

Date: 8/10/2006 4:01:18 PM
Author: allycat0303

PS. Got drawings?? I love seeing different style houses in the US, they have such different styles then the one Canada

This is the model. My house will look just like this (color and everything), just in a mirror image. The right side of the image, where the two doors are, is where the garage will be.

 

[allycat0303]

Codex,

Very nice! Is the exterior stucco? I love stucco although it''s really, really rare around montreal. We have mostly brick and marble-like stone. Very old house (1940''s are usually in aluminum). In any case it looks lovely!

 

[codex57]

Yup, stucco. I think most new houses in California pretty much are stucco unless it''s a custom home. It''s either stucco or some kind of siding. Brick may be illegal in Cali now cuz of our earthquakes.

The last stucco layer should be applied either today or early next week.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

haha DO NOT buy a house near a freeway/bypass, etc. DH and I got a transitional home that we bought and remodeled and now are renting out. It's near a freeway and it's unbelievably noisy. NONE of the neighbors ever go outside. We had to install soundproofing b/c our renter couldn't sleep due to the noise! (what may seem like a small road may grow before you know it. I can say, without a doubt, you WILL regret purchasing that house!)

 

[jetmal]

beautiful home codex! love the pic!

I live about 1/2-1 mile from the freeway....a 6 lane(3 on each side). And I most definetly hear it! Its not terrible....but its there. Its just kind of like a distant humming, white noise.
I wouldn''t move away just becuz of that...but it would be nice to not hear it. I notice it most while lying in bed....with the windows SHUT, and the air condition ON....its still there.

Now, I live about 1/2 mile from a train track too! And I absolutely HATE it! Actually there are several tracks in my city...and no matter where in my city one lives, you will hear at least one of the trains. It is sooo obnoxiously loud, especially at 4 am when it wakes me up every day! We''ve been here for 2 yrs and I still can''t get used to it. My DH on the other hand never has a problem sleeping. But, when you are outside on the patio, or on the phone...gees, its bad. Tried to get a quiet zone here as well, and its like 10 million dollars to get it done, and the alderperson said forget it, no way is the city gonna approve it, and if they did it for ours, then all the others would need it too, blah blah blah
I dont know why the conductor gets his jollies off blowing the horn 6 LLLOOOONNNGGG times before he crosses, but they do it like that all the time.
the sad thing is , is that over the past 6 months, 3 people have committed suicide on the tracks......so, whether they blow the stupid horn, or not, it really doesnt matter.
if people want to kill themselves, they''ll do it anyway unfortunately.

I looked at your subdivision plat.....does it bother you that you will essentially be butting up next to like 4 other yards??? I''ve lived in 3 homes, and at one of them , it was a circle....all the yards meet up with each other in the back....I absolutely hated it. You could never go outside and have any type of privacy..the whole neighborhood could see you. I know fencing is an option, and thats great, but unless your fence is over 6 ft tall, it doesnt take care of it all. We just put up a 6 ft fence a month ago, and while it helps...it doesnt give us the total privacy we would like.

not trying to talk you out of anything, or give you mor to worry about....just telling you about my experiences....giving you some food for thought.

 

[codex57]

Please, don''t hold back. All these these food for thought is exactly what I''m looking for. I can get sooo many people''s opinions. Most of my friends aren''t homeowners yet so I can''t ask them. I''d just appreciate as much detail as possible so I can tell how closely your experience will mirror mine.

Yeah, that''s why I brought up the "key lot" term. It butts up against so many yards. It doesn''t bother me too much, but I''m more interested how it bothers other people.

I guess the backyards butting up don''t bother me too much cuz I fail to see how it''s that different than any other lot. Sure an extra house or two can look into my yard, but if it''s not totally private, then I don''t see too much of a difference. The fencing in this area are all 6 foot tall wood fencing that completely blocks in your yard (it''s not that open metal fencing you see in the model pic). Unless you''re well over 6 feet, you can''t see into your neighbors yard if you''re in the yard. However, if you have a 2 story house, then you can see into your neighbors yard. But, the lot next to me has a "regular" lot and it''s the same thing there. Anyone with a 2 story house across from them is going to be able to see into their yard. Including me. That''s why I need a little help understanding why it''s considered so bad.