First Time Homeowner! Need advice!

[angiety2k]

Hi ladies I have a question about how did you know the house was for you? Me and my FI have been looking for about two months now and he has found a house that he loves but I don''t like it. Should I be in love with the house when I first walk in? Or did you go with the more reasonable aspect? Help!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I don''t believe in love at first sight....men or otherwise

I think you have to go with an open mind. Remember paint, flooring, lighting, appliances, etc can all be changed. Make sure you like the 3 Ls. Lot, location and layout. It is a buyers market in most places. Good luck!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 5/6/2008 11:14:34 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
I don''t believe in love at first sight....men or otherwise

I think you have to go with an open mind. Remember paint, flooring, lighting, appliances, etc can all be changed. Make sure you like the 3 Ls. Lot, location and layout. It is a buyers market in most places. Good luck!

I agree that it should have good bones and location is super important. We agreed on a house together and the ones one of did not like we did not pick. I had a list of must have features in the house so you might want to have those written down. Happy shopping

 

[Aloros]

I agree with Tacori. Try to ignore the surface aspects and look for a house with good "bones". Maybe you and your FI should make a list of must haves, want to haves, and must NOT haves.

 

[krispi]

I would look for something that has the right mixture of layout, location, and budget for finishes. Any house can technically be made to be what you want in the long run, but what is it going to cost you? Simple things like paint or countertops aren''t that expensive, but if it''s the ENTIRE house it does start to add up quickly. You don''t have to love it when you first see it, as long as it can be made into something that will suit you AND fit within your budget.

 

[angiety2k]

We do have a list of must haves. And this is the house he likes so I put a yes or no by them

o Must Haves
• Location / Resale value - YES
• Parking- YES
• Nice Kitchen- NO
• Medium to large yard- YES
• 3 bedrooms or two bedroom with man room- YES
• Noise-NO

o Things we can live without
• Remodeled Bathroom- YES
• Formal dining room- YES
• Dishwasher- NO
• Hardwood floors- NO
• Mia Room-MAYBE
• Fireplace-NO
• Guest room-YES

The only problem the house he loves has a really old kitchen, and I would like a cute kitchen at least.

We are taking a look at some more houses tomorrow, thank you ladies I am somewhat relieved I don''t have to love it at first sight!

 

[angiety2k]

Date: 5/6/2008 11:30:22 AM
Author: krispi
I would look for something that has the right mixture of layout, location, and budget for finishes. Any house can technically be made to be what you want in the long run, but what is it going to cost you? Simple things like paint or countertops aren''t that expensive, but if it''s the ENTIRE house it does start to add up quickly. You don''t have to love it when you first see it, as long as it can be made into something that will suit you AND fit within your budget.

Thanks for mentioning this we agreed if we bought this house we would redo the kitchen. For the price of the home I think is its so expensive to be putting a new kitchen in. And I would want it as soon as possible and I also need to buy a car here sometime in summer. Needless to say I cant take any vacations this summer

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Depends on what type of kitchen you want. You can be creative...paint cabs, get inexpensive formica counter tops, new hardware, DYI tile, paint....it''s doable. The nice thing about owning a house is you CAN do improvements OVER time. Nothing is than owning a home IMHO

 

[anniee19]

I don''t have much advice to offer, but I have a similar story! I recently bought a house with my bf and we looked and looked and looked. We couldn''t find anything that we loved, but once we upped our price range just a little bit, my bf fell in love with a house. It definitly was not love at first sight for me, and I had a hard time seeing anything but the negatives. We mulled it over for about a week, until our realtor said we had to act fast due to another offer made. We ended up putting in an offer and got the house, and now, only 3 months later, I am in love with this house and couldn''t imagine living elsewhere. I think it is definitly what you make it, and it makes a huge difference to have your own stuff there!

 

[Pandora II]

I have seen a gazillion properties recently and have liked 2 of which one I LOVED. Sadly it''s on the top floor which is a bit too many stairs for my back and there''s no lift.

The main criteria we are going for is:

Location
Layout & Room Sizes
Great Views

I can look past decor very quickly and actually prefer something that needs ripping out and redoing. I don''t like to pay a premium for a new kitchen or bathroom that I hate and will feel I can''t justify the expense of ripping it out.

I do sometimes walk into a house and just get a bad feeling - I don''t think I could buy a house like that even if it ticked all the boxes. I would probably take another look just to check though!

 

[swingirl]

Think of the things you can easily change -- paint, decorating, landscaping, windows, appliances, lighting

The things you can change but it''s more difficult/expensive -- floor plan, kitchen, bathrooms, size

And the things you cannot change -- location, neighbors, placement on the block, school system, shopping, angle to the sun, style of house

 

[appletini]

DH and I looked at houses for a year before we finally found *the one*, and in the end it was totally worth the wait. Location was very important in addition we were also very particular about how the immediate neighbors houses looked, if it didnt look like they maintained their curb appeal, we didnt want to live next door to people like that. The house we bough had hardwoods, newly remodeled kitchen, all appliances, and while it did need to personalized with paint, new doors, and hardware, it has a great floorplan. When you know, you know!

 

[angiety2k]

When I walked in the house that FI loves It almost feels creepy to me like something is wrong. Yes the kitchen is bad but thats not why I have that feeling.

Tomorrow we are looking at a very cute cape cod three bedrooms one bath. There is hardwood floors under the carpets, a large sun room and all the rooms are spacious in size. oh yeah and the master bedroom is on the first floor! The yard is huge! A Garage just the whole nine yards!

The kitchen is older but nothing a little paint can do.....but now for the best for last NO neighbors which is great for outside Pittsburgh!! whoot whoot

Hopefully this one works out it just came on the market and its a steal of a price!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Good luck! Hope it is your dream house.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Having a list of musts and must nots is the best way to start.

My husband and I found that looking and looking at houses (we did this for MONTHS!!) helps a person become more atune to what you like and don''t like, more right away. It wasn''t absolute love at first sight when we found our house, but we both had a good feeling about it and noted that it had almost every "want" on our list. The things like colors are hard for Paul to look over, but for me, I can see the kitchen in the green I''m dreaming of already. So, the "bones" theory is very much the right thing to be looking at when you''re trying to determine if the home has the right "feel" for you and your family. Colors and decor can be changed. Structure is a harder thing to change out.

Good luck!

Cape cods became one of our favorite types of home during our search!! They are so cute!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Yes, you should absolutely LOVE the house you buy! Why spend that much money and not be enamored?

 

[Haven]

Date: 5/6/2008 9:44:19 PM
Author: MC
Yes, you should absolutely LOVE the house you buy! Why spend that much money and not be enamored?

I agree with MC. This is a large purchase--I wanted to LOVE my engagement ring, and our new house cost more than twenty times as much as the ring!

That being said, I knew I loved the house the moment I walked in. It took my FI at least a month to warm up to it. After looking at nearly 70 homes, we discovered that it was VERY difficult to find a house that we both loved.

 

[miraclesrule]

I can''t say enough about those who recommend "Good Bones". That is one thing I overlooked and feel in love with a house and the feel just because it was one of the few that I could stand to look at during my initial walk through. Big mistake.

Had I been more experienced I would have realized that the bones of the house could never accomodate what I would eventually need, unless i bulldozed the thing down and started over. So my advice is to really think about the layout and fundamentals, and not the surface aspects that are cheap to makeover.

I now refer to myself as a "homemoaner". Don''t let this happen to you.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 5/6/2008 9:51:17 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 5/6/2008 9:44:19 PM

Author: MC

Yes, you should absolutely LOVE the house you buy! Why spend that much money and not be enamored?

I agree with MC. This is a large purchase--I wanted to LOVE my engagement ring, and our new house cost more than twenty times as much as the ring!


That being said, I knew I loved the house the moment I walked in. It took my FI at least a month to warm up to it. After looking at nearly 70 homes, we discovered that it was VERY difficult to find a house that we both loved.

I disagree. Like I said before I think you can make a house your home with cosmetic changes. Sometimes you need to have some creative thinking and elbow grease. I might be in the minority but I RATHER buy a fixer upper. That way we can fix it to EXACTLY our taste.

 

[cara]

Date: 5/6/2008 10:59:41 PM
Author: miraclesrule
I now refer to myself as a ''homemoaner''. Don''t let this happen to you.

That''s awesome.
(as a phrase, not a predicament)

I''m just a homeluster so far, so have nothing to over but good wishes! (and realism - it takes a lot to fix up old homes, so make sure that you are appropriately discounting the beauty with the future work involved!)

 

[Haven]

Date: 5/7/2008 1:21:57 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring

Date: 5/6/2008 9:51:17 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 5/6/2008 9:44:19 PM

Author: MC

Yes, you should absolutely LOVE the house you buy! Why spend that much money and not be enamored?

I agree with MC. This is a large purchase--I wanted to LOVE my engagement ring, and our new house cost more than twenty times as much as the ring!


That being said, I knew I loved the house the moment I walked in. It took my FI at least a month to warm up to it. After looking at nearly 70 homes, we discovered that it was VERY difficult to find a house that we both loved.

I disagree. Like I said before I think you can make a house your home with cosmetic changes. Sometimes you need to have some creative thinking and elbow grease. I might be in the minority but I RATHER buy a fixer upper. That way we can fix it to EXACTLY our taste.

I don''t understand how you disagree, Tacori--it sounds like you believe that loving your home and buying a fixer-upper are mutually exclusive. Maybe YOU can''t love a home that is a fixer-upper, but I certainly can. I think you didn''t understand what I was trying to say. It was this: I think you should love something that costs several hundred thousand dollars. Period.

The home we just bought isn''t a fixer-upper, but I would have loved it if it was because I love the layout and the location. The current homeowners could have slapped busy floral wallpaper on every wall and shag carpeting on the floors and I would still love it, because it''s the space that matters, not the dressing.

As a homebuyer, I think that location, layout, and the structural soundness are the most important things about a home. These things cannot be changed. The wallpaper, flooring, roof, exterior--all that can be updated to suit your tastes, so for me, these things matter less. We happened to find a home that had tasteful decor in addition to a great layout and PERFECT location, so it''s an added bonus that we don''t have to redo all of the painting and flooring.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Haven, sorry I misunderstood you. I thought you meant it was important to be in love and 100% happy with a home. Like I said before, Lot, layout, location...but I didn''t want the OP to dismiss a home b/c of bad wallpaper or outdated appliances KWIM? The last home we bought was a foreclosure and SCARY but we made it perfect for us.

 

[angiety2k]

I just came back from the house! I was able to look past the wallpaper on the ceilings

and the hardware on the cabinets. I LOVE the layout of the home and the lot size its so perfect. We are hoping to put in a offer in this weekend!!

 

[Haven]

Date: 5/7/2008 5:45:08 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Haven, sorry I misunderstood you. I thought you meant it was important to be in love and 100% happy with a home. Like I said before, Lot, layout, location...but I didn''t want the OP to dismiss a home b/c of bad wallpaper or outdated appliances KWIM? The last home we bought was a foreclosure and SCARY but we made it perfect for us.

Oh, I totally know what you mean, Tacori. I just wanted to clarify because it was obvious I hadn''t said enough in my original post.

I actually think it would be a lot of funto find a home that has the layout, lot, and location that you want (completely agree with you there) but needs an interior makeover--I''d love to have the opportunity to make all those choices, what fun!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

EricsP, good luck! So glad you found a house you both love.

Haven, actually our current "dream house" was a foreclosure too (but in good shape as they tried to sell it on the mls last min.) The owners of our previous one were...let''s just say angry and spiteful. (Lots of holes, missing knobs, ripped up drywall, stained carpets, etc...but good for us b/c we got it for a song b/c the condition scared many people away). I rather things be so bad/ugly you have to change them then okay and feel guilty spending money to change them. I love picking out my own finishes. Oh the plans we have for our current house...will take decades. Haha!

 

[angiety2k]

We are putting the offer in hopefully tonight!!! I am so nervous but hopefully we will get it and I can start ripping down the wallpaper

 

[krispi]

Awesome, congratulations!

I''m glad that you waited and didn''t make an offer on the first house. I made that mistake when I was house hunting last fall. I put in an offer on a house that was in a great neighborhood and had a good layout, but it was at the top of my price range and needed more work that I could really take on. It was so stressful trying to back out of that offer after I found my current house. I did have to settle for something a bit smaller, but it was in perfect move in condition, and I couldn''t be happier now!

 

[angiety2k]

Date: 5/9/2008 9:41:27 AM
Author: krispi
Awesome, congratulations!


I''m glad that you waited and didn''t make an offer on the first house. I made that mistake when I was house hunting last fall. I put in an offer on a house that was in a great neighborhood and had a good layout, but it was at the top of my price range and needed more work that I could really take on. It was so stressful trying to back out of that offer after I found my current house. I did have to settle for something a bit smaller, but it was in perfect move in condition, and I couldn''t be happier now!

I am also glad we waited! Thanks to you ladies! We put in the offer in last night hopefully they will take it. Does any one know how long it could take for them to let me know??? Hopefully soon I want it so bad!

 

[krispi]

Typically, when you submit an offer there''s a clause that gives the sellers a timeframe in which to respond. They could accept (hopefully) or counter offer (which would give you a time to think about it and respond). If you don''t hear from them within your specified time frame, then your offer is considered null and there is no obligation on either side. Do you have a copy of your offer to see what it says? Usually the time periods aren''t that long, like a day or two.

Good luck! I remember how stressfull it all was when I was in the middle of it. But it''s so worth it now!

 

[angiety2k]

Are agent put until 8pm. But she also said they don''t have to response if they don''t want to during that time period.