House-hunting
Oct. 17th, 2008 10:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
talyenMy basic criteria for a house has been:
near (my current neighborhood/work)
hardwood floors
garage
brick
and my optional criteria has included:
fireplace
pricing so I can keep my car
neighborhood so nice I don't care if I can't keep my car
an extra bathroom
I looked at a house today in the neighborhood next to the one I currently live in that meets all my basic criteria. It also has a comfortable floor plan, wouldn't require any immediate work, and is priced so that I could keep my car and buy a second one for driving around the city. It also has a two-car garage, and a fence, and a working (gas) fireplace.
What are the downsides? It's on a busy-ish street in a cool but varied neighborhood. It's in a good section of the neighborhood, though, and I literally couldn't hear the rush-hour traffic from inside the house with the windows closed. There are little things I can do to improve it on the inside, but nothing major: a bathroom fixture here, a change of paint color there. Maybe improve the window treatments.
I am searching for reasons not to buy it, and the only thing I can come up with is that maybe this house won't improve over time. The owners are certainly not making anything on it since they bought it five years ago, but other owners have. Houses closer to the center of the neighborhood (and off the main street) might be better deals, and I'd have to wait for them to come onto the market.
I am soooo tired of living in an apartment. I just want to find a house and move into it.
near (my current neighborhood/work)
hardwood floors
garage
brick
and my optional criteria has included:
fireplace
pricing so I can keep my car
neighborhood so nice I don't care if I can't keep my car
an extra bathroom
I looked at a house today in the neighborhood next to the one I currently live in that meets all my basic criteria. It also has a comfortable floor plan, wouldn't require any immediate work, and is priced so that I could keep my car and buy a second one for driving around the city. It also has a two-car garage, and a fence, and a working (gas) fireplace.
What are the downsides? It's on a busy-ish street in a cool but varied neighborhood. It's in a good section of the neighborhood, though, and I literally couldn't hear the rush-hour traffic from inside the house with the windows closed. There are little things I can do to improve it on the inside, but nothing major: a bathroom fixture here, a change of paint color there. Maybe improve the window treatments.
I am searching for reasons not to buy it, and the only thing I can come up with is that maybe this house won't improve over time. The owners are certainly not making anything on it since they bought it five years ago, but other owners have. Houses closer to the center of the neighborhood (and off the main street) might be better deals, and I'd have to wait for them to come onto the market.
I am soooo tired of living in an apartment. I just want to find a house and move into it.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-18 03:01 am (UTC)In terms of the possibility of increased value, how long are you thinking about staying in this house? I bought Toad Hall without any thought of appreciation...or notion that I might stay there 20 years. I had a much sharper eye on perceived resale value when shopping for a home in 2004. That doesn't mean I got it right -- the house and property have a lot to recommend them (especially compared to the other houses that were available in my price range), but the town itself is likely to attract fewer buyers than other communities in the area. That played to my advantage when buying, and will likely prove problematic at the other end of the equation.
Is the busy-ish street a kid-friendly one? The fence sounds good. A 2-car garage is a big win in my book, even though I live by myself and have only one car.
Does the house speak to your heart? How many others have you looked at so far...and how long have you been looking? It seems like it's been a few months, but I haven't been keeping close track, just reading your posts as they show up on my LJ feed. How does this house compare to the others you've seen?