how did you know this was the one?

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Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Moving/ Relocating

How did you know this was the one?

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amother

Sun, Jan 20 2013, 11:34 pm

Assuming you have some budget constraints and didn't custom build your home or apartment, how did you know your house was the one to buy?

No place is perfect and its so much money to invest at what point or how do you know when you've found the best of what's available in your price range?

Zus

Mon, Jan 21 2013, 4:19 am

We had a list of criteria which included budget, and I had seen many places at that point. When I first saw the house we bought eventually, I knew it right away. This is it!

sarahd

Mon, Jan 21 2013, 4:43 am

It took us two years of searching and cold calls to find a house that someone was willing to sell, so we grabbed it.

Rubber Ducky

Mon, Jan 21 2013, 7:07 am

We knew which shul we wanted to live near, and which neighborhood near the shul we preferred. We also wanted a fixer, because I love to maximize space (I do space planning professionally) and would certainly eventually move walls and such. So when our house came up, we saw that it had a reasonably attractive exterior, was located on a block we liked, had some bedrooms on the main floor, and had both good square footage and a good price, so we went for it.

One other thing... Although the house itself was a wreck, when I looked out the back windows there were rabbits and squirrels running around and such majestic trees -- it felt magical, it felt blessed -- and this home truly has been for us.

It was a seller's market at the time. We had been looking for a year and were prepared to make a decision quickly. We saw the house on a Friday afternoon, bid for it on Motzei Shabbos, and our bid was accepted on Sunday.

israelmom

Mon, Jan 21 2013, 7:28 am

We also had a list of things that were important to us and had a top budget. Location was important, how close to the shul we wanted.) We had narrowed it down to about 10 blocks. There were not many homes for sale in that area that met our criteria though agents took us around and showed us more expensive homes and less expensive homes until we "understood" the market and the pricing.

We looked at many houses and nothing "sang" to us. Then we saw two houses we liked (for different reasons).
We went back to both a few times and tried to imagine ourselves in these houses. We took photos. Then we went back home and looked at our own living space and tried to visualize how this part of our home would fit into the new home.
We went back one more time to the two possibilites and realized there was no choice anymore. One of the houses was for us.
We are currently tying to buy it now.
I"H, we will sign in the next days and it will be ours.

amother

Mon, Jan 21 2013, 1:00 pm

We found a house that I fell in love with but it didnt have a rentable property and it was too much money. I thought it was perfect, DH didnt think so, but either way we couldnt afford it.
We just found another house that is smaller, but it has a rentable property. It's renovated but still old style (no master bath, laundry in basement) and that makes it just affordable. It is not perfect and to afford it we would need to use the main floor and basement while renting the 2nd floor but it's doable.
How do you know when it's time or right? I'm struggling because we saw better before but I need to be reasonable. Do I make a list of pros and cons? What do you suggest I do to help me know?
Also this is in the heart of brooklyn and the houses fly off the market daily so it's not like we have months to decide.
How long do we wait for almost perfect? How can we know when this is the best we can do for our money?

MimiMommy

Mon, Jan 21 2013, 1:07 pm

Unless you're totally ambitious, I think main things with the house itself (meaning not including location) are a good roof, good kitchen, and proper heating/cooling system. All else is commentary.

Rubber Ducky

Mon, Jan 21 2013, 1:18 pm

MimiMommy wrote:

Unless you're totally ambitious, I think main things with the house itself (meaning not including location) are a good roof, good kitchen, and proper heating/cooling system. All else is commentary.

But all of those things are fixable -- you just have to factor the cost of fixing/changing them into the price. But foundation problems or extensive termite damage are often not fixable -- always insist on an inspection! -- and can turn a fixer into a tear-down.

MimiMommy

Mon, Jan 21 2013, 1:22 pm

Rubber Ducky wrote:

MimiMommy wrote:

Unless you're totally ambitious, I think main things with the house itself (meaning not including location) are a good roof, good kitchen, and proper heating/cooling system. All else is commentary.

Oh, good point. I just never thought anyone would consider buying a house with termite or foundational problems!

lamplighter

Tue, Jan 22 2013, 12:26 pm

At what point in the process do you get an inspection done? Is this separate from the bank inspection?

op, iyh for all of us, a house that we love!

OheivYisrael

Tue, Jan 22 2013, 12:59 pm

We made a list of things we cared about in the house we bought- residential street, within eruv, nice yard, driveway, not in need of immediate repairs/renovations, something comfortably within our price range, etc. There were a number of things that we compromised on as a result- prime location, bigger house, nicer block.

For us, buying a house seemed scary and daunting enough- we didn't want to buy something really big and really old that would be expensive and require a lot for upkeep and repairs. Our house was the only one we bid on, because it was in good condition and fit our needs at the time, had nice neighbors and was a good house for the money. We will have to expand someday, but the money we saved by buying a less expensive house makes up for it, and it's something we can do later- when we're ready.

Our house was small enough to be affordable when we purchased it, and has the room for us to grow with it in time.

Regarding inspection- after a bid is accepted, you have an inspection done (separate from mtg appraisal), and if something comes out of the inspection, you can still walk away from the sale. Any issues can also be negotiated to lower the purchase price as a result of repairs needed.
DH has a relative who's a structural engineer with loads of experience in all matters house-related, so he came to check out any house we liked before we placed a bid. In one house, he told us we'd have to put in $50k for xyz before moving in. That was the end of that house.

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