When you are/were looking for a house, what do you search for?
Do you want a little bungalow? Do you want a split level?
Should it only have 2 bedrooms? Do you need 6?
Will 1 bathroom be sufficient? Or should there be at least 3?
How old is the roof?
How big is the lot and can we get a building permit for a garage?
Are there any egress windows in the basement?
Do the laundry appliances come with the house?
There are just so many things to consider when buying a house. Many of these things are negotiable. Many are not.
Raise your hand if you love to "pin" things and dream? *Raises hand* I do! I do! Here are a few glimpses into my "Pinterest Home".
I've been dreaming of the best house ever!
And then we started looking at houses. And we saw things like this:
*For $110,000?? No thank you!
*$149,900?? Say what?
Are we being too picky? We weren't sure.
So...we found another realtor and looked at houses like this:
*A little spendy...but not too bad
*SO cute! A little small...but no formal dining room*
So here's our conundrum...we want to have a house soon. BUT, we don't want to move into a house we know we'll have to leave in a few years because it'll be too small. That being said...we want to have a family in the next few years. SO! What's a couple to do? Input, please?
Here are our non-negotiables:
*At least 3 bedrooms (4 would be preferable...or the ability to add a false wall or something)
*A decent sized yard...for potential kiddos to play in...and a garden
*A garage in decent shape
*Decent amount of storage in our kitchen (we want to keep it efficient)
*Oh...and our budget is minimal
Preferences:
*4 Bedrooms
*2+ Bathrooms
*2 Stall Garage
*Finished(ish) Basement w/egress
*Formal Dining room
*A roof we won't have to redo in <5 years
*2,000+ sq. ft.
I should note that we are not averse to doing work on our house. We'd rather buy something that needs work and put our money into something we'll love, instead of sinking a lot of money into something finished that we aren't in love with now.
What do you think? Are our non-negotiables out of the question? Are we being too difficult?
I'm not sure. We're thinking on it, praying on it, and definitely sleeping on it.
I'd love to hear your feedback. What were your biggest struggles in buying a house? Did you have fun looking and dreaming together? What was the best part? How long were you house hunting?
I guess it goes without saying that my real house might not live up to my Pinterest house...thanks a lot Pinterest.
I think your second realtor is doing a much better job that your first realtor did! I think I would like a three bedroom bungalow with a charming reading nook in the dormers, with two bathrooms and an open concept living area/dining room. I too get sucked into Pinterest houses all too quickly and I'm afraid it's setting me up for disappointment if/when the time comes for me to get a house. However, until then, I continue to dream... Albeit ridiculously. I don't know much of anything about house shopping and I much prefer living vicariously through you right now! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, m'dear. When you come home for good (assuming we don't have 6 kiddos taking up every sq in of the house...) you an stay with us until you find a house. AND I'll even join you in house shopping. I do love going into the houses and looking and trying to picture us there. *le sigh. We'll see were God puts us!
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