We were living in the countryside in my mind, in a little town inland southern California. Our kids were very allergic there, and so we needed to move to protect their health and hearing. Also, we did not like what we heard about the schools. We decided to move close to the coast on hilly property with a view to some extent and where the winds would not carry as much allergens.

Our son just did not travel well, raising a fit, so DH did the house shopping with instructions from me that I wanted the back of the house to be all kitchen and family room with no wall between the two rooms for good parental supervision. He made a few selections and then took us to see them to make the final decision jointly.

By the time we moved in, we had a new baby. We still live here though we are empty nesters now and it is 30 years later. We stay here because the cost of a smaller home would be out of sight, and we especially stay here so that we have room for all the kids to visit.

We bought this house when my DH was retiring from the Army. Our kids were in high school 9th and 12th grades. We didn't want to move them away from their friends and having a Senior we wanted him to graduate with his class. They are gone now, one to the Philippines and the other in Georgia. We have been in this house 24 years. We have been raising our grandson since he was an infant, he will be 17 in March. All our friends are here and we love the area and weather for motorcycling. I couldn't imagine living anyplace else.

When we first got married, we looked at houses all the time...model homes and one offered by realtors. We lived in apartments and condos for about 5 years. We bought our first house after walking through the model. We moved in and lived there for 5 years. We remodeled the entire inside on the 4th year. We put travertine tile on every floor of the house. The master bathroom was travertine tile floors, walls and ceiling. It was beautiful. But what a pain to clean. When we bought that house we didn't stop looking at other houses. We still drove around and looked. We found this house, called a realtor and got a showing. When we got past the den and the dining room...that was all it took. The view from the family room windows sold the house. We have lived here 3.5 years. Our yard is huge in comparison to most Las Vegas homes.

Here is the view from the family room windows:

This is the view of most of the yard, from the pool:

We moved to the Atlanta area b/c DH found a job here. I chose the area based on criteria including commute time for DH, quality of public schools, access to recreational activities for the kids. I wanted a neighborhood with playgrounds and pools, and a house on a cul-de-sac that was relatively flat (for north Georgia) so it was easier for the kids to play.

So, with that in mind... this house was chosen more for meeting those criteria than for the plan or features of the house itself. I also joke that my next door neighbor sold the house to us. This house was on the list our realtor was going to show us one day we were in town to look. We also knew it was empty. So we came out the evening before without the realtor to check out the neighborhood and peek around the property. When we did that, the next door neighbor came outside and said hello. She was recently divorced at the time but she and her ex had lived there for a few years. She told us she was a teacher, so she answered a lot of questions I had about the schools. She told us all about the other neighbors, ages of the kids and what they were all like, how much she liked all the neighbors. She was super nice and I felt like I'd known her for years already.

Now she and her ex remarried, they have two kids (I was even the childcare for the oldest for a year), we are great friends. We watch each other's house, kids and pets, cook for each other... I just love all of them. You just can't buy great neighbors! Our choice came down to this house and one other, with DH more on the side of the other. But after meeting my neighbor, I just felt like this was the street for our kids. And I was right. ;o) This is a very down-to-earth, friendly, active neighborhood.

When I moved to Iowa, my realtor showed me about 8 houses. This one was by far the nicest one and the price had just been reduced by $20,000 so it was in my price range. It was also just a few blocks from the hospital where I hoped to work. As it turned out, by the time a made an offer on the house I was working at the hospital and the house belonged to the DD of the woman who was training me for my job. I didn't even have to change the locks when I moved in. I did has DS repaint most of the rooms.

Our house (and we loved it) was in Lake Forest (south Orange County) California. Hubs was working for the state and they transferred him to northern CA. We didn't know the Sacramento area well enough to just "jump right in" and buy a large single-family detached home like we wanted, so we bought a two-story townhouse to live in while we got to know the surroundings. The townhouse was brand new, and had been a model for the development, so it was move-in ready.

I had done residential real estate appraisals for many years, so I knew what I wanted and didn't want in a house; and we made a list of "must haves" and "can't haves."

We must have looked at every model in every development in the greater Sacramento area. If we found a floorplan where the kitchen was great, the master suite would be horrible. Or, if we found a house with a fantastic master suite, the kitchen was tiny or inefficiently laid out. Or if the kitchen and master suite were good, the backyard was only about 20' deep.

We finally found this one... well, the model because it was a new development... and it was perfect. Had everything on the "must have" list and nothing on the "can't have" list. We had to wait for the phase that had the lot we wanted, and we got it. The house was barely into the framing stage, so I stopped by every Friday on my way home from work to take photos of the progress and to document where things were (for example, I have photos that show where all of the wiring is, so if we ever have to drill or cut into a wall, I know we aren't going to go into any wires).

That was 1990, and we've been here ever since.

Some of the items on our "must have" list --
- Foyer, so entry into the house isn't directly into the living room
- Formal living room as well as a separate family room
- Formal dining room as well as a breakfast nook
- Breakfast nook at the back or side of the house, not facing the front
- Four bedrooms and at least three full bathrooms
- Fireplace in the family room
- Fireplace in the master bedroom
- Master suite at the back of the house
- Separate laundry room
- If laundry room has a door into the garage, the "walking path" cannot go in front of the washer and/or dryer
- Three-car garage
- Extra-large lot

And the main item from our "can't have" list --
- NO fiberglass tubs! Must be porcelain or better

Why?
Large corner lot
Big kitchen
decks both front and back
private garden with a gazebo
large garage for the cars
driveway with plenty of room for cars
Sun room
neighborhood

I was ready to move out of my parents' house (and they were wondering when I would too I'm sure! - 24yrs.old). When I went looking for a house to rent my Dad told me renting was a waste of money and it just so happened my great uncle (Dad's uncle) had recently died and his house was being sold. I got first dibs on it, went to the bank, got the loan and had the keys to the house three weeks later. Been here ever since and am still in love with the old money pit.

We had only been married a year and had been renting during that time. Knew that renting was just throwing our money away. We bought this house because we could afford it and felt that it could meet our needs with little being done to it. (Turned the smallest bedroom into the second bathroom.) We had two teenaged girls in the house and a son in college. Neither of us owned a home so we were just basically starting from nothing.

I knew we were "hooked" because of all the trees in the yard. When it snowed one morning and Twinkie said, "Let's go see what the house looks like in the snow", I knew it was destined to be ours.

It's not anything special but it's warm and comfortable and paid for and ours!!

Forgot to add that I bought my house in 1978, made the last payment in 1994; but had to take out a home equity loan last year to have work done on the foundation. Now the bank owns it again for three more years at the very least. Ugh.

I personally had to move into my house sight unseen. Let me tell you, that was frightening! Luckily, I love my house. We do rent. My DH and I were offered jobs across the country from where we lived in California. DH spent a week here in SC making sure the jobs we were taking were what we wanted. He had only a week to find us a place to live! On the day before he flew back home he found this place. It had the required amount of bedrooms, bathrooms and a garage. Plus the landlord was fine with our 5 dogs and 7 cats. Not many people will rent to us. Thankfully, I am thrilled with our house. It is just the right size for us. Plus we have 2 acres of land and we have nice neighbors. We don't work for the same place anymore, but we would not dream of moving. Who knows, maybe we will be able to buy it someday.

Trish

Cause DH needs to live with X miles of the office.

Second reason, the neighborhood looked nice, well established.

Moni

The jump from southern Utah to central Cali is a long story, so I'll skip most of that. In January 2008, we had a miraculous reconnection with my grandparents. My grandma was in the nursing home, and my grandpa was on his own. He really wanted us to come here. We were in need of a new place to live, because our rental had sold (that's the long story part we're skipping), so it really seemed that everything was pointing us in this direction.

We came at the end of Jan. '08, and it was a very good reunion. However, my grandfather took ill not long after we came, and he passed unexpectedly in April '08. We inherited the mobile home. We had to be here for my grandma - my grandfather had visited her in the home every day for 2 years until he became ill, and now we were it. Anyways, as I posted earlier today, my grandma died a year ago.

So, now they're both gone, and we're still here. While we truly appreciate having a home, this is a really bad area. The area has gone downhill terribly in the 20+ years since my grandparents moved here. There are now gangs, even though it's a small town - we don't go out at night. There are many more reasons that we do not want to be here. We need to find a place that's healthier all the way around.

I understand the reasons we came here, and give thanks for the time we had. However, we need to figure out how to move forward. We're working on it. Like everything else, I believe it will come together the way it's meant to:-)

Oops, this is really long, despite all I left out, lol! But, you asked;-)

It's paid for.
Easy access to DH's job.
It was a good place to raise our kids.
Large lot (for California suburb) for the dogs.
Would rather invest in remodeling than take on a new mortgage.
Probably couldn't afford to buy our own (same) house today if we wanted to.

Our Son has lived in Oregon for 16+ years, and we kept thinking that we needed to move closer to him and leave Callifornia...and down-size. We checked homes everytime we visited...then August 2004, we found this house and thought it was perfect. For months and the first years, we kept saying how fortunate that this house fit us so well, 1800 sq ft., with wide hallways, large baths, pretty big yard and really nice neighborhood, also parking for our motorhome beside the house. They are building a beautiful new High School on the 40 ac. piece of land at the end of our street now (haven't decided how that will impact us old folks)....my recent back surgery was made much easier with the wide hallways & doors and bathrooms. The yard has become too small (sigh), but slowly we are making many garden beds and have a nice established orchard that produces fruit and berries to die for. Winter has snow capped mountains and summers still have many farms, orchards and wineries. I think we landed in heaven. Nanny

We had out house built to get out of a neighborhood that was deteriorating and we needed a 4th bedroom to house our growing family. We built in a small town that was about 15 miles from my job. I did feel the impact and stress on my life due to a larger chunk of my time commuting through some mean city traffic.

That was years ago. I survived; kids are out of the house and we both are retired; The village has increased to a small town of 10,000. Traffic in front of my house is 4 times what it once was due to the many subdivisions that were added north of my place. So why do we stay? Taxes are reasonable and there are conveniences. Within walking distance are:

3 banks
2 grocery stores
3 churches
2 privately owned auto repair shops
2 dentists
1 doctor's office
post office
hardware store
Pet food store
Village park
Bicycle path
2 pharmcies
2 fast food places
2 small resturants

If our cars quit we could still survive although it would require a lot of walking, but is that so bad?

The major negative is a long and cold winter. Summer and fall is nice.

We lived in a townhouse, which was way too close for comfort. When we retired, we decided to move to the country. It had to be no more than 75 miles from my son, at least 5 acres of land, house at least 2500 square feet, no neighbors within earshot, two-car garage, at a price where we could pay cash (we owned the townhouse). This house was going into foreclosure, so we got it for less than half the asking price, which brought it within our price range. It met all our requirements, and then some--it is 5000 square feet on 6 acres. We've been here for 16+ years, and still happy with our choice.

I'm enjoying reading your stories. We are a diverse (but cohesive) group!

Vicki, I never envisioned Las Vegas with such lush greenery! You have a beautiful spot.

In 1975 we were living in what had been the weekend house in Pennsylvania that had served us well when we lived in Manhattan and later in NJ. But it was tiny, not nearly big enough for us and our toddler daughter. And I was newly pregnant with Baby #2.

My DH wanted to build on a large piece of property further out in the country, but we decided to buy an "interim house" first to familiarize ourselves with the area. I was visiting my parents in Florida when I read the realtor's ad for this farmhouse + 31 acres. It extolled all its old-fashioned charms--of course mentioning none of the drawbacks! At the same time, back in PA, my DH read the same ad and was similarly intrigued.

The first time we saw it, my DH said, "Oh, it's a dump!" The house was covered with fake brick siding, not attractive at all. But the interior had wonderful exposed beams, a gorgeous stone fireplace, and charm galore. Plus the barn, across the road, even had a darkroom. (This was in pre-digital days.)

The owners were a potter and a filmmaker. Before they moved out (to Washington state), she gave a luncheon for me to introduce me to women in the area. I thought that was such a nice thing to do. We still stay in touch.

Oh, and how about this: In Arizona, my in-laws were playing golf with another couple when the other man said, "My son is selling his old farm in Pennsylvania." My mother-in-law said, "My son is buying an old farm in Pennsylvania." Yup, it was the same place.

My DH put new siding on it, but most of the interior remodeling didn't get done until many years later, when he was in a nursing home. It needed a lot of work, and I wish we'd done it when the kids (eventually three) were young.

Needless to say, I'm still living in our "interim house." :-)

We got married in 1979, almost immediately started house-huntimg. We told the real estate agent our price range, she convibced us to go a little higher. Somewhat influenced by the fact my husband's brother and sister had recently bought homes. We located a little far from our jobs, but it meant we car-pooled with others and made friends that way. Anyway, Agent took us to the first house, it was so small and awful I cried afterward. It had such a small kitchen the fridge was located in another room. Saw a house with 6 bedrooms. I liked it,DH didn't. Saw another jouse I loved, cottage style. Again, DH didn't agree. Finally went a little further out, found a smallish split level with beautiful landscaping. We both said "I like it." We couldn't find anything wrong with it. Contract and closing were a blur. We moved in June 3 1981, have been there ever since. We paid off the mortgage in 2005. Srill here. I couldn't bear to ever pack up and move. And I don't want to leave my garden. Still here, probably will be forever.

We started out in a mobile home. Lived there for 2 1/2 years. Started looking for a home in the country. We bought our home in June of 1971. Nice country home with a barn and 10 acreas. The kids loved the country. We still live here today.. paid $25,000. Now this amount of money wouldn't buy anything.. I had always lived in a small town and hated it for a long time. Now I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

We have remodeled over the years. I love my flower beds and the fresh country air. We are about 4 miles out of town so this is a plus. Our schools are only a little over a mile away. This was so nice when the kids played sports. Really, it has been a great life here.

We now have a place in the southern part of our state. We bought it almost 15 years ago. It has an old schoolhouse on the property. We gutted the inside and redid all of it. It has the orginial hardwood floors. They are beautiful after my hubby refinished them. We added a bedroom upstairs and the kids and grandkids come down and have so much fun.. We have 33 acreas and lots of trails for the 4 wheelers..

As long as our health holds out we will live here and go south. Enjoy it while you can. You never know when it will end..

Susie

What great stories!

I grew up on a dairy farm in southeastern Minnesota with one older brother. The building site is situated where two gravel roads intersect. Joel was the good son that bought the farm right across the road. I've always had a more adventuresome spirit and ended up working in grounds maintenance in New Mexico for 16 years. Dad and Mom retired and sold off the cropland, then 9 years ago decided that the remaining five acres where getting too much for them to take care of. Bigbaby and I decided it was time to move back and be closer to family and be available to help my parents. (They're 92 and 83 now) Therefore we bought the house from Dad and Mom when they moved to town (3 miles). So now I live in the house I grew up in right across the road from my brother. Our cousin lives half a mile down the road on the farm that our grandparents owned.

Ron

My husband and I were 19 when we got married and the first thing we did was buy some land. It had been an old dairy farm, but didn't have a house...sold separately...but had a big barn. We bought a house trailer, later more land next door, and a house we moved on and remodeled. We had that place for 30 years, and I really wanted to move farther out in the country. We found a place on a bayou, very private...long driveway, no near neighbors, woods, open land for pasture for my horses. We sold our place and bought it. We built a 24 x 36 building that was to be for storage, but due to a "series of unfortunate events"...we didn't have the money to build a house. My daughter went away to college and I moved into the storage building, where I have lived for 13 years.

My husband went to school to get his towing license...had been a commercial shrimper for over 40 years, but it was so hard to make a living that way. So, when most people are retiring, he started a new career.

Several years ago, I had seen an old house on a house movers lot, and I called out it...just out of curiosity...I didn't
have any money. I was told it was $40,000 but it had already been sold. Every day I drove past it and it sat there for years. No one moved it.

When Hurricane Ike blew through here, a year ago last September, it blew the door open, so I went to look at it again. It has sat, cut in half all those years and was in bad shape. I called again, and was told the owner couldn't move it, and would take an offer. We made an offer but I guess it was too low because the secretary at the moving company, never passed it along.

Six months later, after calling about it numerous times, my husband went to the owner of the company and was told the guy who owned the house was in prison, but he gave him his sister's phone number and we bought the house for $15,000.
That included moving it. We only had to pay for the blocks to go under it.

We are remodeling it and have the outside almost finished.

A friend of mine said, "Look how God blessed you. You wanted the house but couldn't afford it (when it was $40,000) and you end up getting it anyway for $25,000 less, and now Jody has a good job so you can fix it up." Yes...
I guess that is true.

I like the house because it is old and goes well with all my old stuff that I've collected for so many years.

That is a great house alisande and a great photo.

Here's my house (old schoolhouse)photographed from across the cornfield behind:
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We built here because it's completely secluded.

After many years of having close neighbors all around and dealing with loud TVs, loud parties, barking dogs, and traffic noises, we decided to buy acreage and build a house right in the middle of it so we'd have a nice quiet place, which is exactly what we did.

It is secluded...we can't see any houses from here, no roof tops visible over the fence, no neighbors right next door, just what we wanted.

However, it's actually noisier here than in town. Since we're in the country, the people who live up and down the road (...acres away from us...) can shoot guns and ride extremely loud off-road vehicles all over the place. It's like living in hell. Bang, bang, vrooom, boom, boom, vroomm, boom, boom, bang, bang.

We just can't win. So we're actually looking forward to leaving our secluded country place and finding something quiet (again.)

A couple years after buying our second home in 1978 (a condo) we realized we were getting up in age (late 20s) and may want to start a family soon. The condo was an adults only community.

This was in the early 80s and nothing was selling, especially a place that didn't allow children. So, with great trepidation and near financial ruin, we bought a small home in a very desirable location and rented out the condo.

I wanted so badly to live in this city that my only requisites were a fireplace, ceramic tile kitchen counters and paneled doors. We got all that, and nothing more. And for that, we paid a ton of money. Hey, it's Southern California! :-)

The city we live in is divided into several village, each with their own distinct personalities. Ours is built around family and outdoor living. Lakes, lagoons, tennis courts, bike and jogging trails, great schools and easy walking distance to amenities like shopping, movie theaters, restaurants and medical facilities.

We bought brand new so all of our neighbors moved in all around the same time. 29 years later, about half of them (on our quiet 18 home cul-d-sac) still live here. Some are closer than family. We all socialize throughout the year and watch out for each other.

We raised both of our kids in the house and now that we are empty nesters, for some reason it feels even smaller than it did when the kids were here. I think it's because I always wanted a larger place, with a yard but was so busy working full-time and just trying to get through the day when we had kids that I never noticed. Now that I'm in my mid-50s I want an adult size home and would gladly move if it were not for our wonderful neighbors and the fact that our home (and condo) were paid for many years ago.

We also have a home in Eastern Tennessee but am not sure if or when we will ever move there. In the meantime I do tell DH that one day I'd like to have a big-@ss house, with a big-@ss yard and a big-@ss dog. He just shakes his head. LOL

Jodi-

My husband bought our house back in his single days, never thinking that he'd get married and have a family!
It's an itty bitty summer lake cottage that ended up being a full time family home! It's stayed itty bitty, it's classified as having one and a half bedrooms, but we've managed to raise our three children here, and now our granddaughter. It's been very close spaces at times but we've lived thru it! The house has a very open floor plan, a bath and a half. The only doors inside the house on are on the bathrooms and the sliding glass doors that open to the enclosed front porch. We have a fireplace in the living room. The master bedroom is very large and the other bedroom is very small! Like a train compartment with built in bunk beds and two cabinets, one floor to ceiling. The girls slept in there and our son's room was one half of the enclosed front porch.
We will probably never move. Although I'd like to have a house that was big enough to be able to have Thanksgiving or Christmas with our whole family!

DH was a career Marine,and we were always moving.We have 4 kids.Had 3 of them on the east coast from N.J. to Maine.Then when i was pregnant with #4(DD0 we got transferred here to S.Calif We found an apt,moved in then DH got orders for Viet Nam,i stayed here with the kids.He was gone for 13 mos.When he came back we moved aboard base and were there for 10 mos,when he got orders for 2 years of sea duty,homeport,Yokuska Japan,no dependents allowed back then.So i told him to find us a house,and i didn't really care what it looked like as long as it had 4 walls and a roof,cause i wasn't gonna be moving again.

The kids were in school by then and i didn't want to kep having to pull them out and transfer somewhere else.We found this house(1967) 3 bedrooms,1 bath,big yard front and back.Backyard was very over grown.No neighbors behind us,just a canyon,and an ocean view.We moved in on thursday,dh left that sunday for his sea duty .School was just across the canyon,nice neighborhood,mostly other military families.

The front porch had some kind of ivy growing all over it,with just enough room to get in the door.The garage door was covered with bougainvilla,and the house was white with lavendar trim.But it had good bones,and it only cost us 12,500.00 and we only had to pay 35.00 for paperwork as the family we bought it from were from N.C he was getting out and just wanted to get rid of it,so they agreed to pay the closing cost.While dh was gone and the kids were in school i got busy painting the inside,and cutting down all that ivy and bougainvilla,and got the yards back into shape.Had to use a cycle/cicle to cut the backyard down first before i could even attempt to use the lawnmower.The kids helped some,but they were still too little to help a lot.

We've been here ever since,dh had another tour of Viet Nam before he finally retired,and we stayed put.We've put a lot of money into remodeling it over the years and it's the place everyone comes to for the holidays etc.

As i told my friend,i'll be here til my time on earth is done!! We have fruit trees,veggie gardens and lots of flower gardens.The canyon is enviromentally protected because of some kind of birds and some kind of frogs.My kids and their friends had a lot of happy times playing in that canyon.
Kathi

After we got 30 inches of snow on Halloween, DH decided 40+ miles to the office was just too far. We decided we should sell and find a place midway between both our jobs and within a reasonable distance of the airport since we both traveled a lot. We sold our house quickly - by owner - and the new owners wanted to close within about six weeks. We found a wonderful small community with large private, wooded lots in a perfect location. There were only about three houses for sale in our price range - not a lot of homes for sale over Thanksgiving and Christmas. We picked the one that was on the best lot and was the least offensive in terms of decor because we couldn't afford to do much with the house after we bought it. The house was also unique and we liked that it wasn't like everyone elses.

I didn't think we'd stay in the house long term but we have. We love the quiet privacy, the woods, nature, etc. The community also has about thirty miles of wooded trails including some that are lakeside. We use these almost every day.

to tell you the truth it was getting close to the time for us to join dh here in mi and it was about the 40th house that actually had enough bedrooms (almost) 2 baths and was just minutes from the schools the kids would attend.
we thought of selling more than once but never did...

can't stand the location now but with current prices we're stuck...and frankly just a matter of 3-4 more years and it's paid for...

It only took us four years to get into this house; two to buy the property and two to get it built.

We'd raised our DS in a 1950's ranch that was as good a retirement home as it had been a starter home 3 BRs 2.5 baths on a quarter acre 15 miles north of the Loop. We'd bought that house to be within a one-hour car-train-bus commute to Chicago for my DH and for excellent schools.

After DS was grown and DH retired we wanted to be farther away from the ever-increasing traffic (road and air). We wanted something nicer and *quieter*. We wanted another one story home -- a small house with big rooms and nice finishes.

In 1997 we decided we loved a town an additional 15 miles north. The first house I looked at is where we eventually ended up doing a teardown and custom building. However the house was overpriced and the owner unyielding. We looked off and on for a while, then in 1999 bought the overpriced house for the same price, which by then was no longer AS overpriced. (Remember when RE only went UP?) We planned to remodel but are happy we built new.

We have a tad over an acre, bordered by a creek on the east and a conservancy on the south. Our road looks like a wooded country lane but is 3 mins. from the center of town and the RR station. Homes east of us are much larger, 'estates' in some cases, but there are smaller homes too. (Like ours: 2900 sq ft on one floor with full-height attic and partial basement. We built it to be expandable to 6000 sq ft., but that's for some future owner.)

Only wish we'd done this sooner! The peculiar seller and a town with a thousand architectural hoops cost us about three years, but we should have started the process sooner.

By 1995, we had been looking for a home in this area for a couple of years because it has the best school in this county. There really wasn't much out here in this rural area besides the school at that time and the houses for sale were few and far between.

One day my sil called me and told me of a house she had passed that day that we might want to take a look at.

So we called the realtor and came out to see it. My DH immediately said "This is it!" He loved the huge family room with cypress and a large stone fireplace and the glass & cypress porch in the back. We really lucked out finding this house and getting a contract on it. I liked the large backyard... room for all my doggies. The porch serves as an indoor dog hotel when the weather is bad. Very convenient. We love living here.

Our small town now has a couple of restaurants, nice park & walking track, a YMCA and a grocery store. We used to have to drive about 18 miles one way before.

Tammy

i bought my house in 2000 at what i thought was the beginning of a boom lol little did i know i was yrs ahead of the real boom lol. i moved to orlando from chicago where i could not get into the housing market for under $300K. houses here in orlando back then were much smaller than i was accustomed to and many in HOA's and had very little lots, often zero-lot lined, all things i vehemently opposed. DH rented a nice townhome near UCF for $300 a month, shockingly low to someone who paid $500 a month just for her parking space in the wrigley area for many yrs. well just after living here a yr a little a 1000sq ft house in our neighborhood sold for $86,000. i could not believe someone paid that for a zero-lot teeeny house that was originally listed for $75K.

that worried me and set me out house shopping lol. after 3 months of serious home touring i was at my wits end, everything we looked at was shoddy workmanship if it was newer and every well constructed old house went before it was listed. every single thing ended up in a bidding war. the very last house i would look at was the furthest from where i was looking, turned out to be the one. i saw it just once late at night, it had a mudroom was in a better county (thou taxes were much higher) and i was sooo sick of looking i decided to bid since it did not yet have a published MLS#. i was the first bid, the next a.m. when it got the MLS# 5 other bids came in. in the end i paid $10K more but came right in under $100K where i wanted to be so my payment would be under $500 a month.

it's been to this day the best decision i ever made! i stayed under budget so that even if i was jobless i could easily afford all my bills on unemployment. novel idea huh?! too bad everyone doesn't live that way. when the bubble was going in orlando i was up 325% on my house, now after the bust i'm still up 215%+ and we've been rising in my neighborhood where there have no foreclosures at all. due to taxes and insurance going up 400% my payment has gone up significantly to $700 (i'll be refinancing down to 5% and out to 30 yrs to drop $200 off a month) but it's still a bargain compared to most mortgages in orlando and you can't rent a 3/2/1 for under $1200. the next house will get $100,000-150,000 down payment and will have more space, a custom built new pool that i've designed and more amenitites. that has to wait a couple more yrs till DH is done w/ his MS degree and i get a tiny bit more value on my house. because i also want to fund our retirement accts w/ some profits. under buying on my first house has guaranteed i get a dream home next time and for a bargain price since the upper end of the market is really slow and losing value still while my middle market is gaining. ~ liz

It is DH's family home and he has never lived more than a mile away from it.

We were married in the living room 40 years ago, DD was married in the garden 15 years ago.

It is in an area that many aspire to live, that has great schools, fine restaurants and a beautiful location.

Because it is paid for.......and I love my neighbors. (Not the neighborhood.)

I live where I live because God directed me to it - long story. It has everything I could wish for: 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, ranch style, hot tub, 2-car garage, central heating and air, a greenhouse, 1/3 acre lot with 6' privacy fence with LOTS of trees and sits right in the middle of town - close to everything. Now I love it even more - my DIL and grandkids moved just around the corner!!!