Buying a house not 100% sure on...
Chelsea
4 years ago
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greg_2015
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Build a new home or buy a GORGEOUS one??
Comments (14)Great update - last Tuesday we were out looking at more houses even as far away as an hour from my office and 30 minutes from DH's (and that's one main reason we want to move is tso get closer to his office) and on a whim we called the builder we've spoken to and he agreed to meet us at a piece of land we had looked at before. The land was OK when we looked at it before but didn't 'speak' to either of us UNTIL.... I was standing on the top of the small dirt road which the property dead ends into and talking to my daughter. We both turned at the same time to look across the street from the land and we realized it has an incredible view, you can see for miles and miles and as the sun was setting behind us everything was sparkling and gold and I got chills and my daughter got tears in her eyes and we KNEW this was it. My DH came out from walking the land and he said this was what he wanted to do even before we told him about our experience. I honestly believe in those gut instincts that tell you when something is right and this was more than RIGHT. I'm sure others had looked at the property and not realized it's potential just as we had but that afternoon I will never forget. The builder said it's a great piece of land, too. I'll share a similar story since I'm in the mood - when my mom moved to Maine about 25 years ago, she had divorced my dad, remarried, went to college at age 50 and moved thousands of miles away. She wasn't sure she'd done the right thing until she went to see her current lake cottage. As she was leaving the drive with the realtor a puff of wind blew the snow from the roof and it sparkled and blew past her and she said it was that moment she knew it was the right thing to do. So... we are now finalzing the contract for the land and have visited again with the builder and I'll have the start of house plans (will be asking for lots of help on here :) starting tomorrow. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your thoughts. I know some of you think we should have taken the house but it had so many obsticles and the fact that my son who is only 8 would not be able to play on the road due to the fast and high volume of traffic whizzing past at 60 mph plus several acres of bottom land which would be unusable I know this is the right thing to do. It might have been different if we were in a larger city but we're looking in a very rural area and there just isn't much to choose from. So.... I'm excited and nervous but feeling more positive about this than I have in a long time. Thanks again, Sunny...See MoreNot 100% Sure About This Rug.....
Comments (40)Yes, that is what I am afraid of also, Chispa. The rug isn't the least bit mustardy, but it looks so in most of the pictures. I am going to keep it until they grout. Had long talk with ID today and he is 100% confident that when walls are painted, furniture is in, all is installed, it will look just as it does in the pic of it i like. He's never given me bad advice, so I'm going with it. We may be redoing my son's two room suite for my mother next year, and she loves the rug, so it could always move upstairs :-) Scouring the factory for more fabric for swivel chairs, we are 2 yds shy of the amount required by Lee for COM. They haven't come back with the up charge on the banded hem yet, that should be interesting. Have def decided on black iron sconces and antique brass swing arm lamps, not gilded iron for either....See MoreUpgrade home or buy bigger one?
Comments (19)Don't forget you have to include remove square footage from your downstairs for the staircase. Also makes a big difference whether you can do some work yourselves in the price. Also my GC was horrible. Even though we got refs and looked him on on BBB. He was in the middle of some financial crisis, and used our initial deposit to float him. He disappeared for weeks on end, to suddenly appear at the threat of legal action. Among other snafus which had nothing to do with the GC... With out addition, they ripped the roof off, did not tarp up the roof sufficiently. That night it POURED. It RAINED in our house, ALL the first floor ceilings had to be replaced then (cost picked up by the GC) which meant we had to move everything on the first floor into our garage. If I wanted to go through the hassle of packing everything up I WOULD HAVE MOVED. Dealing with the tradesmen was a trip... We had problems with the architect mis-measuring and the trusses were already made and delivered. So the architect had to make a fix, the county had to see a modification drawing before they would accept it and we had to get that stamped and signed off by the county. Which set us back. At one point, a snake got into our house because the tradesman would constantly leave for the day and just leave our front door wide open. Heater blasting. All windows wide open. I could go on and on. It was worth it because of our location ONLY. Definitely a second job for DH because he was picking up the slack for the GC who was an awful project manager and kept dropping the ball. Good luck!...See MorePay off my house or buy a new one?
Comments (33)Some things to consider that I haven't seen mentioned yet, cost to move can be significant. New houses are more expensive than the price you're told, generally. Most people I've talked to who built new found out the hard way that things like locks on the windows are optional extras, and so on. As mentioned, new houses, unless custom built, will normally have builder grade everything. 10 year roof, cheap faucets, plumbing fixtures and lighting. If you want to upgrade, figure quite a bit more than retail at the DIY store. Also they might not build it the way you want. For instance, a friend couldn't get the builder to install an ADA height toilet. So that would have required installing it himself or hiring someone else. More money. Appliances? If they come with, which seldom they do, they'll be cheap ones so plan on replacing in 5-10 years. And if they're not included/specified you could spend $1000 on them or $20,000 on them, depending on tastes. Figure that into the bill too. Unless you spend some major money on the new place, you might just defer your expenses for 5-10 years and be in the same boat you are now. If you put the roof on now, (which you might need to in order to sell it anyway), it should be good for 20-30 years or more. Now for other considerations, are there concerns as far as medical services, shopping, emergency or the like? You know what you have, will it be more expensive in a new place? If so, it's an added cost. My point is to be careful to consider all items in making your decision. Heat costs are high for you now, but insulating should help significantly and you might even get some assistance if you qualify. Some other costs could outweigh the heating savings. Don't forget about taxes, assessments, HOA fees and other incidentals. If the new place has a public sidewalk you probably have to maintain that, additional effort or expense. Personally, I would like to move. And soon. But there's a real comfort in having no house payment. Ideally I could move to an area where I could buy/sell with pocketing money, but that's not as easy as it would have been a while back. And a built house most likely wouldn't have the cripple-compatibility & conveniences I'd want so there's expenses there. Buying a modular, even customized would have issues. There's other benefits to living where I do. Problem is, being crippled up makes everything more difficult. So I hire mowing, shoveling and a lot of the maintenance. Would still have to do that at a different place though. Lots to consider. Good luck!...See Morejmm1837
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