Buying a house is not like buying a pair of shoes...or is it?
I'm an indecisive person and I also don't like spending money unless I think something is really worth it. When I go shopping and I'm not sure I really like something, I won't buy it. The next day, if I can't stop thinking about the item, I go back and buy it. Often, I forget about whatever it was and have some more money in my bank account. I'm not sure if that's brilliant or crazy. Either way, it works for me!
We've been house hunting for a few months, and we haven't really seen anything even remotely exciting in our price range in the neighborhoods we like. Well, there was that one I really liked, but it was too expensive, too small, and, oh yeah, in the WRONG school district. Details, details. And then yesterday we saw a really great house for 20K less than most of the other houses we've seen, and it had the most key items we want of all the houses we've seen. The house was by no means perfect, though, but we would have a nice chunk of money to put into it to do some improvements right off the bat. It has a ton of redeeming qualities, Pat and I both really liked it, Greta proclaimed the basement "stinky," but, whatever. For all I know they have already accepted an offer from someone who isn't ridiculously indecisive, but all day today I couldn't stop thinking about the house. Per my Fran's Rule of Shopping, that means we should buy it, right? Does it matter that we're not giddy-in-love with the house? Will we grow to love this really nice house? I just fear that we are never going to find anything we love in our price range and we will be kicking ourselves. Should we make an offer to buy the shoes house?
In other news, I like drinking wine, eating generic cheetos, and watching this on repeat.
Fran
Comments
#1 PS - or you could come back
PS - or you could come back home in look in the liverpool area and live near us! OOOoooh, think of the parties we could have!
#2 This is how I see it...
If you think about the house and you get a panicky, "omg if we don't act are we going to miss out? I dont' want to miss out, maybe we should put in an offer NOW?" feeling combined with a tingly feeling in your chest, then yeah you should buy it.
I've always gotten that anxious feeling, like I'm gonna miss something huge if I don't act NOW, when something is right for me.
Am I making sense or am I just a weirdo in this respect?
The house I'm in now needed A LOT of work. If you ever have time check out our family photos section of what our kitchen USED to look like. We redid the ENTIRE thing. It was a lot of work, took some money, but was SO worth it.
For me, buying a house is like falling in love. It might not be perfect, but when you know, you know.
#3 Gotta love the house
We loved our house as soon as we walked in the front door. Maybe if you're not finding stuff in Brighton, you should expand your horizons. Either that, or wait it out. I feel like there's crap out there now cause people are afraid of loosing money if they sell. On the other hand, maybe things will get moving now that spring is here.
#4 i say no. yer guts will guide
i say no.
yer guts will guide you. if your comment was "the rest of the house was so-so, but the kitchen and the master bath were amazing!", then i would say maybe.
but the kitchen being one of the things you are not crazy about...is just a bummer.
#5 don't do it-kitchen is
don't do it-kitchen is important, very important
#6 Pray
Pray about it, and God will give you a clear answer.
#7 Love the advice
NPW - I think there is only one thing we can't fix, and that is the size of the kitchen. It is pretty small, but it is by no means ridiculously small. I have been spoiled with a big kitchen the last 5 years, though, and I love to cook and have lots of kitchen product. I think there is potential to remodel it and use the space better, but I lack vision and I have no idea if I will be happy with the end product. That is a big sticking point against the house, I just not sure if it's a valid one!
Jordan - The good news is we're not in a rush. We live locally, so we can easily look at houses as they come up (versus trying to buy a house in a different city), and we have a couple years before Greta starts school. I am thankful we have time on our side.
Ian - I am big on gut feelings, and I have based a lot of my major life decisions on how I felt about things (eg, I looked at a bunch of colleges, but I picked Nazareth because it felt the most collegey to me), but the practical me is wondering if I will ever feel that this-is-my-home feeling in any house we can afford in the lovely but expensive suburb of Brighton. :) And I've seen a lot of crappy houses that are 10K more than we'd like to spend. Sigh. How much you want to bet I'm lamenting a house that already has an offer pending?
#8 Not speaking from experience
... since I've never bought a house before, but I would say hold off. If you don't love it, don't buy it. Unless it's a CRAZY good deal and you can add everything you want to it afterwards without too much of a headache.
#9 When we bought our last
When we bought our last house, it was a very instant decision - we actually put the offer in only hours after seeing it -- but I think that we could have done better if we had taken more time. I think there's a lot to be said for taking your time & thinking it through -weighing your options, etc. You always seem to make great decisions - both with houses & shoes so I say go with your gut instinct. :) Good luck!
On a side note, I too love wine, not so much the cheetos, but I was laughing right out of my seat after watching that video!!!
#10 I say don't buy the house.
I say don't buy the house. When I walked into my house I knew it was the one instantly. Not the next day, but as soon as I stepped in and saw the kitchen. It was 10K more than I wanted to spend but I said to my realtor "This is my new house."
On the other hand, I just bought a new car two weeks ago. I definitely found the car that gave me the same feeling, but instead bought something a little less expensive, with fewer features. I definitely wasn't excited about my new car purchase, but I am growing to love my new car. The money I saved allowed me to by the floormats of my dreams though.
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