I thought buying a house would be fun... (Pasadena, Sugar Land: sales, buying a home)

[inwood dreams]

Instead I'm feeling drained through the sales process and petrified to decide where to move. How did you decide on your neighborhood?

[plaidfrogg]

We haven't yet bought, partly b/c we still don't know where to move....even after almost 18 months here. There are just so many things that go into the homebuying decision, with location being such a big one. Will be interested to hear what criteria others used.

[Topaz]

I don't think buying a house is fun. It only takes making one house buying mistake in life to be skittish forever about it.

[Poltracker]

No help here. I lived here most of my life and still had trouble deciding where to buy a house.

[lhafer]

Well, when looking in a basic area, I had work criteria to go by. DH worked in the ship channel and I work in the medical center. So to start my criteria was:
1. nothing west of 45 south (Sugar Land was considered too far)
2. nothing west of 45 north
3. Nothing in the Pasadena/Deer Park area
4. Had to be a pretty even commute for both of us
5. Schools were important because we were going to start a family
6. We like trees and greenery

So based on these criteria, it took (really just me, as I was pushing my husband to move) 4 YEARS to find the area we wanted. I was generally looking south (Clear Lake, League City, Pearland, Friendswood) because that's where most of our friends lived. We have no family here, so that wasn't an issue.

One day I decided to drive up north (up 59) because that was the only area left to explore. No one we knew lived up there, so I never had a reason to go. I immediately fell in love with the pines and trees. I fell in love with a particular neighborhood immediately upon driving through it. At the time we weren't ready to move, but our best friends were - and they moved to that neighborhood because they fell in love with it too.

About 2 years later, we were ready to move, and we moved to the area, but not that neighorhood - they didn't have any builders we liked at the time. Fast forward 4.5 years later, and we sold that house, and just built a new house in the original neighborhood we fell in love with, and couldn't be happier!! We have chosen (and originally wanted to live here) Eagle Springs in Atascocita.

I guess what I am saying is, if you haven't fallen in love with an area, or a neighborhood yet, then you haven't found it. It will just feel like home when you drive in. It's comforting, lifts your spirits at the end of ****ty day, and puts a smile of pride to call this place your home. You will know it when you find it. I promise.

[Oildog]

Figure 3x your gross income as affordable, then go to har.com to see what areas you can afford with a decent commute.

[City Love]

How are you feeling drained through the sales process? Or do you mean selling process? Are you selling your own home? That's probably more nerve-racking than buying a home. When selling, everything is on the buyers side.

[SteveArmy]

it took me 24hrs to find my house, just a quick trip from NYC, then stumbled upon a simple new development near the tollway while checking out houses i picked from har. I told the builder I only want the one with the 'sold' sign on a corner lot. somehow it freed up.
our #1 of course was a neutral commute, not too short, not too long, to work and everything else. i also got word about places to avoid but knowing who's saying (like my sister) i knew it was overexaggerated. #2 is definitely to be on the westside for easy access to asian food, supplies, services. #3 no strict HOA/no fairytale neighborhoods/not too competitive lawn maintenance/etc ya know just clean. our kid is <2yo so far this area still works for us, not needing any schools yet. we've changed offices 8x in 3 years and commutes are always manageable if not easier.

[tdhg566]

Originally Posted by plaidfrogg

... Will be interested to hear what criteria others used.

Not sure that comparing criteria is terribly useful. What's CRITICAL is that you HAVE some criteria.

We closed last week on a dirt build we started last October. This is the last house we intend to occupy. Our top criteria were:

-one story floorplan wife liked
-builder we had confidence in
-close to good medical facilities
-new construction
-close to IAH (due to location of extended family)
-facing West (backyard shade in afternoon)
-not near train tracks or high traffic roads
-decent schools (kids are grown, but don't want poor schools)

Even though we micro analyzed everything before signing the contract, and because both time and money are finite (for most of us ) we still had to make compromises. The KEY is to have no regrets when you're done. Don't sweat the small stuff.

[modster]

Buying and selling definitely doesn't bring the best out in people. Fun is usually not a term used to describe the process.

When it comes to the right house, you will know it when you see it.