Fiancee and I stretching to buy a house. OK in our situation?

[NewfieMama]

leaking in the basement is also a big red flag--we walked away from a house once when a leaky basement was revealed by the home inspector (and confirmed as an issue by the structural engineer we had come out). Keep saving! The saving plan you have now is working and soon you'll have the downpayment + emergency fund. I can definitely relate to you--I grew up poor, am a saver and kept patiently saving until we had our 20% downpayment + emergency fund. It's not easy to do with no help, but it serves you well in every facet of your life (paying house off early, planning for childcare costs, retirement, etc.) Good luck--you will find something you love when the time is right!

[LilyLeftTheValley]

Count me amongst those who appreciate the update.

I'm also not adverse to old boilers--I've property managed at places with boilers much older than I that still worked like champs.

Some things are not always better just because they are new, and for reasons like folks have already noted with the boilers, as well as sometimes the replacements/upgrades were cheap and fast--not necessarily best and reasonable.

The home we just closed on has a very new boiler, and even though I have a decent amount of experience with boilers, all the electronics involved with this one are something I have to learn. Fortunately, the manual was left on top, so I'll be reading up once we finish our move. So far, it seems like a good system (which our inspector also said himself when he saw the make), but I would have been fine with an older lower tech system.

Wet basements can go either way. Sometimes they're due to structural issues, sometimes it's something as simple as poor grading sloping towards the home around the exterior foundation. I would have been more immediately concerned with the attic leaks, given the roof age. Signs of deferred maintenance can help guide you to decide if a potential home could be a money pit. To what extent and for how long will help you gauge either way.

If you haven't already, start visiting sites meant for maintenance minded homeowners like inspectapedia so you can get a sense of what is a workable temporary inconvenience versus an expensive problem. They will also help you build your vocabulary which I find to be very helpful when asking for advice or instruction regarding plans for our home, whether online or off.

Good luck with your search! It took us almost half a year to find our forever home and we love it.

[Petert0204]

I think you should seek professional help from a financial advisor.

[canwedoit]

It's pretty tough looking, we're finding. Since we plan on living in the same place 10+ years we'd like a relatively quiet place. I feel south of Boston is a better value, but there's low inventory. Quincy's schools are questionable.

[BostonMike7]

As soon as the weather turns, inventory will start to pop up. I think everyone is just waiting for Spring to finally be here. As soon as decent weather starts to become common, you'll start to see the listings pop up and enjoy another fun season of mobbed open houses.

[ecraigie]

Originally Posted by canwedoit

Quincy's schools are questionable.

Compared to??

[canwedoit]

Originally Posted by ecraigie

Compared to??

Boston, mainly.

I'd be curious to know the school ranking for the following areas:

- Boston
- Quincy
- Braintree
- Milton
- Dedham
- Weymouth
- Medford

These from my research seem to be the only places where you can (ocassionally) get a solid 3+ bedroom house for less than $500k (though Milton is less frequent). Some say Boston Latin is the best school in all of these areas, but some also mention North Quincy High is slated to be a pretty good school.

[bugelrex]

Originally Posted by canwedoit

Boston, mainly.

I'd be curious to know the school ranking for the following areas:

- Boston
- Quincy
- Braintree
- Milton
- Dedham
- Weymouth
- Medford

These from my research seem to be the only places where you can (ocassionally) get a solid 3+ bedroom house for less than $500k (though Milton is less frequent). Some say Boston Latin is the best school in all of these areas, but some also mention North Quincy High is slated to be a pretty good school.

If you are betting on Boston Latin, the only realistic way to do it is to rent in Boston for 1 year, just to take the entrance exam.

[ecraigie]

Basing the quality of a school system based on a single exam high school isn't very robust – essentially comparing the best students from one system to the entire student body of another.

Plenty of "best schools" lists out there to (cherry) pick from, but for a city with a population of 95k Quincy's schools are generally well regarded. My ordering based on the various rankings and what I've heard:

1) Milton / Braintree
2) Quincy / Dedham
3) Medford
4) Weymouth
5) Boston

That said, some systems are probably better suited for one child vs. another based on needs. Also, educational experience depends overwhelming on parental involvement (vs. if a school is a 63 or 72 on a somewhat arbitrary list).