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Unless it is a new development done by a large company who had the good sense to hire designers, the vast majority of colors and decor selected by home owners is horrible.
Actually, even new construction is often terrible, it seems. I have no idea who selects the finishes, but it will be like I see photos of homes built in 2003 and, if I had to guess, I would have said they were built in 1990. Or, conversely, they'll just haphazardly slap in every "trendy" thing like subway tile everywhere mixed with those floating bowl sinks in the bathroom and faux-marble tile. It's a mess.
Wait- are you shopping online for houses in a place far from where you currently live? Is that why you are worried about having to see twenty houses- because you have to choose in a weekend or something?
You talk about seeing home in affluent and less affluent areas, this tells me you aren't actually sure WHERE you want to live. Which seems like a problem, and is usually the issue when you are moving somewhere unfamiliar to you. In that case you need to contact a realtor local to the AFFLUENT section of the new city. They will be able to give you the lowdown not just on their affluent zones but also steer you to a better compromise/bargain neighborhood if needed. Once you talk to them you can shop online in the neighborhoods they recommend.
Take on only cosmetic issues, no serious fixer upper despite what a bargain it may appear to be. You can paint walls and cabinets, have carpet removed or installed, remove wallpaper, redo floors. That is it.
I'm using online to see what's out there. It's not far, far away, but I will have to move. Therefore, my current plan is to move into an apartment, but only for a few months, while house hunting. (Bad plan?) But, yes, I will have a relatively short timeline, as currently planned.
The options I have are either: go for the best school district, which is in the most affluent area, or go for a mediocre one in a less affluent one. I have no kids, but my plan is to own the home for a while (I have enough money saved up that this is not a problem, don't worry). Therefore, the best school district would work out best if I have kids or for resale. On the other hand, if I ignore school district, I can get a house for substantially less, but I think resale will be problematic. (Note: in this instance, I would have to consider resell even more because if I had kids I'd try to get into the better district.)
I'm using online to see what's out there. It's not far, far away, but I will have to move. Therefore, my current plan is to move into an apartment, but only for a few months, while house hunting. (Bad plan?) But, yes, I will have a relatively short timeline, as currently planned.
The options I have are either: go for the best school district, which is in the most affluent area, or go for a mediocre one in a less affluent one. I have no kids, but my plan is to own the home for a while (I have enough money saved up that this is not a problem, don't worry). Therefore, the best school district would work out best if I have kids or for resale. On the other hand, if I ignore school district, I can get a house for substantially less, but I think resale will be problematic. (Note: in this instance, I would have to consider resell even more because if I had kids I'd try to get into the better district.)
Tough to say, since I don't know where life will take me, lol. I'm trying to cover all contingencies. So that, I know that if I have to resell, then having a home in the best district is always wiser. And, as I said, if I have kids, then I would probably have to sell if I was in the mediocre district.
If you mean do I *intend* to resell going into this? No. I'd like to put down roots and apartment living is starting to wear on me. I want to build equity in property, rather than just enriching some random landlord. Also, I can't stand having to put up with neighbors who smoke or have kids screaming at night through my walls, LOL.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who also replied to this thread. I don't have time to reply to everyone, but I didn't want people to think I wasn't reading their posts just because I didn't directly reply to them!
I'm using online to see what's out there. It's not far, far away, but I will have to move. Therefore, my current plan is to move into an apartment, but only for a few months, while house hunting. (Bad plan?) But, yes, I will have a relatively short timeline, as currently planned.
The options I have are either: go for the best school district, which is in the most affluent area, or go for a mediocre one in a less affluent one. I have no kids, but my plan is to own the home for a while (I have enough money saved up that this is not a problem, don't worry). Therefore, the best school district would work out best if I have kids or for resale. On the other hand, if I ignore school district, I can get a house for substantially less, but I think resale will be problematic. (Note: in this instance, I would have to consider resell even more because if I had kids I'd try to get into the better district.)
Sounds like you answered your own question. If you want to stay in the house for awhile but wouldn't want to do that if you bought in the lesser school district (plus if you think resale will be a problem in the lesser district), then buy in the better school district now. If your plan holds true you won't have to move, and if something else comes up where you do have to move, it should keep its value better. Schools are one of the most important things in terms of what creates demand for homes, but as mentioned above - they are not as important to everyone and some are willing to sacrifice school ratings (particularly because a school's "rating" is not the end-all be-all, but that's the subject for another thread) in order to be able to afford a better lifestyle. But a lot of people can't afford to buy in the better school districts but wish they could - if that's what you want and can afford it, seems like you might as well do it.
Tough to say, since I don't know where life will take me, lol. I'm trying to cover all contingencies. So that, I know that if I have to resell, then having a home in the best district is always wiser. And, as I said, if I have kids, then I would probably have to sell if I was in the mediocre district.
If you mean do I *intend* to resell going into this? No. I'd like to put down roots and apartment living is starting to wear on me. I want to build equity in property, rather than just enriching some random landlord. Also, I can't stand having to put up with neighbors who smoke or have kids screaming at night through my walls, LOL.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who also replied to this thread. I don't have time to reply to everyone, but I didn't want people to think I wasn't reading their posts just because I didn't directly reply to them!
You get that everywhere. My next door neighbor has a dog he keeps outside all the time. The dog is going insane from boredom and is slowly tearing up our shared fence from chasing my dogs up and down and poking her head in trying to play with them It's actually an improvement over when he first started putting her outside. She barked constantly, keeping us awake. Now we have to fix our fence. What a jerk.
It has a good district i guess, i dont know. We homeschool.
again, they matter to some other people, not US. The house has been in my family since 1934, i doubt im going to sell it in the next 30+ years.
None of that changes the fact that objectively speaking, houses in good school districts sell for more money than houses that aren't. It doesn't matter that you don't care about the schools, it is still a fact that they affect the value of a home.
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It's actually an improvement over when he first started putting her outside. She barked constantly, keeping us awake. Now we have to fix our fence. What a jerk.
