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I agree with location. Decide with what part of town you want to live in - or at least limit it to 2 general areas and stick to viewing homes only in that area. If you have kids or plan on having kids make sure to check the school district. Make a list of the 5 most important features (if you can think of 5) that your new home MUST HAVE. This could be number of bedrooms, bathrooms, fenced yard, updated appliances, 2 car garage, swimming pool etc - anything you feel your home HAS to have but limit it to 5 things. When you are searching through Zillow or wherever, you need to start self-censoring your favorite houses to ones that ONLY meet that criteria. If you see anything "iffy" at all in the listing don't even waste your time with it.
Do a drive by of your favorite homes before you call your realtor to schedule a showing. A drive by will give you details Zillow and Google cannot - like crazy barking dogs next door - or strange neighbors - the general day to day condition of the neighborhood in general. I did a few drive by's when we were recently looking for a home and I assure you that helped me cross a few off the list without having to waste anyones time with a showing.
I really don't feel you should settle for a house you don't feel happy about - the real trick is finding one that both you and your husband will feel happy about. Try to imagine yourselves in the home - sometimes you warm up to one a day or so after viewing it and really thinking about it. Take lots of photos. That said - its' a first home so it probably won't be your dream home - but find one in a good solid neighborhood with good resale potential for when/if you want to upgrade down the line. We were really lucky in that we had our offer accepted on the 7th house we looked at. But we really narrowed things down. This was the first house both my husband and I felt good about so we just went for it! We knew our price range and the market and what was available and it seemed like a good deal. I think when it's right you know but you have to be ready to dive in and make the commitment. It is scary - having a good realtor hold your hand through it helps tremendously.
EDIT: Editing to say - to feel happy about a house doesn't mean it has to be amazingly perfect and ready for the cover of Better Homes and Gardens or anything. But I don't think you should feel like you are "settling" when purchasing a home. The market is moving fast so there will always be new houses up - but this also means you can't lollygag and think it over much if you do come across one you could see yourself in!
My advice is: don't settle. If you have the time to look, take advantage of it. Practice patience. You will know when it is "the one". And the thrill and happiness you will feel will be worth it in the end.
I agree with location. Decide with what part of town you want to live in - or at least limit it to 2 general areas and stick to viewing homes only in that area. If you have kids or plan on having kids make sure to check the school district. Make a list of the 5 most important features (if you can think of 5) that your new home MUST HAVE. This could be number of bedrooms, bathrooms, fenced yard, updated appliances, 2 car garage, swimming pool etc - anything you feel your home HAS to have but limit it to 5 things. When you are searching through Zillow or wherever, you need to start self-censoring your favorite houses to ones that ONLY meet that criteria. If you see anything "iffy" at all in the listing don't even waste your time with it.
Do a drive by of your favorite homes before you call your realtor to schedule a showing. A drive by will give you details Zillow and Google cannot - like crazy barking dogs next door - or strange neighbors - the general day to day condition of the neighborhood in general. I did a few drive by's when we were recently looking for a home and I assure you that helped me cross a few off the list without having to waste anyones time with a showing.
I really don't feel you should settle for a house you don't feel happy about - the real trick is finding one that both you and your husband will feel happy about. Try to imagine yourselves in the home - sometimes you warm up to one a day or so after viewing it and really thinking about it. Take lots of photos. That said - its' a first home so it probably won't be your dream home - but find one in a good solid neighborhood with good resale potential for when/if you want to upgrade down the line. We were really lucky in that we had our offer accepted on the 7th house we looked at. But we really narrowed things down. This was the first house both my husband and I felt good about so we just went for it! We knew our price range and the market and what was available and it seemed like a good deal. I think when it's right you know but you have to be ready to dive in and make the commitment. It is scary - having a good realtor hold your hand through it helps tremendously.
EDIT: Editing to say - to feel happy about a house doesn't mean it has to be amazingly perfect and ready for the cover of Better Homes and Gardens or anything. But I don't think you should feel like you are "settling" when purchasing a home. The market is moving fast so there will always be new houses up - but this also means you can't lollygag and think it over much if you do come across one you could see yourself in!
Thank you so much. I really appreciate this advice, it's so helpful to me.
My advice is: don't settle. If you have the time to look, take advantage of it. Practice patience. You will know when it is "the one". And the thrill and happiness you will feel will be worth it in the end.
At one point in my life, when I lived in the Boston area, I spent a summer looking at a lot of houses and condos, but the places I liked were all a bit out of my reach and I decided I was better off waiting to buy instead of "settling" for a place that was too small and/or that needed major amounts of work. The good thing about that experience was that I ended up with a much clearer idea of where I wanted to live and what features and style appealed to me most. A few years later my finances were in better shape, I was back house-hunting again, saw something right away that was just what I wanted, and snapped it up with no hesitation or regrets. (It was one of the Bell & Fandetti townhouses in Cambridge, for those familiar with them.) I lived there for 8.5 years and only left because I was leaving the area; I still think very fondly of that house, though.
choose neighborhood first. You can change the house, but not the location!
Buy with resale in mind. You may decide to sell the house for any reason, not necessarily because it will turn out a mistake.
Job transfer, kids, life changing decisions (I know people who decided to sell everything they own and live as minimalists on a boat...)
My advice is: don't settle. If you have the time to look, take advantage of it. Practice patience. You will know when it is "the one". And the thrill and happiness you will feel will be worth it in the end.
This is the best advice. You will know it is the right house. You will feel it in your gut. You will look at the house, love it, and immediately start thinking of places to put your things. When you walk through other houses, you initially start picking it apart and thinking of things you would 'need' to change to make it a home. This is when you start settling. It isn't a home, but just a house you live in.
In my experience, it's true that you do just "know" when you find it (unless you are under other pressure to make a decision based on a limited choice, which you aren't). But for me knowing it's "the one" doesn't necessarily mean you will fall in love or be super emotional about it. I think it's a level of comfort with the house, and as some have mentioned above, being able to picture yourself living in it. You "know" it will work for you. And it doesn't always happen the moment you walk in, as someone else mentioned. Sometimes you turn a few houses over in your mind for a few days, and you think, "you know, that one with the big back yard keeps coming back to me..." Or whatever.
The last two houses we've bought (and we're pretty experienced, over the years, with real estate) did not fit our basic parameters in major ways. For our primary home, which we bought about a week before we were to break ground on my dream home, I absolutely had to have a two story with all bedrooms on one floor. I am really particular about the floor plan flow. This house is not the style I want, and bedrooms are all over the place. The floorplan is truly funky. But the location and the acreage were something we couldn't pass up, and when the price dropped significantly, we just couldn't justify building anymore. We snapped it up. We've made some changes that make me feel more comfortable with the house, but there are some things I just live with in exchange for the location.
Our vacation home is 200 sf smaller than what we had decided our very lowest limit would be--and size matters in this case as we have a large family and will have visitors. I wanted something with some local style, but ended up buying a very cookie cutter house in a very cookie-cutter section of the development. But the house felt right, had the major features we wanted, was clean and move-in ready, and the price was at the very low end of our range. We knew it was a practical choice and could picture ourselves in it.
So it's not necessarily an excitement or emotional kind of knowing, depending on your personality. It might just be a peacefulness.
The good news is that if you buy within your budget (your actual budget, not what the bank is willing to lend you), a house doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment. The stakes aren't as high as we sometimes make them out to be. You can sell it, you can get something else. So buy something that works well, "feels" right to you, has some flexibility to accommodate changes in your lifestyle, and is likely to hold its value.
I had an image of a neighborhood (similar to the one I grew up in) and that's what I ended up with after both my house purchases. Single story ranch in suburbia, quiet street (cul de sac now) flat yard, and a floor plan that wasn't weird. In a way my houses are boring, but I never feel like I'm missing out on anything and I didn't have any "must haves" when I was looking except the second bath in house #2. I had an open mind but fell back in habit both times to what I was used to.
Knowing what I know now I'd still go for the lot location first, floor plan second. The perfect house on a main blvd isn't going to make me happy.
My husband and I are trying to buy our first house and having a very hard time making decisions about whether or not to offer on the houses we view. We never had any problems deciding about rentals, and pretty much knew right away when looking at a place if we wanted to apply to rent it or not and have always happy with our choices in the many rentals we've lived in (except once where there were some extenuating circumstances). But since renting is a lot less permanent of a situation, the stakes aren't as high so I guess that maybe makes decision making easier than it is for buying a house.
What's been most people's experience here? Do you buy a house that has the important things on your list, is a price you can afford and in a decent neighborhood even if you don't feel much emotion or affinity for it or do you wait and hope that something will hit the market that really resonates with you?
We are looking in neighborhoods that we've never lived in so we aren't as familiar with them as we would be if it were our current or past neighborhoods. We are making an effort to visit the various neighborhoods frequently so we will be familiar and comfortable when the time comes.
I really appreciate any input. It's actually getting so frustrating that I feel like calling off the search!
When driving up to the house you have to say this area looks good I like the area. When you stop in front of the house you have to be impressed, almost say wow this looks nice. When you walk in the house it has to have the wow factor. If you start saying well this might work, or we could do this, maybe we can, etc. then walk away.
If all good initial impressions then spend more time zeroing in on it. Drive, walk around the neighborhood. Get a feel for it. It is what and where you want. Start discussing the price between your selves only...only...do not divulge your thinking. Talk it out. Revisit the house this time looking closer...closer...closer. Invite close friends to tour the house with you. Ask them to be candid.
Check out the town. Good schools, good infrastructure, solid tax base, a town you would be proud to say you are from, etc.
The offers and haggling come later. You have to want/love the house.
If comfortable with the asking price, then put an offer in. Make it conditional on financing if needed but mainly conditional on inspection and appraisal. You need an out if the inspection turns up problems and/or the place does not appraise as high or lower then your offer.
Do not get in a bidding war. You have waited and can wait. Do not get into a situation where you will be house poor. Set your expectation on your ability to afford it, not your desires.
Personally I would want a new or near new (less then 10 years old) home. Not sure if available where you are but that is my preference.
Best of luck.
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