Buy for location now or wait?

[Anonymous]

We are in a rental, currently looking to buy in close-in MD and a home came up for sale in our target neighborhood (great schools, neighbors, commute, checks all the boxes). In the past year, maybe 2-3 homes in this neighborhood have sold in our price range. However, slightly to our dismay, the house that just came up for sale is not great. Smaller, a little outdated and may need some work upon moving in. Yet it’s not cheap enough (with today’s interest rates) where we could do major updates any time soon.

I’d give the neighborhood a 10/10, and the house a 5/10. I know there will be other homes coming up in other areas, and we are okay waiting on the sidelines continuing to save quite a bit of money.

Would it be wise to pull the trigger now and love the neighborhood not the house, or wait it out for 3-6 more months and hope something a little more expensive comes on the market that is move-in ready in the same or similar neighborhood?

[Anonymous]

And the location of this house within the neighborhood, would you give it a 10/10 as well? How is the lot relative to other lots?

[Anonymous]

Also, how much smaller is it and in what way? If all of the rooms are proportionally smaller than the other houses, that's hard to fix vs. say finishing an attic or adding on an additional room on the back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And the location of this house within the neighborhood, would you give it a 10/10 as well? How is the lot relative to other lots?

I’d say it’s in a great location within the actual neighborhood, not on a corner, not through street. The lot size is similar to others, with enough space to play in front and back of house. Along those lines, we’ve noticed a lot of families are out in front of their houses, not in the back.

[Anonymous]

Given that the spring market is ending soon, I would think of it as whether you'd be ok with passing on this one if nothing you want comes on the market again until next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, how much smaller is it and in what way? If all of the rooms are proportionally smaller than the other houses, that's hard to fix vs. say finishing an attic or adding on an additional room on the back.

The house would be in the middle range of the homes, not the smallest, but certainly not bigger than the few newer builds in the neighborhood

[Anonymous]

A more updated house will be more expensive (and more likely to attract a bidding war) so if you can get this one you might be better off getting it and updating over time?

[Anonymous]

Market timing is fraught. If you pass on this one, what's your plan?

[Anonymous]

What's your rental situation? If it's below-market rent and in a good location, I would pass on this house.

That said, won't a "good house" with newer updates in this same location be like 20-40% more expensive? Can you afford that?

[Anonymous]

A few questions for OP:

How does this one stack up to the others in your price range that sold this year? If you were looking then too, what made you pass on those houses?

I don't think you should force it if you won't be happy with the house, but think through whether you could make this into a house you love, and what price you are comfortable paying now to do that. No one says you have to offer list price. If it doesn't work out, then sit on the sidelines and wait for something that is a better fit.

[Anonymous]

pass, wait for the right house and go all in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's your rental situation? If it's below-market rent and in a good location, I would pass on this house.

That said, won't a "good house" with newer updates in this same location be like 20-40% more expensive? Can you afford that?

Our rental situation is good, but the public our rental is zoned for is not good. This new house would put us in the public elementary we want our kids to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, how much smaller is it and in what way? If all of the rooms are proportionally smaller than the other houses, that's hard to fix vs. say finishing an attic or adding on an additional room on the back.

The house would be in the middle range of the homes, not the smallest, but certainly not bigger than the few newer builds in the neighborhood

So are you good with the size of the house for the long haul? If so, I would go for it but that's me as someone who values non-corner lot, not cut through street, and good general location much more than updates. I would ask myself, is this a place that I can see working/functional long-term for the people I love even if parts of it are a little ugly? (because, really, your young kids won't care how it looks, and it's not the worst thing in the world to have to explain to older teens (if the bath reno or whatever still hasn't gotten done by then) that life has tradeoffs). Otherwise, seems like you could end up in a bidding war later on and having to go way over in price. And even if you see another house come up later, you won't ever really know if the close price was the buyer's top price or if you would have had to escalate much higher to actually get it.

[Anonymous]

I would go for it. If the only issue with the house is that it's not the biggest and a little outdated, then you've got plenty good stuff to work with. There's no telling when the perfect house in the perfect location would show up that you can perfectly afford.

I would not shoot for perfect. I'd shoot for good enough.

[Anonymous]

Buy.