What much compromise is too much compromise?
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Anonymous
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We've been looking for a few months now and are getting pretty discouraged by a) how little is on the market, b) how quickly anything decent gets snatched up, c) how much antyhing decent is selling for (always above ask).
We're trying to figure out -- should we start making big compromises about what we find acceptable (like anyone in this market with a limited budget, we've already made some), or should we give up on finding somewhere now and just rent for a few more years? What are others in our situation diong? |
Anonymous
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We're at the beginning of this process and doing a lot of research as we get some other things lined up to be ready to move. We've gone through several rounds of conversations to be ready to think about moving--including deciding which of us is going to be taking the harder commute, that we're sacrificing square feet for schools, etc.
Looking at houses for a few months now in our target area, I have seen just one or two that, as others have suggested, I would have left work early to go see had we been ready to buy. I have no idea what the bidding situation might have been like. The more I look, though, the more I realize that I need to think of the top 2-3 factors (kitchen space is probably the biggie for us, and the kitchens are small in our price range and neighborhood) and be ready to be creative with IKEA furniture options to figure out how to best live with everything else. |
Anonymous
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I feel like we're getting ready to compromise on just about everything...We are open to something that needs work but the issue with that is that we are then competing against builders who will tear it down and start over. But consider that if you are looking in the $550k price range (just a hypothetical) and found something for $475k, there's a lot of leeway in there, esp if you are willing to do things like repainting or ripping up old carpet by yourself.
In our case (which has already become pretty discouraging--looking for something close-ish to Metro for under $650k) I would give up some square footage for a good/preferred layout--we have seen some places that are plenty big but the space is just not as usable due to being carved up strangely and/or on numerous levels (as with a townhouse). I would also take a place that needed some work that we could do over time--ie eventually redo kitchen, finish basement, etc--in order to stay within a good commuting range which I feel affects our quality of life and time as a family more than having a fancy bathroom. We are also being VERY flexible about our school options--trying to keep an open mind and tour some places which people have previously warned us away from. Good luck, OP. We keep hearing that more will come on the market after Easter...hope it helps us all out! |
Anonymous
| Depends on what you feel you need to 'compromise' on. We did not compromise on schools, location, three bed, two full bath. We did compromise on trim level, no bath on the ground level, and small kitchen. These are things we can change. |
Anonymous
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We bought a year ago. We ended up paying more than we had expected and compromising on some things. And of course, keep in mind there are always unexpected things (repairs, issues) that don't surface until after you move in.
I felt like immediately after we bought, a bunch of better options came on the market. I spent a lot of time obsessing over it. But my husband reminded me that there were plenty of listings that looked great before we bought but ended up being horrible when we purchased. His conclusion is that had we not have compromised, we'd likely still be looking today, a year later. So my advice would be to expect some compromise, especially in this region. There's no way you're going to get everything you want. The other side to that is to rethink what it is you think you want. I think you might be surprised that when you actually move in to a place, some of the things you thought were important seem less so. Also, don't fall for the hype about certain neighborhoods/areas. I realized when I was looking that some of the supposedly better neighborhoods were terribly congested and, frankly, I'd be miserable clustered together with so many people so close by. We actually ended up buying in a different location than planned. And of all of my regrets, that is not one of them. One thing I wish I would have done is take a week or two off of house hunting. I feel like I kind of reached a point of desperation. And if I would have taken a step back, a break, I might have found a little bit of clarity on the things I shouldn't compromise. Real estate agents make you feel like you have to hurry and buy before all of the houses are gone. That is BS. Houses are always coming on to the market. If you are renting now with a flexible lease, seriously, take your time. There's no rush. Rates will be low for a while (at least another 6 months). |
Anonymous
Maybe I'm wrong, but my understanding is that you can't get improvement money wrapped into your mortgage anymore -- you have to do a whole separate loan that's a lot harder to get. That's why I haven't been considering this route... |
Anonymous
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We live/bought in DC proper and knew that we were most likely looking at something of a fixer in order to get in a neighborhood we preferred. The things we wouldn't compromise on were commuting time/distance, off street parking, 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, and stuff within walking distance. Ultimately got the things we absolutely wanted but definitely got a fixer with a somewhat unique layout that was old and needed work. Eventually we will have to redo the kitchen and both bathrooms (and hopefully add a half bath). We also don't have a master suite and while this wasn't something we cared much about, we know that for resale value it could be an issue. The house also needs other things like ac (which we already put in), a new hot water heater, new windows, etc. We were also flexible about neighborhood schools - we're zoned for ok, but not great schools. The thing is, we don't have kids yet, and while I know if/when we do the school thing it will be something we'll have to deal with (or will also be a "hit" for resale purposes), we really found that we needed to focus on our current needs and hope that other things could be dealt with down the road. We know that over time we can fix the house (even though it will be lots of work and cost money) and we also figure that we'll deal with the kid/school thing when it becomes an issue as well: move again or private. While moving again or going private aren't ideal, it is till at least 5 or 6 years down the road for us at this point.
I think it is tough when trying to decide what to compromise on and that it varies depending on the people doing the buying. You need to focus on the 2-4 things that you feel like are a must to make you happy and figure out what the other things are that you can at least work with and go on from there. |
Anonymous
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I would be less willing to compromise on location because I think that good schools and a decent commute are really important. You can change a lot about a house over time, but you can't change the location.
I have seen a few close friends get so wrapped up into the idea that they must buy something RIGHT NOW that they bought something they regretted. More houses are going to come on the market. We bought somewhere with crappy schools and a short commute several years ago when we were unsure if we were ever going to have kids. I think the decision made sense at the time, but in hindsight we would have been better off buying elsewhere in a couple years. |
Anonymous
| Location is permenant. Everything else you can change. |
Anonymous
I am this PP--I meant literally do this ourselves. We are looking in the $650k price range so if we find something that's a significant savings (like $550k or less) we would have some leftover money from downpayment to pay out of pocket for some repairs. We would not be able to do something like add on an addition for a long time and have not looked at all into the financing for something like that. I am lucky enough to have a very handy family member who recently retired who would be willing to do things like redo floors, etc. But if the place just needs some new paint or whatever that can be done in a weekend, even with kids. I know that option doesn't appeal to everyone but it has helped us to consider places that before seemed like too much work. Of course the idea that a $600k house can be a total fixer upper is repellant to me but that's the way things are around here. Also I will say we hope to be in our next place for at least a decade--people have been counseling us away from certain areas based on the reputation of the high school--but no one really knows what the situation will be in 10 years. Our oldest isn't even in kindergarten yet so that just feels like too much pressure to me (again, I know that others feel very different). But living through 10 years of never being able to have dinner as a family bc DH's commute is so long seems like a HUGE tradeoff to me for the idea that DC will someday go to a great high school. Thinking this way has allowed me to consider several areas which were not on our list a few weeks ago. |
Anonymous
| We looked for over a year in a specific area with a few musts. We gave up on the neighborhood and got everything else we wanted. For us it was fine, because it actually means better commutes. And the neighborhood still has everything I wanted, just not as walkable. But we both work and will have kids in school soon, so I figured we wouldn't actually walk many places - no time. |
Anonymous
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I compromised on not being walkable to metrorail and having ugly outdated bathrooms. The only places in my range that were walkable to metrorail were either total dumps, on busy streets or townhouses. Some folks might have been fine with the TH thing, but I did that for 12 years and wanted a SFH. I'm saving for the bathrooms, but other projects have definitely eaten into that savings, so it might be awhile!
in return, I got enough space, a great layout, a nice yard, a neighborhood I love and a good commute, plus a kitchen I *can* improve but don't have to for awhile. |
Anonymous
+1 and schools make sure the schools are excellent |
Anonymous
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Don't compromise on sh*tty neighbors. No one else wants them. |
Anonymous
| I will agree with those that say that Location never changes, but I do think that schools can. When I went to high school many years ago, it was probably one of the beats in the state, but according to the greatschool website, it is only mediocre now. |