I would focus on location - it is the one thing you CANNOT change about a house. Figure out what community you would like to make your "homebase" and then find a home within that homebase.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you have romanticized home ownership and I want to make sure you don't make a mistake by buying a house for its aesthetic details while overlooking more important aspects. Yes, you should have an emotional attachment to your home, but it is also a business transaction and making a mistake can ruin you financially. When buying a home, you need to think about what maintenance will be required while you live there and how hard it will be to sell the home someday.

Here's what most buyers want to see in a home:

1. neighborhood should be safe, have kids, and be near things like parks, schools, sidewalks, etc.
2. schools should be good
3. house should have a good foundation, no water or mold problems, no electrical problems; systems should be in good working order and not too old.
4. how many bedrooms and bathrooms, and how are they configured?
5. are the kitchens and bathrooms clean? attractive? functionally solid?

These issues should rank first on your shopping list. Details like porches, trim, paint color, appliances, etc. should be secondary - and in fact, many of them can be added fairly cheaply to whatever you buy.

Good luck!

You are kind and helpful

OP: good luck!

OP, I think you have romanticized home ownership and I want to make sure you don't make a mistake by buying a house for its aesthetic details while overlooking more important aspects. Yes, you should have an emotional attachment to your home, but it is also a business transaction and making a mistake can ruin you financially. When buying a home, you need to think about what maintenance will be required while you live there and how hard it will be to sell the home someday.

Here's what most buyers want to see in a home:

1. neighborhood should be safe, have kids, and be near things like parks, schools, sidewalks, etc.
2. schools should be good
3. house should have a good foundation, no water or mold problems, no electrical problems; systems should be in good working order and not too old.
4. how many bedrooms and bathrooms, and how are they configured?
5. are the kitchens and bathrooms clean? attractive? functionally solid?

These issues should rank first on your shopping list. Details like porches, trim, paint color, appliances, etc. should be secondary - and in fact, many of them can be added fairly cheaply to whatever you buy.

Good luck!

If you are handy, you could add wainscoting yourself:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=Installing_Beaded_Board_Wainscoting

Or hire a handyman to help install

Do you feel strongly about having a SFH? A condo or even a townhouse might be a nice first step into home ownership. You would be building equity, but have a lot less maintenance than you would with a SFH. Especially a fixer upper, which you might tend to find in your price range.

Anyway, if you do feel strongly about a SFH I would urge you to consider location first. I'm guessing you would rather spend more time with your infant instead of commuting to/from work. So I would narrow in on neighborhoods first to minimize your commute and then see what housing options are available there. You might also want to consider the schools in the area. If not for your child, but it will also help with resell again later.

Based on what you've described so far, I'd look for a little cottage or bungalow or cape cod that meets your functional needs (1 vs. 2 bedroom?, etc.). And then spend some time to add the features that you like -- wainscoting, shutters, etc.

Also, be prepared to make compromises. It's a tough market right now - so decide what is *really* important to you.

Would this appeal to you?
http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/2120-N-Quebec-St-22207/home/11232945

Some examples of what has already sold:
http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/2000-N-Culpeper-St-22207/home/11236280

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/5505-4th-St-S-22204/home/11258705

Good luck, OP. Come back with more questions!

Anonymous wrote:Your post is just weird. What do you mean your idea of a house is skewed? Everyone - no matter where they grew up - tends to prefer a certain style of house over another.

$450K - you buy whatever falls in your price range with enough bedrooms and baths and as much needed to update as your willing to do

I'm not OP, but PP, what an unnecessarily glib and insensitive comment. There are many people who grew up in poverty or in financially irresponsible households and they really have no concept of what is really affordable or not. Don't be such a jerk. OP, there are folks on this board and there are online calculators that will give you an honest answer.

Victorian mansion poster from above. Sorry to say, but at $450K I think that an interest in wainscoting and plantation shutters are irrelevant, at least in the DC area.

I agree with the pp who suggests focusing on a loving and stable home. Worry less about the style of house and more about what's going on inside it.

Hey OP, we lived in a car/couches on the WC too. (How weird is that?) I totally get you.

So, my first house was just like you described. It was a 1925 highwater flat with a porch swing and a picket fence. It also had the most beautiful redwood trees in the backyard. In the afternoon the sun would some in through the windows just so... I *loved* that place and still think of it as home as I lived there longer than I'd ever lived anywhere in my life.

But, it had some drawbacks that I didn't see when I bought it. (No experience with such things.) The windows were original and during big storms the curtains would actually blow inside the house. It also didn't have central heat/air, which in NoCA was not that big of a deal, but would be an issue in DC. The kitchen was total crap too - mismatched appliances and cupboards without doors. I thought it was charming when I bought it but it was a problem for resale when I got married and had to move. Finally, it had no garage and it was bloody miserable to go from car to house in the rain.

The thing to keep in mind when you buy a place, IMHO, is how easy it's going to be to sell if/when you are ready to move on. So, much better to get a smaller house on the edge of a really nice neighborhood that is near transit than it is to get a bigger house far out or in a scary neighborhood. Look at schools and make sure that kitchens and bathrooms are updated. Whatever you do, ignore paint. Paint is cheap and easy to change. You have to learn to see past it.

Good luck!

What you can provide best for your children is love and a stable home environment.

House styles and detailing has nothing to do with it. (I grew up in an unstable home environment too, and I don't think it would have made a difference in a rich or poor house).

I didn't say that to be mean, but to realistically separate out your reasons afaik.

I think that helps you decide on what you want to BUY better.

Focus on kids? focus on safe neighborhoods and good schools.

Focus on house? focus on looks, styles, maximum eye candy for the money etc.

Find a balance in between, but go in eyes open.

Anonymous wrote:Your post is just weird. What do you mean your idea of a house is skewed? Everyone - no matter where they grew up - tends to prefer a certain style of house over another.

$450K - you buy whatever falls in your price range with enough bedrooms and baths and as much needed to update as your willing to do

What I mean about my idea of a house being skewed is that all I knew growing up was the living room floor or the passenger side front seat of a car. Thats where I slept and lived. So I didnt really undertstand the concept of a 'bedroom' or a 'study' or a 'basement' or a 'backyard' and what these could be used for. Now that I am a mom with an infant I'm starting to understand the importance of home and family and I would like to provide a somewhat normal environment for my child since this is something that I did not have growing up...

Your post is just weird. What do you mean your idea of a house is skewed? Everyone - no matter where they grew up - tends to prefer a certain style of house over another.

$450K - you buy whatever falls in your price range with enough bedrooms and baths and as much needed to update as your willing to do

Anonymous wrote:What can you afford? Where do you want to live?

These questions are key. I'd really love to live in a Victorian mansion, but that's just not going to happen right now. We prioritized location and schools within our price range. I'm not that fond of my house's aesthetics, but we've made it our own with gardening on the outside and paint/decorating on the inside.

Anonymous wrote:What can you afford? Where do you want to live?

$450K.

Since I've been in this area I've lived in:

Glenmont, MD
DC (West End, U Street - pre gentrification-, Columbia Heights -pre gentrification-, Near Rock Creek Park on Kalorama
Alexandria, VA

so I'm only familiar with these areas. I work in DC so I would be commuting into work everyday.

I'm not sure where I want to live I'm hoping to more so find a house that I like and then take it from there.

What can you afford? Where do you want to live?

My mom and I often slept on a makeshift bed on the living room floor...or in the car.

Now I am 30 with an infant and make a decent salary. I am currently renting a condo but we are looking into buying a house. Obviously my idea of living space is skewed because of how I grew up so I'm not as educated as I could be about different living options.

Looking at houses now I'm starting to realize that I'm really drawn to the homes that you see out in the countryside with the big wraparound porches. I'm also drawn to the small details in the home like having neutral colored walls set against white trimming. I also like beadboard wainscoting and plantation shutters. I think I picked up this affinity later on in life while living in New England and also living in the Caribbean. I'm not really a fan of brick houses and I tend to like clean lines and some elements of Spanish style architecture.

When I think of my dream home I picture images such as these:
http://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/the-waterview-retreat-1896/

http://mlschick.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IMG_7202-1.jpg

http://www.jigsaw-puzzle-club.co.uk/jigsaw-puzzle.asp?jigsaws=3430

http://www.connorbuilding.com/HomeDisplay.aspx?HomeID=89

http://interi0r-design.net/category/architecture/page/2/

I already see that there is a conversation in another thread about the pros and cons of ramblers vs. colonials, which has been very helpful. What other options do I have in terms of styles of houses? What style of house do you think best encompases the small details that I like in a house that are mentioned above?