House 1 -- proximity to work and family will have a greater impact on your quality of life than any other extras.

let us know what happened!

OP here. We just put in an offer on house 2. We may or may not have competition (there was another second showing today, so clearly someone else is interested). Please wish us luck!

I vote for option 2 or 3, unless you can hold out for a house in the first neighborhood. I only have 2 kids and we could not live without a yard. One that is unusable AND drops off into a swamp sounds horrible. I personally would probably do 3 because I love the idea of customizing our home to our liking.

mosquitos and drowning.

House 2. Sounds like a better situation. Your kids will want to go outside to play and you will want them to do that. Fun things to do around house 2? How can you pass that up? It sounds great.

Anonymous wrote:Having lived in coastal areas most of my life, I know that I wouldn't even consider living in a home (with children) that backs up to a swamp. Too much potential danger.

Yikes! Should I ask what kind of dangers? I feel (am) ignorant on this subject!

Having lived in coastal areas most of my life, I know that I wouldn't even consider living in a home (with children) that backs up to a swamp. Too much potential danger.

Also, I hate new houses BUT if I had to live in new construction I would at least ant it to be my design so I could make sure it had some architectural interest and cool nooks and crannies. I would do #3 BUT would groan at the length of time. Still, if you are going to be there or more than 7-8 years, it is worth it.

The likelihood of millions of Mosquitos in backyard of house 1 would kill it for me.

House 2. Forget house 1, you need even a small yard. Do not recommend putting a kid in the basement, too tempting for transgressions. If you really want to get a house exactly like you want it, do house 3.

Anonymous wrote:No way would I do house 1 with no yard and that many kids. House 2 sounds pretty good and not that far from everything but could you wait for a better yard in same neighborhood as House 1?

House 1 neighborhood housing stock is really, really limited. That's literally the only new house in that location, and no lots available to build unless we want to tear down a tiny house and build something wildly out of place in the neighborhood.

For commuting purposes I'd rather be at location of house 1, but for most other reasons I'd rather be at house 2. We're really limited on location due to a need to land in one of two elementary school (specific program for one of my kids).

I greatly appreciate the feedback! It's very helpful.

No way would I do house 1 with no yard and that many kids. House 2 sounds pretty good and not that far from everything but could you wait for a better yard in same neighborhood as House 1?

2 because the cons to 1 are worse than the cons to 2, and the pros list is better than the pros list of 1. And it's less work than 3!

House 2 or build.

I only have 3 kids and the lack of a useable yard (nevermind one that contains potentially dangerous hazards) would knock #1 out of contention for me. Now if your kids are a lot older than I'm expecting, this isn't as much of an issue.

I would be very tempted to build, but only if you feel like you are settling for house 2 and if you think you and your DH are really committed to the building process!