We stretched to buy, this was in 2018. I wanted 500 to 650k; 750k with a 3800 PITI felt inconceivable but we went for it. Now our PITI is 3400, and collectively we make about 120k more, so it’s a lot easier. Our layout is not the best (well I don’t mind it but DH doesn’t like the kitchen) but the house has been good to us, for the most part.

We overbought and have a mortgage that would be criticized on dcum. In two years the zestimate has gone up by 400k so I think we made the right decision.

Bought a brand new EYA townhouse. Very happy with it, I like it more than when we bought it now that it’s more lived in. There will always be things you wish it had. The neighborhood where you’re in is also important. It can make you hate the house

I loved every house I owned. They were all different, but special to me in their own ways. Currently on house #4 and I wish I still had house #1. I poured my heart and soul into that one.

We looked for and found a house that the previous owners put a lot of thought and care into, which we could tell from the renos done. The house was at the highest end of our budget at the time and we are so glad we went for it. Still a lot of money going into it, random things come up, but we love the house and never feel like we will have to “upgrade” or move even if we have more kids, until and unless we want to eventually downsize.

We bought our house ten years ago. The house was a disaster but the location, lot, and community were exactly what we wanted. The house has taken a long time together and we aren’t done but I’m so glad we had the long game in mind and didn’t go for instant gratification. It also keeps me busy and gives me things to look forward to.

Try visiting the house at a few different times of day to get a feel for what it is like to live there. Show up once early in the morning on a Wednesday or Thursday (7-9am), Once on the weekend, and another time at night. Its helpful to get an idea of how much noise there is around your property

Make sure you like the layout. Especially of the kitchen. If the kitchen has cinder block/brick walls those are structural and cost a lot to remove 😔😒😩

I bought a house during COVID and I'm just so relieved that whole experience is done (it took quote some effort to finally win a bid). I've put some work in to improve the house (adding some shelving and cabinets). I've also put a ton of work into the yard/garden. I plan to never move again if I can possibly avoid it.

We have owned three houses. I haven’t liked any of them. We have the worst timing and luck in real estate and have had to buy in a hurry twice.

Buy something you like if you can.

With our first house we focused on the house and not as much the location. Neighborhood was a dud and we didn’t like being so far outside the beltway.

With our second house we put a lot more priority into the neighborhood and have been much happier. The house checked basic boxes for us regarding number of rooms, flat lot, etc.

When we moved in we were really excited to be living here. There were cosmetic things we didn’t love about the house, but 6 years in we’ve done some major improvements and love our home even more.

Anonymous wrote:We bought in a tough market and bid on the best house available at the time. It took a long time for me to actually like the house though. Some parts of it I still hate. Plus we were impressed with how well maintained it was, but let's just say we didn't/couldn't look close enough; not that it would have mattered in that market.

But we are still here 20+ years later and it is the house where we raised our family, so it is full of love and memories (ugly banister be damned).

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This. The previous owners of our house took exceptional care of it, but every single thing in the house is/was original builder grade or the cheapest replacement they could find.

Anonymous wrote:As a potential first time homeowner, I’m feeling excited about the house we might buy but also not sure how I’ll feel when we actually move in (or years later as our young kids get older).

How did you all feel when you bought a house? Did you end up loving it more, less, the same? Was there anything you realized you should have thought more about before buying?

I’ve spent most of the last decade living in a big city, so owning a house in the suburbs is all new to me.

I think everyone has things they'd do differently, mine would be to understand the true cost, time, and effort of remodeling/updating.

And separate from remodeling/updating costs, that when people say you'll spend 1% of your home value a year on maintenance, that's more than true.

We currently live in the third house my H and I have bought over 25 years. I find I love this house the most, I think because it's where our kid was born and raised. It's an older house and there were many small things that needed to be fixed the first few years...and after a while the small things were turning into bigger things. So at the ten year mark we did a small addition and renovation. That finished just over a year ago and I love this house even more. I will say that in every buy and sell we learned more and it's a bit of a crapshoot in every home. For our first house we had an excellent home inspector, we used him again 10+ years later for our third home and he missed a ton. We also watched A LOT of Holmes' shows on HGTV back in the day...he would explain what to look for in plumbing, electrical, roof work, etc. Watching a TV show sounds silly, but that bit of knowledge at least allowed us to go in on bids with our eyes open.

Moving sucks and is expensive.

I wish we had spent more money getting a better house instead of our “5 year house” that we’ve been living in for a decade. Seriously. We have 3 kids and our youngest is 2 years old. Packing up our house and unpacking is enough of a deterrent that we might stay until they go to college.