Anonymous wrote:Separate out your list of “must haves” and “nice to haves” and be realistic about them. We bought the house that hit all of our must haves and many of our nice to haves. Six years later, I’m still not crazy about the bathrooms, but “nice bathrooms” wasn’t on either the nice to have or must have lists. Number of bathrooms was and I got what I was looking for. Basically, know how you want to live in the house.

Good advice. You can always update a bathroom if you want.

Separate out your list of “must haves” and “nice to haves” and be realistic about them. We bought the house that hit all of our must haves and many of our nice to haves. Six years later, I’m still not crazy about the bathrooms, but “nice bathrooms” wasn’t on either the nice to have or must have lists. Number of bathrooms was and I got what I was looking for. Basically, know how you want to live in the house.

There are things you can change with time and money and things you simply cannot. Our first house purchase was what we could afford at the top of our budget (2004). Was a great financial decision but as we got older and had a family it was too small and had no room for expansion. You can't add bathrooms if you have no room. Updating a tiny kitchen doesn't make it bigger or more useful. Second house was a gut reno that we designed ourselves. Large spaces with my dream 400 foot kitchen and large windows overlooking back yard. I loved my sanded and stained in place wide plank red oak. I also picked granite slabs and cabinets I loved.

8 years later I still love my house. I love the footprint. I love my huge, well designed kitchen. I love that I can fit tons of people for entertaining and the location of my house. I love my floors and am thrilled I sent $$$ on them. I don't love my cabinets; paint peeling and wearing poorly. My granite slab is still great but is softer and prone to chipping more than I expected. There are some screws popping and other annoying things.

My point is this: Spend $ on things you cannot change. Don't settle for a small house that isn't where you want it to be because you love the new kitchen countertops and appliances. A new induction stove is not worth too few cabinets.

3 homes, 2 vacation homes in 25 years. I’ve always felt it unbelievable that we got them. I’ve always felt the payment shock but it has always worked out.

Best of luck.

Anonymous wrote:We’ve bought and sold multiple houses. I wish I would’ve understood better that the inspector isn’t necessarily on your side or there to protect your interests. They’re there to close the deal.

Yes, do not pick an inspector recommended by your real estate agent. Get an independent one, that will be honest with you.

We’ve bought and sold multiple houses. I wish I would’ve understood better that the inspector isn’t necessarily on your side or there to protect your interests. They’re there to close the deal.

Anonymous wrote:I love my house and my neighborhood, but I find some of my neighbors to be unwelcoming, unfriendly, and somewhat snobby. Luckily, we don't have small children, so we do not feel the need to engage with them. Even if I had known this before we purchased it, I would still have bought this house. We love the house and the beauty of the area.

Do you mind sharing where?

We bought a house bigger than we thought we needed (only 2 kids) and use every room more than we ever thought we would.

Wish we had a bigger yard , but interior we underestimated how valuable the space is now that they are older.

I love my house and my neighborhood, but I find some of my neighbors to be unwelcoming, unfriendly, and somewhat snobby. Luckily, we don't have small children, so we do not feel the need to engage with them. Even if I had known this before we purchased it, I would still have bought this house. We love the house and the beauty of the area.

Anonymous wrote:Buying and selling is expensive (very) and a pain in the neck. My biggest regret is not maxing the budget the first time to get into the house I wanted in the neighborhood I wanted. Which could have happened if I'd accepted a bit of risk and being house poor for a few years. Then I'd be sitting very pretty now instead of waiting for the great unknown - interest rates falling, so I can sell my dull house that I bought just to get something before the market went crazy. And even then I'd be stuck with a much higher mortgage if I do manage to get the house I always wanted.

That's my gripe. Otherwise house is fine. I never loved it, didn't buy it to love it, but it's comfortable enough and a good neighborhood, so I'm indifferent to it. Just waiting to sell it. But it is a different feeling than had I bought the other house because I wouldn't be waiting to sell it and I wouldn't be measuring every penny spent on the house against the resale potential.

This. My husband pushed for this and luckily we purchased at the top of our budget in the desirable neighborhood. Since then we both have been promoted and make more $$ but the first couple years we were house poor. We wouldn’t be able to afford the area now even with what we make.


I believe in location. You can change a home overtime but location is key. Also people forget to think about the very expensive issues plumbing, electrical, water line. If you are purchasing an old home that can’t show these items have been updated you need to assume you’ll need to redo/ fix/ update them. It’s very expensive, and not fun like updating a kitchen and bath. And insurance doesn’t always cover it if it’s age that causes the problem…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The layout of our house isn’t great for family time. Our main level living area is too small and the basement is finished but unappealing.

Which summarizes most finished basements. Unless you have a full walk out that feels like a proper above the ground floor, there's nothing you can do to a basement to make it anything other than a basement. It will be dark, it will always feel fully, it will never be a place to hang out in for hours, unless you are kids desperate to get away from the parents, and in that case it really doesn't matter how nice it is.

To each their own, or maybe you need more inspiration when it comes to decorating and properly lighting basements. Model homes tend to be really good for this -- I've been in some fantastic examples of finished, below-grade basements in decorated builder models. Also check out pinterest etc.

Been there, done it, seen it. No basement remodel ever hides that it's a basement. And I don't spend time in basements. Life is too short.

we bought in inner pg county and regretted it for the first 3 years. great house, not great neighborhood.

then, the neighborhood started to turn around. its not there yet, but getting pretty close.

10 years later now and we own our home outright, great neighbors, kids enjoy their private school, and life is good.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Same here. I absolutely loved house #1 and we renovated it just to our tastes. It's the only place that ever felt like home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The layout of our house isn’t great for family time. Our main level living area is too small and the basement is finished but unappealing.

Which summarizes most finished basements. Unless you have a full walk out that feels like a proper above the ground floor, there's nothing you can do to a basement to make it anything other than a basement. It will be dark, it will always feel fully, it will never be a place to hang out in for hours, unless you are kids desperate to get away from the parents, and in that case it really doesn't matter how nice it is.

To each their own, or maybe you need more inspiration when it comes to decorating and properly lighting basements. Model homes tend to be really good for this -- I've been in some fantastic examples of finished, below-grade basements in decorated builder models. Also check out pinterest etc.

For our first house I didn't have any idea of what renovations would realistically cost. My family was very DIY and my dad spent many weekends updating things around the house. We went in looking a lot at houses with a lot of potential, not houses we loved on day one in their current condition. The house we bought was livable, but the shine quickly wore off when finishing the basement and adding a bathroom proved to be out of reach for years, not months. We did DIY the backyard and it ended up "nice" but still not somewhere I actually wanted to spend a lot of time relaxing.
The house we currently own I bought with the idea in mind that we would have to like it as is with no plans to update within the next few years. There are things we could do to update/improve but nothing that makes the house disappointing to live in without them.