Your house hunt

[bjscheel]

This is just curiosity! DD recently got Hulu and I've been watching a lot of House Hunters. I never got to look for a house- ours came with DH's job and we eventually bought it. I know the show is not entirely realistic, but it seems of the 3 to choose from, they are all missing key components of their wish list.

So when you were looking, was it hard to find something in budget that met your needs and wants? Did you have to settle?

I have to say, watching that show makes me appreciate my house. It really suits us well but then I have to remember before we moved in it was kind of awful. Lots of our own sweat equity and updates of our own choosing made at this point.

 

[martikus]

We’ve been lucky. Both times we bought we had the luxury of time so had time to wait for what we wanted. We are also very low key so the want list was pretty low.

It was truly we will know It when we see it both times. we actually lost out On a house in a bidding war and ended up in a nicer house (had newer stuff inside) on a better street. I don’t feel we settled either time. Our town is now so crazy expensive we won’t be moving. We are here until son graduates and we decide what’s next. If our
Master wasn’t upstairs we could probably stay here forever.

 

[DisneyHardin]

From what I've read about House Hunters is that the buyers are already in escrow on the house they are buying before the show even comes. The producers then find 2 other houses similarish to the one they are in escrow on to "stage" the looking process.

 

[Disneylover99]

We looked at sooooo many houses.

Too many really. But it was our second house, so we knew what we wanted and what we didn’t want and we didn’t want to settle.

The one house I fell in love with was out of our budget. It was on the market for over a month (overpriced and the owner wasn’t budging on price) which was a long time in the area and at that time. Anyways, my love for the house grew as the weeks rolled on and I finally decided I had to have it. We made an offer at the right time and we were able to get it at the top of my budget. I was so happy! We’ve been here 18 years and have no plans to move.

 

[bjscheel]

If our
Master wasn’t upstairs we could probably stay here forever.

At first we were all upstairs, very close together which was great when the kids were little. When they became teens we made an addition and put a master downstairs. Turned a small bedroom upstairs into two large closets. Best thing we ever did.

 

[design_mom]

I have heard the same thing as DisneyHardin... that the couple has already bought one of the houses before the show is filmed. I think the list of "must haves" is probably exaggerated for drama -- or else there would be an obvious choice and there would be no dilemma.

For what it's worth, our realtor told us that if a house had 80% of our wish list then it was worth seriously considering. We found our first house and it had more than 80%. It was a good fit for us at the time. We built our second house and still didn't get EVERYTHING on our wish list (got to work within a budget), but it's still a very nice house.

 

[kdonnel]

Looking at new construction is a hobby. The wife and I usually wander through a few models every weekend. Luckily the area is still exploding in growth so there are always 100's of new neighborhoods around.

So when it came time to buy our current house we had already looked at thousands of homes and were very familiar with the neighborhoods in the area.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Well I bought the second house I viewed and I really ended up buying this house with almost zero planning.

I had been renting the same townhouse for forever and honestly had zero interest in home ownership except for decorating purposes (everything is freaking brown and beige and lord do I hate those colors). The whole idea seemed like such a commitment and being responsible for everything just blech.

But I loved my neighborhood and my pet was getting older (and had both CCLs fixed) so was struggling getting up 3 flight of steep stairs (living was on floors 2-3). I was having to carry her and it was becoming an issue.

I decided to look at a few houses pretty much to convince myself that I didn’t want to buy The second house I saw was pretty perfect for what I wanted and it kind of snowballed from there and I had put in an offer within two days.

I closed a week before I was set to travel for about 6 weeks, found a designer to handle the renovations (goodbye brown and beige) and handed off the keys before leaving town.

I tend to make large decisions rather quickly lol.

 

[dclpluto]

Bought my house at 24. We didn’t have much money back than. I knew I didn’t want to get a used house where I had to fix things while I was paying on the mortgage. Found one got it paid off in 14 years and still in it today. Planning on being in it for life. Almost 51 now. Only thing I can think of that I needed a new one while We has a mortgage was a water heater.
Seriously think of buying new unless you see one one a couple years old or you want to fix things while you have a mortgage.

 

[ronandannette]

We were in a rental at the time we were ready to buy so not having to sell made things a little less complicated. We had our hearts set on a certain neighbourhood and knew we probably couldn't afford a single-family home there. We started watching condo listings like a hawk and when a lovely one came on the market, we viewed it that same day (DH was a realtor at the time). It was amazing, but at the very top of our price range. We made an offer while we were standing in it - full price, which was the absolute most we could spend. We had an idea it would probably go into a bidding-war, so we crossed our fingers and headed off for a planned long-weekend in Disneyland!

They ended up rejecting our offer without even countering as two higher ones came in that first day. Providentially though, by the time we got back 3 days later, a different unit in the same complex came on (not as good but still nice). It was an estate sale and the owners wanted it gone. Not only was it much less expensive but because it needed serious cosmetic upgrades, it left us with enough budget to do an extensive reno - full kitchen and 2 baths, new flooring and paint throughout. It was fun to do, great to select everything just as I wanted it and it turned out great.

We've been here 6 years and plan to stay until the mortgage is paid off (Lord willing). Oh, and as to the original question - we never looked at anything anywhere else except these two condo units.

 

[White Cat]

Our last house we bought while in another country looking at pics of the house on the listing site. It was new and empty and never lived in. We wired the money, signed what needed signed and a key was left in a lock box. It was several months until we got to it for the first time. The realtor did a good job for us and looked out for us.

 

[lorimay]

All three of our homes were new construction, that was most important to me.
The first was a tiny condo in the 80's. Then we found a new construction spec home in the 90's. I didn't get to pick everything inside, but there were good upgrades for us and the builder paid most of our closing costs, so that made it worth it.

This last one 4 years ago was new and we bought before the concrete was poured, I was excited to pick all the finishes and colors I wanted. Of course this builder only had packages so no individual picking. Our main thought was new so we didn't have to worry about roofs, air conditioner, etc. for the foreseeable future. I wanted white cabinets but that was the top grade and $35,000 to upgrade. We had already spent more than we planned at that point so I have espresso cabinets and they are very nice and work. It was the only new construction that kept us in the area of our kids and my husbands job.
Best part we already has a small roof leak and our A/C has broken twice

 

[_19disnA]

Searching for a house is mostly about your budget, what areas you are interested in and the specific features. While those TV home shows are fun to see the variety of what is available, I would focus more on the things that are important to you, your family and how you plan to use the home. The format of many TV home shows is contrived and not necessarily representative of how you or I might do our home searching. What is trendy today won't be 5 yrs from now. TV designers seem more focused on what is trendy since it isn't their problem if you have to remodel again when styles change. It actually means more future business for them if they sell you something that will appear dated in a few years.

The exact number of homes you look at means less then having a sense of what you are looking for so you don't waste a realtor's time when you have no idea what you want.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

The only things I was picky about was location, number of bedrooms/bathrooms and it had to have a garage. I knew if we got the location we wanted and the bones of the house where correct, everything else could be renovated or upgraded later. This is our forever home so we have time to make it perfect.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

From what I've read about House Hunters is that the buyers are already in escrow on the house they are buying before the show even comes. The producers then find 2 other houses similarish to the one they are in escrow on to "stage" the looking process.

Finding that out a few years ago it made it hard to watch the show Of course I didn't think it was 100% real but to find out they were pretending to like or dislike things about the house really changed things and then they do retakes if the reaction isn't enough. I still watch it sometimes but it's not the same

 

[design_mom]

I still watch it sometimes but it's not the same

Now we watch it like a game show. "Which one did they already buy?! Door #1, #2, or #3?" Tip: If two have furniture and the third is empty, guess the empty one.

 

[Kitty 34]

My house came with my DH. It was definitely his bachelor pad back in the day but after kids, remodeling, adding rooms, more remodeling, it became a nice cozy home.......and DH turning his barn into a mancave, also, helped immensely .

 

[disneychrista]

There was only a few house in my price range. I knew I would not be getting an HGTV style house. I would be getting a fixer that could be lived in as is. The only requirement was that it had a fenced yard for the dog, as he was why I was looking for a house to buy vs renting an apartment/house.

 

[Micca]

My house came with my DH. It was definitely his bachelor pad back in the day

Did he get to keep his lava lamp???

 

[marthachick]

It doesn’t matter as long as there is ‘room to entertain!’ Do people really place a huge emphasis on that when buying a house? Not judging, just curious!