Which house would you buy?

[Ephany]

I'd go with house #2, but it sounds like you like #3 best. The ability for my kid to ride their bike to all those places would be a definite plus, especially the beach! Personally, DH and I both agree we don't want anything bigger than 2500 sq feet. The more space we have, the more room we have to clean.

I work with many people who have large homes and everyone of them wishes they hadn't built/bought so large. The common complaint is that they really only live in a few rooms, that the house is expensive to heat/cool/upkeep and that it's a pain to have to clean or they find that they're spending all their free time on cleaning.

Good luck!

 

[PollyannaMom]

From the descriptions, I think I would love #2.

 

[tvguy]

A 12 minute drive in any direction from my house would have you passing through 3 or 4 towns.

Okay, if you are near the border of 2 towns, I can see that, but, assuming you drive at a reasonable speed, those towns have to be really small to hit 3 or 4 in only 12 minutes. But the county I live in is nearly 995 square miles.

I just checked, it's 66 miles from one end of Sacramento County to the other at the furthest points. Over an hour drive.

 

[tvguy]

Where I live taxes are based on what the house is worth, not what you pay for it. New homeowners pay the same as their neighbors who bought 30 years ago.

That was the way it was here until 1978 when Prop 13 passed. There were actually people being asked to pay more per year in property taxes than they had actually paid for the house. People who paid $1,500 for their houses 50 or 60 years ago were being forced to sell their homes.

 

[tvguy]

New Hampshire doesn't have a sales or income tax which is why property taxes are high. You pay it one way or another.

My FIL lives in Texas, no income tax there, the sales tax is only 6.25%, and their property taxes work out to about half a percent of the value of their home, and Texas seems to make it all work.

 

[DeniseinNS]

#2

 

[lovemygoofy]

My FIL lives in Texas, no income tax there, the sales tax is only 6.25%, and their property taxes work out to about half a percent of the value of their home, and Texas seems to make it all work.

Texas sales tax begins at 6.25% and then it varies according to where you live in TX as well as property tax. I live in El Paso and sales tax here is 8.25%.


If I drove 12 miles one way, I'd be in Mexico. If I drove 12 miles another way, I'd be lost in the desert.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Are you hoping for more children? To me 1.5 bathrooms is much more doable for a family of 3 than a family of 5.

 

[DMickey28]

So we moved back from Florida to NH a few years ago just after our son was 2! We lived with my parents in MAwhile looking. We narrowed down our towns by schools and set out.

Our realtor took us to a house as the last stop on our firat day out. It was a town we loved but at that time could not find anything for less than $300k which was our comfort max. This house was listed at $310k but she insisted we needed to see it. We fell in love with the location, the townand the house was a good fit for us. We bought it for $30k less than asking. It's a 2000 sqft 3 bed 1.5 bath with a three season room and family room on 1 acre. Therw are four houses on our street and qe arethe onky ones on our side up to the cul de sac. We now have 2 boys, 6 and 3, and the 1.5 bath is fine. I'd like a Master in the future but it's still ok for now.

So the moral of the story ... can you look in the town your parents live in slightly above your $200k budget? Who knows what you can get them down to. My other concern would be why does the town next to your parents have significantly higher taxes but a lower school system. In my area of NH the tax rate is tied very closely into how the schools are. Our raxes are 2.62% of our value, almost $8k. We looked in Hudson that had a 1.5% tax rate and you can see the difference for not being that far away.

Did I mentioni love love love our street. My boys, 6 and 3, can play outside and ride bikes while I check on them from inside. We know our neighbors, we know their schedule and they know our kids are around. Across the street are retired and are the original owners from 40 years ago. They are like extra grandparents foe our kids. I would not under estimate the right neighborhood. I will never buy on a busy street now.

 

[tvguy]

Texas sales tax begins at 6.25% and then it varies according to where you live in TX as well as property tax. I live in El Paso and sales tax here is 8.25%.


If I drove 12 miles one way, I'd be in Mexico. If I drove 12 miles another way, I'd be lost in the desert.

Yup, El Paso is about one quarter the size. Base sales tax is 7.5%, and up to 9% in some cities.

 

[Wendy31]

We're moving from FL back to NH so we can raise our son near family. Our budget is around $200k and we're kind of torn about what we should do....what would you choose?

House 1:
$120,000, $3,500 in taxes
4 bedroom, 1 bath, 1803 square feet, cape style 0.9 acres, 2 car garage
Same town as parents. On a dead end road. Decent area. Would need work, new kitchen, maybe a bathroom added, new roof, maybe windows. All doable with out budget, but a little smaller than we were hoping for. Decent school system.

House 2:
$179,900, $3,000 in taxes
4 bedroom 1.5 bathroom, 1967 square feet, victorian, 0.21 acres, 1 car garage
Same town as parents. Busier street than the first house, but not too bad. Smaller yard. Updated and would not need much work at all. In town location and we could ride bikes to my parents house, the small downtown, the park, the beach. (this appeals to us) A little better neighborhood than the first house.

House 3:
$189,900, $7,200 in taxes
3 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 3232 square feet, ranch 1.5 acres
In the town next to my parents, the town we used to live in, (9 minutes vs 5 minutes for the first house and 2 minutes for the second house). On a busier road, I think the speed limit is 45 mph. Updated and doesn't need anything for a while. On a golf course. Partially finished basement. A house that we can truly see us growing into and owning for life. (the house, not the exact location). Gorgeous lake and mountain views from the HUGE back deck. Beautiful back yard, but being on the golf course it offers limited privacy in the back. Kids can only ride bikes in driveway. Road is a HUGE hill so no walking down it either.

House 4:
$112,900, $6,300 in taxes
3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1488 square foot ranch with 1488 square foot basement, log cabin style, 3.28 acres
In the same town as house 3. (12 minutes from my parents) On a busier road, but with a huge yard so lots of room for fun. Needs work, including a new kitchen. Not 100% sure how I feel about a log cabin. Kind of in the boonies surrounded by woods. No garage but has a big pad has already been poured and is ready to build on. I hear the school system is a bit better than the town my parents live in, but I think they are pretty comparable.

These are 4 very different homes and I like pieces of each one. If I could take the dead end street from house #1 with the location of house #2 with the actual house from house #3 and the land from house #4 I would have my dream home.

I have an emotional attachement to the town that house 1 and 2 are in because I grew up there. I always pictured my kids playing home town little league, going to the school I went to, etc.

We are looking to find a house we can live in for a long time, perhaps forever.

So what would you do? What are the pros and cons that you see?

I'd go with either #2 or #3.

W/ a family, I think you need at least a bath & 1/2.

I love the idea of biking to the park & beach w/ option #2! The only thing, to me, that might be a downside would be the 1 car garage.

I think House #3 sounds nice except for the busy street.

Also, since it's a ranch over a basement, is the family room located in the basement away from the kitchen? I wouldn't like that - I like for our main living area to be close to the kitchen.

 

[GAGirlInVA]

I have 5 children and while I realize they are young, our 2300 sq ft is as large as I'd ever want to go. It's plenty. (And we are homeschoolers so we REALLY use our house!) There is not way I'd want to pay taxes, utilities and clean all that!

With those choices I'd choose 2 just because you've dreamed of living in the same town as your parents, etc.

1 bath is haaard.

 

[phorsenuf]

If you are looking in the Concord area our house is for sale up there.

 

[Wendy31]

I have 5 children and while I realize they are young, our 2300 sq ft is as large as I'd ever want to go. It's plenty. (And we are homeschoolers so we REALLY use our house!) There is not way I'd want to pay taxes, utilities and clean all that!

With those choices I'd choose 2 just because you've dreamed of living in the same town as your parents, etc.

1 bath is haaard.

We are a homeschooling family too, & we really use our house also! We have about 2,500 sq ft, but about 500 sq ft of the total is our finished basement which we use as our playroom/school room. So the main living areas are about 2,000 square feet, & that's about as small as I'd want to go.

The only 2 rooms that don't always get used are our living room & dining room. However, if we didn't have our living room, I'm not sure where we'd put a lot of our books.

I love the layout of our house though. If we had 1 more bedroom, a big, covered front porch, & a pool, it would be perfect! But we'd really, really, really like (& need) 1 more bedroom - the big front porch & swimming pool are just what we'd have if we were living in my dream home.

 

[ksjayhawks]

i would keep looking. Doesn't sound like any house is right for you.

Understand that you are excited about moving back to your hometown and family, but don't let that cause you to hastily buy a house that you will regret buying down the road. Better to live in an apartment for a short time and find something that you really like and really want to live in for many, many years or the rest of your life.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would go for house #2.

First, house is updated. While I do not love the 1.5 bath at least there are 2 toilets.

Second, the appeal of the location is what seals the deal for me. Ride bikes to the park, small downtown, your parents, and beach. Good neighborhood. DONE! I am ready to move there now.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I think the higher taxes would really make me nervous. They are only going to go up. I liked the idea of renting an apartment to give yourself some time. Especially if you could find a month-to-month so you could move with short notice. I would hate for you to rush your decision.

 

[yoopermom]

As the wife of a contractor, I have a slightly different opinion. Do you have a family member/friend who has any connections with an architect or general contractor? I would seriously price out how much it would cost to fix up/expand house number one. The dead end road, large lot size, lowest price and close proximity to family are huge assets. You might be surprised at how much you could have done for 50-80K.

For example, we have friends who bought a typical small rectangular cottage/ranch house, had DH put on a second floor (literally, raised the roof), doubled their square footage, for less than the cost of a new house.

Just an idea, as long as you don't have to be able to move into it right away...

Good luck whatever you decide!

Terri

 

[mjkacmom]

As the wife of a contractor, I have a slightly different opinion. Do you have a family member/friend who has any connections with an architect or general contractor? I would seriously price out how much it would cost to fix up/expand house number one. The dead end road, large lot size, lowest price and close proximity to family are huge assets. You might be surprised at how much you could have done for 50-80K.

For example, we have friends who bought a typical small rectangular cottage/ranch house, had DH put on a second floor (literally, raised the roof), doubled their square footage, for less than the cost of a new house.

Just an idea, as long as you don't have to be able to move into it right away...

Good luck whatever you decide!


Terri

This is my thought, as well. We are not on a busy street, but I'd love to live on a dead end (fortunately my parents do, and they live a mile away, so my kids bike and scooter there all of the time). When we bought our current home, it only had one bathroom. We just added on (using a sun porch). Lots of homes here (built 100+ years ago) started out with one bathroom, but most have more now. I'd prefer a bigger lot, and plan on adding on to the home.

I would hate to live isolated from neighbors, or in an area where we couldn't walk or bike anywhere. Having my parents close is HUGE! Sure, it would be okay to be 15 minutes away, but it's nice to have them close to get kids to or from school, activities, borrow milk, etc. Now that they're getting older, it's nice that we can get to them in 3 to 4 minutes (depending upon if the light is red or green).

 

[JVL1018]

Okay, if you are near the border of 2 towns, I can see that, but, assuming you drive at a reasonable speed, those towns have to be really small to hit 3 or 4 in only 12 minutes. But the county I live in is nearly 995 square miles. I just checked, it's 66 miles from one end of Sacramento County to the other at the furthest points. Over an hour drive.

The northeast often has small(size wise) towns.
I live in a suburb of NYC and if I drive 12 minutes in any direction, I'm out of my town and through at least 2-3 towns.
I take my daughter to dance once a week, drive through 6 towns, including my own, and get there in 15 minutes.
My town is about 3 square miles and it's average for this area.

OP, I'd pick house 2.