You mentioned square footage earlier...we used to live in a 1400 sft. 3 bed 1.5 bath house with a basement. The basement wasn't included in the sft and had a 600 sft. bonus room, so it really was more like 2000 sft but on paper just 1400. It felt waaay bigger than the 1200 sft apartment we moved from. Something about the stairs providing more separation and that extra basement space made a huge difference.
I dream of having stairs! To me it's not a real house unless there are stairs
Everything we saw was on Redfin but our RE agent was the one who found the house we bought. It was WAY out of our price range but the REA had insider info on why she thought we could make an offer (at the top of our price range) and have a real shot at being accepted. I didn't originally even want to see it and have my heart set on something unaffordable but am glad we trusted her, obviously, since we bought the house for within our range!
FYI, the prior owners were being relocated and the house had some kind of a guarantee to them from a pro relocation company on how much they'd get if they could sell it themselves (instead of the relo company having to do it when they left). With our offer, the company made up the difference to the acceptable level, apparently, so there was a win-win. I had no idea such a thing existed so I'm super glad the REA gossip chain exists.
That actually happened with the house my ILs live in! The person they bought from was relocating and the same thing happened.
What is required to be enrolled? Is it a deposit or do you have to sign a contract? What are the deadlines, penalties for default, etc? In other words, can you enroll V in more than one district, have her evaluated then make your decision? I know this costs money, but factor it into your house budget. You don't have to answer these questions because my guess is that it's not possible, but I just wanted to throw it out there. To answer your original question... yes, where I live there are always off market houses, but they are generally over $1M. I think Zillow has a "make me move" category where people who aren't selling really will for the right price. Good luck with your house and school hunt!
You mentioned square footage earlier...we used to live in a 1400 sft. 3 bed 1.5 bath house with a basement. The basement wasn't included in the sft and had a 600 sft. bonus room, so it really was more like 2000 sft but on paper just 1400. It felt waaay bigger than the 1200 sft apartment we moved from. Something about the stairs providing more separation and that extra basement space made a huge difference.
I dream of having stairs! To me it's not a real house unless there are stairs
You and Thad would get along so well! He keeps saying we need to buy a new house because this one doesn't have stairs. He points out all the houses he would like to buy every day.
There's an open house for this one on Sunday. We aren't buying right now but I'm kind of debating going for fun.
I go to open houses for houses we wont buy all the time Its a hobby to me
I love the Spanish style of this house. I used to run by it on my long runs during marathon training and wondered what the deal was with it. I sent it to our contractor to see how much a total reno would be. Answer=way more than we can spend.
There's an open house for this one on Sunday. We aren't buying right now but I'm kind of debating going for fun.
I go to open houses for houses we wont buy all the time Its a hobby to me
I love the Spanish style of this house. I used to run by it on my long runs during marathon training and wondered what the deal was with it. I sent it to our contractor to see how much a total reno would be. Answer=way more than we can spend.
All these houses are seriously adorable. I'm jealous.
eta: the backyard is pretty perfect.
Yea that would I would do a family room addition and we would probably add a bathroom somewhere if possible. I mean, I survive with one bathroom right now, but it is not fun.
Expansions are so expensive too. I think our last quote was 180k for our house expansion still cheaper than buying bigger in our neighborhood but it's alarming! So i would say if you are close to top of budget for mortgage you would want to be ok with the space you get for at least a few years. But if you can buy below budget and then allow 100k extra for the expansion you could do it sooner
Expansions are so expensive too. I think our last quote was 180k for our house expansion still cheaper than buying bigger in our neighborhood but it's alarming! So i would say if you are close to top of budget for mortgage you would want to be ok with the space you get for at least a few years. But if you can buy below budget and then allow 100k extra for the expansion you could do it sooner
Oh man 180k is more than I was expecting but I guess that makes sense . It does add a lot of value to the home but it's a tough pill to swallow! And do you need cash for that? There's no way we can buy a house with a hefty down payment and then have 100k laying around in cash for an expansion.
Yea that would I would do a family room addition and we would probably add a bathroom somewhere if possible. I mean, I survive with one bathroom right now, but it is not fun.
Really? I thought you had 2 for some reason. Maybe I'm thinking of the other apartment you were looking at. I guess 1 would be doable for now, but when the girls get older, I think you will really want the second one.
We just have one and now that we have 4 people using it it's really starting to suck! I've had to stop my pee mid stream bc one of my kids have to pee lol. I am soooo over it. We did look at an apt with two but we ended up with this one lonely bathroom.
Expansions are so expensive too. I think our last quote was 180k for our house expansion still cheaper than buying bigger in our neighborhood but it's alarming! So i would say if you are close to top of budget for mortgage you would want to be ok with the space you get for at least a few years. But if you can buy below budget and then allow 100k extra for the expansion you could do it sooner
Oh man 180k is more than I was expecting but I guess that makes sense . It does add a lot of value to the home but it's a tough pill to swallow! And do you need cash for that? There's no way we can buy a house with a hefty down payment and then have 100k laying around in cash for an expansion.
I really need more money!
You can get building loans, so it wouldn't have to be cash. I wish I had that much cash!
I hated having only one toilet. My H is ALWAYS in there. But only one shower wouldn't be a deal breaker now. I am not sure about when the kids are teenagers and 4 people need to shower in the morning though.
Expansions are so expensive too. I think our last quote was 180k for our house expansion still cheaper than buying bigger in our neighborhood but it's alarming! So i would say if you are close to top of budget for mortgage you would want to be ok with the space you get for at least a few years. But if you can buy below budget and then allow 100k extra for the expansion you could do it sooner
Oh man 180k is more than I was expecting but I guess that makes sense . It does add a lot of value to the home but it's a tough pill to swallow! And do you need cash for that? There's no way we can buy a house with a hefty down payment and then have 100k laying around in cash for an expansion.
I really need more money!
We will be getting a construction loan I think then it will all be rolled back into a remortgage. Our payment will only go up about 300 a month I think but we also have six years of equity in the house built up
We have 1.5 bathrooms and its perfect for now. If we had less than 2 toilets, we would have a lot of pee accidents.
We also have just shy of 1200 sq. feet. Layout is great since we built a wall to close off the boys' room. We have a ton of storage in our garage spot. If we didn't, we might be forced to have a lot less stuff I was pretty minimalist (minus clothes) before the boys came along. We never even went into their bedroom when it was just H &I.
TrudyCampbell and laurack the working number here for renos/builds is $200/square foot for basic renos or builds. If you want top of the line stuff, its more like $450-500/sq. foot. I always run that number in my head when I see properties that need a new kitchen etc.
Yeah you can get a loan for additions. Sometimes, I imagine it's location and market dependent, you can add the construction loan right in your original purchase loan so you can add on before you even move in. You'd have to get architectural designs and what not done quickly and have a pretty good down payment.
Yeah you can get a loan for additions. Sometimes, I imagine it's location and market dependent, you can add the construction loan right in your original purchase loan so you can add on before you even move in. You'd have to get architectural designs and what not done quickly and have a pretty good down payment.
This would be my dream. Buy the house a few months before we move, do an addition or whatever work, and then move in after its complete. Better start saving my pennies!
Post by TrudyCampbell on May 13, 2016 9:22:05 GMT -5
I dreammmmm of a huge master bath with a giant soaking tub. I guess I can't have that and be semi close to the city and be in an excellent school program.