1 - agree with simpsongal about the roof. How old is it? If you put in an offer, make sure the home inspector spends some time up there. Love the yard! Do those baseboard heaters get hot to the touch? A couple rooms have random cables (kitchen counter and a living room (?) near the window). Assume that’s an easy fix but my kid would go Right for those.
2 - some nice updates! Looks like the deck would need to be kid-proofed a bit.
I like house 2 way better in the pics. I agree with everything you mentioned above re: look at big cost items, any issues with golf course. What's hard to assess (like on HGTV!) is the actual location/neighborhood, and that can make a huge difference.
House 1 looks like something is hiding behind the thick cedar hedge. What's in the back behind that line of trees? Also consider the cost of updates you'd plan to do.
I like house 2 way better in the pics. I agree with everything you mentioned above re: look at big cost items, any issues with golf course. What's hard to assess (like on HGTV!) is the actual location/neighborhood, and that can make a huge difference.
House 1 looks like something is hiding behind the thick cedar hedge. What's in the back behind that line of trees? Also consider the cost of updates you'd plan to do.
. There's a creek back there, but it's small and a ways away. This area has not flooded in any of the recent floods.
Will you both be working outside of the house up there? I'm guessing mass transit up there is not great but if you feel that there's definitely a chance you'll have two cars up there someday even if you stick with one initially, then go with a two-car garage.
Yes, the plan is for two incomes and therefore two cars... we won't get a second right away but I can't imagine we'll last long.
Even if you don't end up with a second car for a while, it's a great spot for some extra storage.
I love that house one has the new roof and furnace. But like the look of house 2 better. In house 2 if that is electric baseboard that would be a dealbreaker. And no ac? I know it’s New York but it still gets hot. Are you okay with no air conditioning?
House number one seems devoid of curb appeal- that roof line puts me off. I noticed they bragged on the builder which is a point in its favor, but it's still kinda fugly. I also wonder if there is an issue with rain or snow melt that caused problems that lead to replacing the second story windows.
The flooring in the family room photographs like laminate; I would confirm that it is wood. I would also check out the "wood floors under carpets". It was common in the 1960s and 1970s to lay pine floors under areas that would get wall-to-wall carpeting. Pine can be pretty soft. I had it in my old house- it's OK for 2 quiet adults, but kids's toys and dogs would tear it up.
House two is more appealing, but the golf course would concern me. My parents have had 2 homes on golf courses- one had about 150' between the house and the fairway which wasn't too bad except for the lack of privacy, the odd golfer pissing in your yard, and the noise/chemicals associated with maintaining the greens. The other was much closer and a PITA. People wandering through garden beds looking for their balls (think pissed off assholes using irons as a machete to dig at your flowers because they suck as golfers and human beings), the house gets battered by errant shots (they lost a bedroom window, a car window, screens in the porch destroyed regularly and even the front french door when a ball ricocheted off a tree), it's not really safe for kids to play, a net (if allowed by a HOA) costs about $15K.
All that granny wallpaper makes my eye twitch. Did they actually paper the baseboard heating units? Not a fan of stripping paper although I have gotten really good at it thanks to my previous owner.