When we moved to Georgia we moved into our first home 6 weeks after we got there. The house we bought was the only house I saw and Brian looked at maybe 10 houses total. It was fast, easy, and extremely affordable. We had hundreds of options in our price range which made house hunting in Georgia easy. Well we have not had the same experience in the Hamp. I feel like there are 100 things to consider. Do we want to live near the beach or the mountains? Do we want an older (1900's) home or a newer home? A fixer or turn key? Do we want land? Do we want to live in New Hampshire and pay high property tax or live in Maine and pay income tax? I am indecisive and this has become impossible in my mind. Houses are very different here and even the homes in our price range vary greatly. Just check out pictures from one day of houses hunting to see.
Since we don't have the options like we did in Georgia and we have more variables to consider, we have started our wants and needs list. My list in probably different than Brian's list so we'll go with mine.
Needs:
-3 Bedrooms (2 with potential for 3 is fine)
-1300-2000sqft (We prefer small houses)
-Good neighborhood for walking
-0.5 acre + (most houses have 2+ acres)
-Decent schools
-Storage space
-In a rural area
Wants:
-Within 2-3 miles to the beach
-Basement
-Large backyard
-2 Bathrooms (most old homes only have 1 bath)
-Ranch style
-1st floor laundry
-Needs TLC
-Low property taxes
-Close to work
So you can see that we have started to assess what we need and it is helping narrow down our search. We are still not close to pulling the trigger and houses seem to go fast. We have called on a number of houses and within a week they are all under contract. Basically when we are ready to pull the trigger we have to do it without hesitation. Our rental is up middle of May so I think February is going to be our month of house hunting frenzy. Not to mention after plenty of research it looks like house prices dip during the month of March. Let's hope that trend continues for us.
I feel like we are first time home buyers because this experience is so different than the first time. I wish I could just call the Property Brothers and they could handle this for us :)
What are your wants and needs? Any tips for us rookies?
I LOVE the bottom three houses, but I love older smaller homes and I love the contrasting shutters on the last.
ReplyDeleteMy dream home is a smaller bungalow or craftsman. Devin's dream home is a new house that is extremely open. We compromised a lot to find our house which ended up being a semi open 1970s ranch...has more space than we need.
Smaller homes will have less utilities and less costs as far as items needing replaced. If you buy something that needs to be fixed up, there is a loan you can get that rolls the cost of fixing it up into your mortgage.
With your husband's woodworking skills...I think it would be awesome to see a fixer upper. My parents and I flipped their house in high school and it was pretty crazy having no kitchen for a few months, but I actually look back on it fondly!
Good luck house hunting. I'm so glad I found your blog, keep updating.
ReplyDeleteListing down all your needs and wants is definitely a great idea. House hunting can really give us a lot of headaches. But if you have a list, it can help you narrow down your options and give you better chances in finding your dream house immediately. That being said, congratulations on buying the ranch house you've always wanted!
ReplyDeleteDarren Lanphere @ Mirr Ranch Group