Choosing real estate

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Okay everyone talks about how to pick real estate and we touched on bad house in good neighborhood versus great house in bad. But what factors are involved? What's important in buying a house?

1. Condo versus house? Let's assume you can't afford a house in your chosen neighborhood but you can buy a condo. Which is it?

2. If you did buy a condo what if you can't afford a 2 bd but only 1 bd?

3. If you could buy a house in your chosen neighborhood what if it were only 2 bedrooms instead of 3 bedrooms?

4. What if the house only has 1 bathroom?

5. Do you buy a house in the "right" neighborhood but on a busy road? What if it's not in a neighborhood but a commuting traveled road?

6. Do you buy a home with a bad layout and not easily fixable due to constrained lot size?

7. Is it ever worth to buy a home fixed up or better to always buy a fixer?

8. Is it worth looking for a bigger lot with an older house or newer house on a smaller lot?

I'm curious as to people on the board's experiences.

[97guns]

a house for living in should be bought in steps imo, first the starter house, small, manageable and affordable then step up when equity has grown. i dont like condos for the sole reason of association dues, they controll everything

[Like2Plan]

Okay everyone talks about how to pick real estate and we touched on bad house in good neighborhood versus great house in bad. But what factors are involved? What's important in buying a house?

I will answer your questions as if I had 2 small children to consider.
I might go for a bad house in a good neighborhood. I wouldn't consider a great house in a bad neighborhood.

1. Condo versus house? Let's assume you can't afford a house in your chosen neighborhood but you can buy a condo. Which is it?

I might explore a few more options before I settled on a neighborhood. I might look for a different neighborhood that I could afford. A condo wouldn't be out of the question, but it would be after all other options had been explored.

2. If you did buy a condo what if you can't afford a 2 bd but only 1 bd?

I think that would be way too tight. It might be okay on a temporary basis, but not long term.

3. If you could buy a house in your chosen neighborhood what if it were only 2 bedrooms instead of 3 bedrooms?

I would continue to look. 2 BRs would be okay for a temporary basis, but not long term

4. What if the house only has 1 bathroom?

No

5. Do you buy a house in the "right" neighborhood but on a busy road? What if it's not in a neighborhood but a commuting traveled road?

No. When DH and I were looking for a house, we considered one that was on a busy road. I am so glad we didn't get that one. It would have been bad for the road noise. It would have been bad for our DS growing up and also bad for resale value.

6. Do you buy a home with a bad layout and not easily fixable due to constrained lot size?

No. Why paint yourself into a corner?

7. Is it ever worth to buy a home fixed up or better to always buy a fixer?

We couldn't afford the house we wanted, so we bought the one we could afford and made changes to it as we went along. Now, I wouldn't want to go through that again.

8. Is it worth looking for a bigger lot with an older house or newer house on a smaller lot?

I'm curious as to people on the board's experiences.

There are things to be said for either one. The older house has stood the test of time, but then there is a replacement cycle on things that wear out (roof). The newer house might not have the same quality of materials (cheap laminate hardwoods on the new construction,for example). Anyway, it is hard to have a rule about this because it depends on the workmanship and materials that go into the construction and there are a lot of variables.

[tripods68]

Okay everyone talks about how to pick real estate and we touched on bad house in good neighborhood versus great house in bad. But what factors are involved? What's important in buying a house?
I'm curious as to people on the board's experiences.

1. Condo versus house? Let's assume you can't afford a house in your chosen neighborhood but you can buy a condo. Which is it?

I don't like a condo since it tends to be very small with very little privacy. My experience to a condo living is similar apartment living where you constantly hear neighbor's voice next door. Its gets annoying so i'm Not a fan.

I'd continue to search somewhere else to find a smaller home and be patient. I would not rush

2. If you did buy a condo what if you can't afford a 2 bd but only 1 bd?

I would never buy a condo. Not even a consideration.

3. If you could buy a house in your chosen neighborhood what if it were only 2 bedrooms instead of 3 bedrooms?

Renovate DIY

4. What if the house only has 1 bathroom?

No. But if you like the house maybe add another bathroom DIY

5. Do you buy a house in the "right" neighborhood but on a busy road? What if it's not in a neighborhood but a commuting traveled road?

I generally prefer a "good" neighborhood. Less crime, plenty of safe parks, trails, good school districts.

6. Do you buy a home with a bad layout and not easily fixable due to constrained lot size?

Good layout.

7. Is it ever worth to buy a home fixed up or better to always buy a fixer?

I always look for bargain but it depends what type of works/repairs needs to be done. Generally I prefer a home with a good layout and less work, less headache $$.


8. Is it worth looking for a bigger lot with an older house or newer house on a smaller lot?

We prefer older neighborhood in our area that are good neighborhood; less crime, safe parks, and less traffic. Its our preferred neighborhood if we are looking to buy today.

[snafu]

I was trying to remember how many houses I've bought and sold [6] and currently a condo as a result of DH's career moves that took us to different locations. I saw most of your questions as lifestyle choices and we all know responders on SA are very diverse. I've always chosen homes by location, location, location believing the realtor's creed. I wouldn't choose a busy street because even insurance rates are higher, noise factor, how it affects outdoor enjoyment.

While tripod sees it differently, anyone considering a townhouse style condo needs to ask/know the sound attenuation factors. It's critical to read and understand condo rules, whether self managed, adequately professionally managed and how problems are actioned. You need to know what fees cover, how they assessed and disbursed. Most important the long term [20 yr] plan and the reserve fund to pay for everything.

I figure nearly anything internal can be changed. DH and I have been avid DIYers so changing decor, simple plumbing, light fixtures, and any of the Saturday am classes at the big box store is ok. If I had to pay trades, I'd factor that into costs. I'm in my 1st older build [1974] and while the location is marvelous, we find issues like replacing commodes are wrought with the silliest problems.

Other cultures are appalled at how much space we use in N America. KM talks about walking from entry to end of an apartment in seconds. In Korea, the living rm converts to a bedrm as fast as you can put mats out! Our DSs have sometimes shared bedrms and learned a lot from those experiences which eased them through college and current cohabiting issues.

Schedules and activities affect bthrms in my opinion. Just now we have 4 bthrms for two people and I grumble about cleaning and extra items. I'd grumbled even more about the teeny, closet-like, tiled bthrm we four shared in an apartment in China where you easily bump your knees trying to shut the door :]. It helped that we knew it was only for a semester.

Rooms can be designated to meet family needs. My neighbour wanted a master bedrm suite with fireplace, reading chaise etc. She converted their basement family rm to MBDRM extravaganza and loves the luxury of their personal resort.

[disneysteve]

1. Condo versus house? Let's assume you can't afford a house in your chosen neighborhood but you can buy a condo. Which is it?

A condo was never a consideration for us. We didn't buy until we could afford a house.

2. If you did buy a condo what if you can't afford a 2 bd but only 1 bd?

If we needed 2 bedrooms, we wouldn't have bought 1. That wouldn't have made any sense.

3. If you could buy a house in your chosen neighborhood what if it were only 2 bedrooms instead of 3 bedrooms?

Depends on your needs.

4. What if the house only has 1 bathroom?

Then we wouldn't have been looking at that house.

5. Do you buy a house in the "right" neighborhood but on a busy road? What if it's not in a neighborhood but a commuting traveled road?

That was one of the factors at the top of our list. No busy roads. Nowhere where pulling out of our driveway was inherently dangerous. Must be sidewalks to walk on. Must be a traffic light to get in and out of the development. Etc.

6. Do you buy a home with a bad layout and not easily fixable due to constrained lot size?

No.

7. Is it ever worth to buy a home fixed up or better to always buy a fixer?

Depends on your budget. We couldn't have afforded a fixed up home in our neighborhood. Plus by buying the house that we knew would need work, the cost of that work could be spread out over several years and not be part of our mortgage.

8. Is it worth looking for a bigger lot with an older house or newer house on a smaller lot?

I think either is fine. All depends on how important the lot size is to you. Personally, we virtually never use our lawn or backyard. Having a bigger lot would be of no value to us.

[disneysteve]

a house for living in should be bought in steps imo, first the starter house, small, manageable and affordable then step up when equity has grown.

I think this line of thinking gets so many people into trouble financially. They're never satisfied. They always want more and more and more.

My parents' generation (born in the 1920s and 30s) didn't do "starter" homes. They bought a house and lived there their whole lives. My parents bought their house in 1955 and there they stayed. My dad died in 1992 and my mom remained there until 2008 when she sold the house and moved to a sr. citizen apartment house.

My wife and I have followed in that pattern. We bought our one and only house in 1994, 22 years ago. Our next move, if we make it, will be to our intended retirement destination.

Not constantly moving and upgrading our home is one of the biggest reasons that we are as well off financially as we are.

[pflyers85]

I think this line of thinking gets so many people into trouble financially. They're never satisfied. They always want more and more and more.

My parents' generation (born in the 1920s and 30s) didn't do "starter" homes. They bought a house and lived there their whole lives. My parents bought their house in 1955 and there they stayed. My dad died in 1992 and my mom remained there until 2008 when she sold the house and moved to a sr. citizen apartment house.

My wife and I have followed in that pattern. We bought our one and only house in 1994, 22 years ago. Our next move, if we make it, will be to our intended retirement destination.

Not constantly moving and upgrading our home is one of the biggest reasons that we are as well off financially as we are.

I see this happening a lot with my married friends who are early to mid 30's. This is the age where we are starting to get significant pay bumps due to promotions and elevation to management and the first thing most of them want to do is buy a bigger, nicer home. I'm so happy that my girlfriend (soon to be fiance) is on board with buying a modestly priced home (in our area between $185,000 - $215,000) and living there until we are ready to retire. I don't begrudge my friends that want the nicer, more expensive houses. It won't make them totally house poor and broke but it will force them to work their 40 hour per week corporate jobs to age 65+. Different strokes for different folks. I'd personally rather forgo the more expensive house to have greater flexibility later in my career. Ultimately by the time I'm between the age of 50-55 I want to be out of my full time corporate job. At that point I would prefer to transition to consulting work where I can set my own schedule or get a position as an adjunct professor at a local community college to hold me over until retirement. Obviously I am still young and a lot can change but I definitely value financial flexibility over working like a slave late into my career just to be able to afford a house I don't really need.

[Singuy]

To the op, are we talking about investment properties or a home you are going to live in?

Focusing on #7 and the fixer upper.

The BEST value you can get on a house is one that will not pass appraisal (deemed "inhabitable"). If the house doesn't have a kitchen, or it's moldy, or there are missing dry walls and flooring then these are the BEST type of investments.

The reason why I am saying this is because these houses will NOT qualify for any conventional mortgages. A lot of the time, these houses are CASH only which reduces the buyer pool but a lot! Banks recognizes this and usually discount these houses at 50% of their intrinsic value.
But of course you'll need to come up with the cash+ renovation money or bust. I know you can get an renovation loan but competition is pretty fierce for these bargain bin houses so by the time you qualify for that loan, someone else already walked away and paid cash for the house.

[rennigade]

My wife and I will be following disneysteves thought process when it comes to home buying.

We will be purchasing a home in less than 2 years. It will be our "forever" home unless we plan on selling/retiring somewhere else.

Different strokes for different folks. If people want to keep upgrading more power to them. Good luck with that.

[Singuy]

Buying forever homes are generally the most economical way to go due to moving and closing cost eating away any equity the home had during the upgrade.

Unfortunately most people do end up moving no matter how "forever" their house is.

This is where it gets complicated. Some people are willing to stretch their budget to the max, almost to the point of unaffordable because they are dead set on the house being the forever house. Just be careful about this and remember, nothing is forever.

[disneysteve]

Unfortunately most people do end up moving no matter how "forever" their house is.

A lot of people move for reasons that have nothing to do with the house they're in. Job changes are probably the number one reason that people relocate. I'm fortunate that I have a career that has unlimited opportunities in my immediate area so changing jobs wouldn't necessitate moving. I'm in my 2nd job since buying the house and soon to get my 3rd. My wife has had a few jobs over the years but again, all local to the house.

I was mainly referring to people who move by choice in order to get a "better" house. That's where people tend to get in trouble financially. Just because you are earning more money doesn't mean you need a bigger and more expensive home.

[Fishindude77]

1. Condo versus house? Let's assume you can't afford a house in your chosen neighborhood but you can buy a condo. Which is it?
Two different types of living. Condo is much like an apartment, close quarters to neighbors, less privacy, etc. If you can live with that and want to live cheap, not a bad way to go.

2. If you did buy a condo what if you can't afford a 2 bd but only 1 bd?
Would not buy a 1 BR condo.

3. If you could buy a house in your chosen neighborhood what if it were only 2 bedrooms instead of 3 bedrooms?
Not a big deal, if it serves your needs.

4. What if the house only has 1 bathroom?
Not a big deal, if it serves your needs. We raised our kids in a home with one bathroom just fine.

5. Do you buy a house in the "right" neighborhood but on a busy road? What if it's not in a neighborhood but a commuting traveled road?
Not a fan of those really busy roads; noise, kid and pet danger, litter, etc.

6. Do you buy a home with a bad layout and not easily fixable due to constrained lot size?
Stay away from a bad layout.

7. Is it ever worth to buy a home fixed up or better to always buy a fixer?
If you are a handy person and can do remodeling yourself, you can almost always do better financially with a fixer upper.

8. Is it worth looking for a bigger lot with an older house or newer house on a smaller lot?
I'd prefer an older home on big lot, but some folks wouldn;t want the yard work?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm curious and pondering what list of priorities are important for buying real estate.

Location obviously but what about other factors other than "good" neighborhood. Does busy street or next to train tracks or gas station matter in a good or bad neighborhood? Run down street in good neighborhood?

Layout - is size and potential more important than just buying a layout that works and might need updating.

Updating - yes easier to update but what about potential surprises when you start to do work?

[Jluke]

Criteria I used in 2006:

Home under 10 years old
4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage
Natural Gas for heat and hot water
Gas Fireplace
suburbs

my basement wasn't finished but if I were looking now I'd want a finished basement and a 3-car garage.