House hunting!

[slj84]

So I'm currently house hunting and so far no luck with the houses I have gone through.  See I had the house I wanted all scouted out, went to the bank to get a pre approval and the day I got my pre approval they got a offer on the home!  So now I'm back to square one,  been through a few houses which were sadly disappointing.   As much as I love my parents beautiful house (and them too) I'm ready to get my own space, something I can call mine.

So those who own houses, how many did you have to go through to find one you liked?  I have what I want in mind but I'm pretty negotiable on everything but that I want at least 1/2 acre of land for my dogs.  So far I keep getting so excited about going through a house only to walk away disappointed.   The one tonight was a older ranch, that I actually liked but it would need all new windows, there where cracks in the basement wall,  there was very little insulation in the house ect.

[kiwimlp]

Goodness, we went through about 40+ homes before we bought our first house.  Our second house was a lot more limited (being a lifestyle property) but even then we still went through at least 20.  It was lots of fun if a little frustrating at times.  Our hearts were broken when we went to auction on the lifestyle property of our dreams - only to walk away as the under-bidders.  The funny thing is, the property we ended up with turned out to be far more suitable. 

Hang in there, slj84.  This is a major purchase and you want to be sure you have it right!  Your dream house is out there somewhere. Don't settle for anything less

[lochnessmomster]

Thirteen years of marriage and three kids later, and we still don't own our own house.  So take heart.

[invaderhorizongreen]

I am saving for one with my sister we have seen some we love but they are too expensive.

[Eviecorn]

I've never owned a house, so I don't know what to tell you.  Hopefully you get some good insight though!

[kaoskat]

We don't own a house yet but I wish you luck in your search.

[zabe77]

We went through at least 30... and I think it was over 3months. It took a while to find one that had just what we wanted. Although now I realize I should've held out for a slightly larger kitchen! It has everything else just right for us though.  Best wishes in finding your home, it's out there, you'll know it when you see it!

PS I kinda liked house hunting, I saw some pretty cool stuff, like an amazing Star Wars collection, and a puppet in a basement close who still scares me a bit to think about.

[achab1984]

You going to be looking at alot before you find the one. Just be patient and it will come along

[steampunk]

Never owned a house (military - we move around too much!) but I worked in mortgage and escrow for years. My main advice: do NOT settle! Unless it's something can you can change using the space the house has, like a kitchen remodel and you have the money for it, pass on that house. That is a lot of money you will be spending, buy only what is going to make you happy.

[MonstarNomNom]

I honestly think it's different for everyone my boyfriend and I fell in love with the very first house we looked at. Haha we are in the process of putting an offer in and crossing our fingers Best of luck to you and don't give up hope! When one door closes, another opens

[joce]

 Have a lot of patience and a good realtor and mortgage broker.

  We have been looking over a year again. Before that we looked and I got so frustrated I gave up.

 You sound like you know what you want and thats good so stick with it and don't give in! You could try offering a lot less to have the windows put in yourself or have them do it or fix the basement. The place we are in now they redug around the basement and fixed the walls before we moved in and paid for it.

 We have the horses and want room to board again,have our own hay, and to have fun with the four wheelers and shoot etc. We need at least ten acres to be able to do the tax credit CAUV but places we have put offers on have been over fifteen.  Want certain school district, not close to stop signs,or to close to the road or neighbors. Its hard to find all that!

 We had the perfect place and it was fannie mae and on the market so many times. We overbid 20,000 and still lost it the last time. Still upset about that one. Almost brand new house, geothermal heating, finished basement, beautiful land, ugh I really wanted it.

 I hope you find the perfect place!!! Maybe the contract will fall through on the one you want!

[melodys_angel]

Patience, you will eventually find the perfect house for you

Best of luck^^

[slj84]

Thanks all!  Now turning down the houses I have seen doesn't make me feel so silly.  I think the house I want is there to tourment me because the person moved out, but it's still in all the sites as active contingent and showing up on all the search engines, but my realitor says that she talked to the owners realitor and all is going well so far on that deal. Hopefully soon sonething will pop up.

[Tilas]

My first house was more of a "too good of a deal to pass up". It wasn't even planned to buy a house, I just got it for such a steal that I was able to fix it up and flip it and make a tidy profit. 

My hubby and I just bought our first house together, but it wasn't a hard decision at all- I bought my PARENTS house! We've been living here with them, and since they were trying to sell it, we figured lets help out everyone and just buy it, so we did. It's...odd... having my parents master room as "our" bedroom now. I spent my whole life in this house, and to be in their room is odd now LOL. But I'll adjust I suppose, once we finish moving *everything*.

As for buying a house, be picky, very picky! Make sure you check over everything, especially the water/sewer/electrical. Many people just buy on the basis the house "looks" pretty. NEVER DO THAT. Make sure it's structurally sound before you ever lay down the cash. Have it inspected if you have to. My dad is a contractor, and way too many times has he been called in to fix a "new house" some poor sucker bought and later found was a dive.

[kiwimlp]

Interesting experiences in this thread.  Zabe, I would love to have seen that SW collection you mentioned!