House Hunting Blues

Just a little vent. DH and I are ready for our own place. We had been renting for a few years, then we moved in with his mom to mutually save a little money after I lost my job and DH's dad and grandpop passed away. Along the way, we had a baby, MIL got promoted to full time and DH also got a promotion, so we no longer "need" the arrangement financially and in all honesty, it's run it's course on our end. Still, we have a limited budget and have now looked at everything currently available in our price range in our desired areas. I am one of those people that once I decide to do something, I want it done. I have already started packing up little things around here, but everything we've seen is either too much of a fixer-upper, or has one or two things that are just total deal breakers (like no storage, an upstairs that makes you feel like you are Alice in Wonderland who took the pill that turns you into a giant, a kitchen from the 1920s, leaky roof and the list goes on. One reeked so bad of dog hair and cigarette smoke we all got headaches. The smell penetrated every crevice) . So far after speaking to our friends it seems like it's not that unusual for it to be a long process, but I guess I was just hoping we'd get lucky and find something more quickly. So, for now, I'm singing the house hunting blues.:) And I'm sure once we find something I'll be singing the home owner's blues, haha, but at least it will be our own place.

Completely understand this feeling. I loved house hunting at first and then I started to worry that nothing would feel right-- and then suddenly we found our place! It could be that back to school time is not a great time to find new listings. People are busy prepping for school now, and might put off listing for a few weeks? Fingers crossed for some new market action soon. The right place is out there. Somewhere.

The same seems to be the case in our area. While we aren't looking it really seems like a seller's market. The very nice homes in our area have been snatched up quickly while three neglected homes in our neighborhood are sitting on the market...

Give it a few weeks and try again :)

I am in that boat with you, Maryanne! Our area is very similar. We rent from my DBF's parents who live next door and it's time to get out. But, we need something that is mostly move-in ready and in the same school district where the kids go. Unfortunately houses that have space for 3 bedrooms and somewhere for DBF to set up his work space (not necessarily a bedroom but room for a desk that's not in our room) is either in a shambles or way out of our range. The taxes here are outrageous as well, which puts even more stress on our meager budget.

Luckily, market prices tend to come down in the fall and winter. I hope you find something soon!

Hang in there and take your time. With it being the biggest purchase decision most of us will ever make it's better to get it right than to get house-fever and buy the wrong place because you feel like you have to get something right away. :thumbsup:

We purchased our house from former smokers and it reeked! I found that when we took down the drapes and cleaned the floors and other surfaces the smell went away...thank goodness.

Good luck in the hunt! Don't get discouraged.

Maryanne, as I think I said when we got to meet at the Phillies game, it takes time. It seems like fun when you start, but it gets old quickly. You may want to expand to a couple of other townships, such as mine. Also, are you set on a single family home, or are you willing to look at townhomes? Many are as big as houses. I have an end unit with 3 bedrooms and a downstairs study and 2 1/2 baths for almost 2100 square feet of living space. I also have an unfinished basement which is not included in that 2100 square feet. I have a lot of neighbors with young children as they want to take advantage of the fantastic school district. Best thing is my development does NOT have a homeowners' association, so no one telling you that your door or mailbox can be only certain colors, etc. You have to take care of your own yard, but I hired someone who takes care of it for $25 a week and my yard looks awesome!

I went through this last year. The first house reeked of smoke. The real deal breaker was the flooring. Each room had a different floor....all in need of repair. The kitchen needed updating. The asking price was way too high and she would not come down.

The second house was nice but needed a kitchen update and add a dishwasher....very reasonable price. The third house was move in ready. I put in an offer, for quite a bit lower than asking. I was turned down, but not because of price. The owner couldn't be out by the time I needed to be in.....the house is still for sale.

I bought the second house for less than asking. I did the kitchen remodel....new cabinets, added a pantry with 4 pull out shelves, added a dishwasher and new range, microwave and fridge. It all worked out in the end.

Good luck with your search.

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Originally Posted by SBETigg

People are busy prepping for school now, and might put off listing for a few weeks? Fingers crossed for some new market action soon. The right place is out there. Somewhere.

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Here's hoping!!! I really wanted to be into our own place by Christmas, but I realize I just can't set goals like that. I just have to make the best of the situation while we continue to look for the right place.

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Originally Posted by JanetMegan

The same seems to be the case in our area. While we aren't looking it really seems like a seller's market. The very nice homes in our area have been snatched up quickly while three neglected homes in our neighborhood are sitting on the market...

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I agree that it's more of a seller's market, despite our realtor arguing otherwise. The homes that are available have been on the market a long time. A few houses that we looked at but weren't sure about or just weren't quite right were bought by someone else shortly thereafter.

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Originally Posted by BriarRose0708

I am in that boat with you, Maryanne! Our area is very similar. We rent from my DBF's parents who live next door and it's time to get out. But, we need something that is mostly move-in ready and in the same school district where the kids go. Unfortunately houses that have space for 3 bedrooms and somewhere for DBF to set up his work space (not necessarily a bedroom but room for a desk that's not in our room) is either in a shambles or way out of our range. The taxes here are outrageous as well, which puts even more stress on our meager budget.

Luckily, market prices tend to come down in the fall and winter. I hope you find something soon!

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I hope you find something too. It does sound like a very similar situation! And taxes around here are no joke either. I go cross eyed sometimes when I see the taxes. :drama:

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Originally Posted by dnickels

Hang in there and take your time. With it being the biggest purchase decision most of us will ever make it's better to get it right than to get house-fever and buy the wrong place because you feel like you have to get something right away. :thumbsup:

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The voice of reason. This is why my husband is the perfect foil to me, as this is exactly his view point. We have seen a few houses that I would've put an offer in but he noticed a lot of things I didn't in my house-fever mode and made me realize they weren't right for us.

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Originally Posted by Ms. Mode

We purchased our house from former smokers and it reeked! I found that when we took down the drapes and cleaned the floors and other surfaces the smell went away...thank goodness.

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I'm glad it worked out for you. This house definitely would've needed all carpets replaced, new paint in every room, thorough hvac cleaning etc. And with half of my family having asthma I just was too nervous. There were other things with it too that weren't quite what we wanted. But the smell was hard to overcome.

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Originally Posted by Hammer

Maryanne, as I think I said when we got to meet at the Phillies game, it takes time. It seems like fun when you start, but it gets old quickly. You may want to expand to a couple of other townships, such as mine. Also, are you set on a single family home, or are you willing to look at townhomes? Many are as big as houses. I have an end unit with 3 bedrooms and a downstairs study and 2 1/2 baths for almost 2100 square feet of living space. I also have an unfinished basement which is not included in that 2100 square feet. I have a lot of neighbors with young children as they want to take advantage of the fantastic school district. Best thing is my development does NOT have a homeowners' association, so no one telling you that your door or mailbox can be only certain colors, etc. You have to take care of your own yard, but I hired someone who takes care of it for $25 a week and my yard looks awesome!

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Christine, if you want can you message me on Facebook and let me know what community you are in? We actually did start looking into town houses. As long as we can fence in the yard for the dog we are totally open to town houses. We have looked at a few already that were part of HOA's but again they weren't quite right... We are expanding a little but can't go too far away from my mom.

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Originally Posted by Disney4us2

I bought the second house for less than asking. I did the kitchen remodel....new cabinets, added a pantry with 4 pull out shelves, added a dishwasher and new range, microwave and fridge. It all worked out in the end.

Good luck with your search.

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I don't mind a little updating. If everything else was fine, I can deal with wood paneling and an outdated kitchen for a bit until we can update. I can see past a lot of things. Maybe it's all the HGTV I watch, hah! :thumbsup:

Maryanne, just a few suggestions that might work for you. I don't know the area where you live but here are a few things that helped us.
Think outside the box. Sometimes new builds can be more cost effective in the long run with no remodeling to be done. Builders can have promotions that can be a huge benefit with financing or upgrades for little or no extra cost.
If you submit an offer and it gets turned down, don't be discouraged. The best thing that ever happened was a house we wanted and we refused their counter offer when they wouldn't allow a home inspection. How fishy was that. Later it dawned me that it was also located 20minutes from the nearest supermarket.
HGTV can really be a hazard sometimes. Just how many first time buyers can realistically afford granite, stainless steel and hard wood floors.
Hang in there, the home you are meant to have is out there. It takes time and a lot of work to find it though.

When we decided to move out of our old house to a larger home and more desirable location it took us about 2 years. We saw every house that went on the market in our price range (even a little over, sometimes a lot over ;) ) in our desired location. We had decided that this maybe wasn't going to happen for us (prices were going up and we were getting priced out) and then we saw a house that we fell in love with - prices was right, great location, good layout etc.
it will happen it just takes time. Focus on the bones of the house, remember to look past th cosmetic -it can be changed.

Like others have said, don't get discouraged! If you have a good real estate agent, they'll keep bringing you good possibilities. If you don't feel your real estate agent is working hard enough for you, don't hesitate to switch. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by PirateLover

Just a little vent. DH and I are ready for our own place. We had been renting for a few years, then we moved in with his mom to mutually save a little money after I lost my job and DH's dad and grandpop passed away. Along the way, we had a baby, MIL got promoted to full time and DH also got a promotion, so we no longer "need" the arrangement financially and in all honesty, it's run it's course on our end. Still, we have a limited budget and have now looked at everything currently available in our price range in our desired areas. I am one of those people that once I decide to do something, I want it done. I have already started packing up little things around here, but everything we've seen is either too much of a fixer-upper, or has one or two things that are just total deal breakers (like no storage, an upstairs that makes you feel like you are Alice in Wonderland who took the pill that turns you into a giant, a kitchen from the 1920s, leaky roof and the list goes on. One reeked so bad of dog hair and cigarette smoke we all got headaches. The smell penetrated every crevice) . So far after speaking to our friends it seems like it's not that unusual for it to be a long process, but I guess I was just hoping we'd get lucky and find something more quickly. So, for now, I'm singing the house hunting blues.:) And I'm sure once we find something I'll be singing the home owner's blues, haha, but at least it will be our own place.

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Where are you looking?

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Originally Posted by TheDuckRocks

HGTV can really be a hazard sometimes. Just how many first time buyers can realistically afford granite, stainless steel and hard wood floors.

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I was just thinking the same thing the other day. I watch a lot of the House Hunters and am amazed at what these people expect for the money they want to pay. They expect the houses to have been completely updated in the last year or two with top end amenities, but want to pay low end prices. Remodeling a kitchen can easily cost $50, 000 with all of those upgrades that they expect.

Right I'm not expecting to get something totally finished for cheap. But, we can't afford a total fixer upper. I need something in between. I can deal with wood paneling, and a slightly outdated kitchen. But if I need to do a full overhaul that's not very attractive to me right now.
Rita- we both work in Cherry Hill and are looking there as well as Marlton and Mount Laurel. Burlington County taxes are a little better on the whole, but it's further out from my mom who is our primary babysitter, but she is also needed by my dad on a daily basis so we want to stay relatively close to them (in Philly). We dabbled with Washington township but it really doesn't make sense for DH's work (Wegmans). There are no stores close by. Mile wise it isn't far but 42/295 can be brutal.

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Originally Posted by PirateLover

Right I'm not expecting to get something totally finished for cheap. But, we can't afford a total fixer upper. I need something in between. I can deal with wood paneling, and a slightly outdated kitchen. But if I need to do a full overhaul that's not very attractive to me right now.
Rita- we both work in Cherry Hill and are looking there as well as Marlton and Mount Laurel. Burlington County taxes are a little better on the whole, but it's further out from my mom who is our primary babysitter, but she is also needed by my dad on a daily basis so we want to stay relatively close to them (in Philly). We dabbled with Washington township but it really doesn't make sense for DH's work (Wegmans). There are no stores close by. Mile wise it isn't far but 42/295 can be brutal.

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I understand and wasn't talking about you when I made the House Hunter comment. I just laugh every time I watch it and they say "The kitchen doesn't have granite counter tops or stainless steel appliances" or "the bathroom looks like it is from 1990". Do these people realize that not all people remodel their homes every 10 years.

The reason I ask you where you where looking because you can get a lot of house in my area, but it looks like it is too far for you. My sister lives Fox Chase and it take us about an hour and 15 mins to get there from my house. We are about 20- 25 mins from Washington Twp.

I wish you the best of luck. I agree that HGTV can give a false since of hope. Because of HGTV, I thought selling a house would be a piece of cake. It actually wasn't that difficult getting the house ready for show, but the stress involved once going on the market is never fully relayed on those shows.

As a side note, I LOVE Wegmans! We don't have them down here in the south where we live. My husband works in NJ and a couple of years ago I visited my first Wegmans and fell-in-love! Now, every time I travel with him to NJ, Wegmans in Woodbridge is one of my first stops. :)

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Originally Posted by TheVBs

Like others have said, don't get discouraged! If you have a good real estate agent, they'll keep bringing you good possibilities. If you don't feel your real estate agent is working hard enough for you, don't hesitate to switch. Good luck!

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That is great advice! My house selling/buying process took longer than it should because my first realtor wasn't any good. I went with a well known but local realtor thinking that would be better and I like to support local business. However, when it comes to real estate, you really pays to work with the a large company. Once I switched to Weichert, my condo received many more showings because it was properly marketed. Also, my realtor would find out about places coming on the market and would get me in to see them quickly.

In comparing Marlton to Mount Laurel, both towns are very similar. I chose Mount Laurel because the taxes were about $1,500-$2,000 less in MT. Laurel for the same size house. Both schools systems are great, so I didn't see the reason to pay the extra taxes.

Don't give up!!!! You will find the "right" house.

We bought a cute starter home that we outgrew after 13 years and 2 kids, and I KNEW WHAT I WAS AND WAS NOT PUTTING UP WITH if we did do a move.

We put our house on the market, and it did take 6 months to sell, but in that time I looked at..... 53 houses. Yes, 53 of them.
Some with formica so old it had the gold swirl ingrained in it for the kitchen counter, some with mold smells so strong from the basement it gave me an instant headache. Some so hot because of no air what so ever, and electric so old, my hair dryer would blow a fuse...
Then...I found the perfect home for us, in a great neighborhood, and it had everything on our wish list, we bought it!!!
I never looked back!
Keep at it!!!
Just a side note...I live in Northern NJ, and housing is pricey. For my $500K budget I was not getting big open kitchens with granite and high end appliances, open floor plans and new bathrooms. That is my reality. My sturdy cape was built in 1959, and one of our bathrooms has original tile. Grey and pink baby!!! I updated the sink, and vanity, and new paint and accessories.

Julie:mickey:

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Originally Posted by BriarRose0708

I am in that boat with you, Maryanne! Our area is very similar. We rent from my DBF's parents who live next door and it's time to get out. But, we need something that is mostly move-in ready and in the same school district where the kids go. Unfortunately houses that have space for 3 bedrooms and somewhere for DBF to set up his work space (not necessarily a bedroom but room for a desk that's not in our room) is either in a shambles or way out of our range. The taxes here are outrageous as well, which puts even more stress on our meager budget.

Luckily, market prices tend to come down in the fall and winter. I hope you find something soon!

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I DO NOT miss paying those Lansing taxes at all. We pay 1/3 of that now in GA.
Good luck with your house hunting!!

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Originally Posted by RedSoxFan

I DO NOT miss paying those Lansing taxes at all. We pay 1/3 of that now in GA.
Good luck with your house hunting!!

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We are going to see 4 houses tonight, I am excited yet terrified!:mickey:

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Originally Posted by BriarRose0708

We are going to see 4 houses tonight, I am excited yet terrified!:mickey:

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Good luck! Hope you find, at least, one that you like!!!

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Originally Posted by BriarRose0708

We are going to see 4 houses tonight, I am excited yet terrified!:mickey:

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Good luck. Exciting and terrifying at the same time. Hope you guys find one you like soon.

How's it going, Maryanne? Any updates on your search?

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Originally Posted by BriarRose0708

How's it going, Maryanne? Any updates on your search?

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We have been at a bit of a standstill. We were finally going to look at 4 or 5 homes yesterday, but our realtor was hit with a nasty sinus infection. :ill::(
I'm feeling pretty discouraged about the whole process, honestly. How about you? Did you like any of the ones you looked at?

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Originally Posted by PirateLover

We have been at a bit of a standstill. We were finally going to look at 4 or 5 homes yesterday, but our realtor was hit with a nasty sinus infection. :ill::(
I'm feeling pretty discouraged about the whole process, honestly. How about you? Did you like any of the ones you looked at?

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The sickness has been going around, I'm sorry you hit a delay with your realtor, I hope she gets better soon!

We put in an offer on a place and the structural was last week. We hit another delay because the seller hadn't closed the windows in the house so the inspector couldn't do the radon test. Our deadline for it is tomorrow so we have to get an extension and hope the seller's agent made sure the windows were closed last night! The ridiculous details and hoops we have to jump through are really overwhelming. We're trying not to get too attached to the place in case something falls through.

I am on the other side of things right now, my house is on the market and I have had very few showings. People like my home not my neighborhood :( I live in an area hit pretty hard with foreclosures and my area is mixed with summer cottages and year round homes so the prices range from very low 28k to higher lakefront 200k homes. I am in the middle 145k. We already purchased our next house in South Carolina. We have it rented ( thank goodness) so our mortgage is covered. I just wish we could sell this one so we can make our move. Would love to be out before the winter, just cant take another cold snowy winter here :freeze:

Well guys, almost a year exactly after I first made this post, we are set to close on house in a little over a week!!! It is a house that was owned by an in-law looking to downsize, in a great neighborhood, and we got it for a good price. Needs updating but I really can't complain. It was a loooooong process to get us here, but I guess things really do happen for a reason. I was ready to settle on so many "starter" homes that had a lot of quirky things I could "live with" but eventually ended up stumbling into a great situation with a home that gives us room to grow in a great school district. It's been really stressful, because we ended up doing it all without realtors to save $$$, but in the end it's also so exciting! Wish us luck!

Glad to hear you've finally found a home that fits you!! Good luck with your move!!

I am so happy for you. How wonderful that this search is coming to an end. We also fell into our first home completely by chance and stayed there for 25 years and raised our the kids in it. Best wishes with becoming a first time homeowner.

It is a long process. The good news is all the good homes will be on the market now because everyone is on vacation and not thinking about house hunting. Keep your fingers crossed, you will find it.

Wow, a whole year later! Great news! Congratulations and best wishes in your new home.