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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Hi Everyone -
I've lurked on here for a bit and finally decided to register & post because no one seems to understand what it's like house hunt right now and I feel like I'm just screaming into the void, LOL
Background Context/Rant
My boyfriend (of nearly 10 years) and I are both 30 and still living at home. While we have the "luxury" of taking our time with a house hunt, I'm very eager to settle down and enjoy a QUIET, EMPTY home together before starting a family (if we can even afford one..that's a whole 'nother post!).
It's been heart breaking to have felt like we were about 2 years late on house hunting. Everyone wants to say "House hunting is so fun and exciting!" but they looked for houses decades ago. I've honestly been nothing but stressed and discouraged. To have worked so hard to save for a down payment, sacrificed living at home & shuffling between our houses...and now I feel like I will have to "settle" on more than I'd like in a home because of how tight the market is. I know there is always the option to make improvements and expand, but I'm worried we won't even have the money for that :(
We started looking in the Connetquot/Sachem area and are now pushing into Middle Country SD, but my boyfriend currently works in Nassau so that's not ideal for his commute. We're just trying to be open minded.
Ideal home is 3BD, 2BA, Basement..garage would be great.
So Questions:
1 - How much work should my realtor be doing? I chose a woman who is very well known in my area who has decades of experience. We get "Prospect Match" emails from her but I still feel like we're doing a lot of our own work. I will say she is VERY easy to get in touch with, so that's a plus.
2 - Convince me to be open minded to Capes. I hate the idea of having children upstairs and the master bedroom being downstairs (that's what I've seen a lot of). But I don't think I should completely write them off?
3 - How much would it cost to add a bathroom? I know there's a lot that goes into the price, but we've been seeing a lot of homes with 1BA and it'd be helpful to get a ballpark idea of what it'd cost to add one.
Thanks for reading!!
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Posted 4/14/18 11:27 AM  |
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mommy2be716
LIF Adult
Member since 1/16 2921 total posts
Name:
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
1- no advice. We did our own search
2- Why would you be worried about having kids upstairs while you're downstairs? I would be more nervous if it was the other way around. We have a cape and I love it because the basements are HUGE. I also like the idea of a master bedroom on the 1st floor. I've heard alot of people look for that when buying a house
3- If you put a bathroom directly above/below where another bathroom is, I would say maybe 8-12k depending on flooring, tile choice, etc. If it's in your basement, you may have to add a sump pump so that'll add more to the cost
Message edited 4/14/2018 1:03:11 PM.
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| Posted 4/14/18 1:02 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by mommy2be716
1- no advice. We did our own search
2- Why would you be worried about having kids upstairs while you're downstairs? I would be more nervous if it was the other way around. We have a cape and I love it because the basements are HUGE. I also like the idea of a master bedroom on the 1st floor. I've heard alot of people look for that when buying a house
3- If you put a bathroom directly above/below where another bathroom is, I would say maybe 8-12k depending on flooring, tile choice, etc. If it's in your basement, you may have to add a sump pump so that'll add more to the cost
My concern is more for the toddler-5ish years. I was the kid that yelled for my mom from my room when I had a nightmare or woke up feverish. I’d also leave my room and go into theirs. But if there are two rooms upstairs, we could probably temporarily setup the master bedroom upstairs while getting through the younger years. A baby monitor would also be an easy way for peace of mind. I also haven’t seen too many Capes with a bathroom upstairs so I was concerned about the cost to add one.
The more extreme concern would be (which my sister said a “Mommy” group had brought up) was if there was a fire or any other kind of emergency and not being able to get to your kids. But I’m not sure that a deal breaker reason.
I REALLY want a basement so a large basement would definitely be a plus.
What’s the difference between the upstairs being “Dormered” and not? I saw one Cape that specifically described the upstairs as having “Dormered” bedrooms
Thanks for help!!
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| Posted 4/14/18 1:33 PM |
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Funkybutt
LIF Adult
Member since 4/15 3049 total posts
Name:
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
We were very proactive when looking. We went to a lot of open houses on our own (let seller's agent know you're already with a buyer's agent b/c we ran into unscrupulous realtors). We finally found one on our own that was just listed and had an open house the first weekend. See as many houses as you can - with the realtor and open houses on your own.
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| Posted 4/14/18 2:35 PM |
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VickiC
Rocking the party
Member since 5/05 4937 total posts
Name:
Vicki
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by DMDT087
2 - Convince me to be open minded to Capes. I hate the idea of having children upstairs and the master bedroom being downstairs (that's what I've seen a lot of). But I don't think I should completely write them off?
Thanks for reading!!
Most Capes are 4 BR with a smaller room next to the Master downstairs. We had my son in that smaller room when he was younger and that worked perfectly. We dormered our Cape before I had my daughter, and now we are all upstairs. Otherwise, we would have put him upstairs and put her in the small room next to us. There's also a 5.5 year age gap between them, so having him upstairs at age 5 would not have been too much of an issue for me.
We too only had 1 bathroom in the house before dormering. We would not have been able to add a second bath upstairs bc of new code regulations or something like that a few contractors told us. The back bump outs are no longer allowed or something to that effect.
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| Posted 4/14/18 4:24 PM |
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MichLiz213
Life is Good!
Member since 7/07 7979 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by VickiC
Posted by DMDT087
2 - Convince me to be open minded to Capes. I hate the idea of having children upstairs and the master bedroom being downstairs (that's what I've seen a lot of). But I don't think I should completely write them off?
Thanks for reading!!
Most Capes are 4 BR with a smaller room next to the Master downstairs. We had my son in that smaller room when he was younger and that worked perfectly. We dormered our Cape before I had my daughter, and now we are all upstairs. Otherwise, we would have put him upstairs and put her in the small room next to us. There's also a 5.5 year age gap between them, so having him upstairs at age 5 would not have been too much of an issue for me.
We too only had 1 bathroom in the house before dormering. We would not have been able to add a second bath upstairs bc of new code regulations or something like that a few contractors told us. The back bump outs are no longer allowed or something to that effect.
This is exactly what we did. DS is across the hall from us and we will move him upstairs when he’s older.
Do you have your heart set on Connetquot/Sachem? Nesconset (Smithtown SD) may be a good option for you as well.
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| Posted 4/14/18 4:58 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by MichLiz213
This is exactly what we did. DS is across the hall from us and we will move him upstairs when he’s older.
Do you have your heart set on Connetquot/Sachem? Nesconset (Smithtown SD) may be a good option for you as well.
Not at all, but of the Nesconset houses I’ve come across, they’re out of our price range and the taxes are higher :\ But I can add it to my saved searches and keep an eye on it.
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| Posted 4/14/18 5:45 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by VickiC
Posted by DMDT087
2 - Convince me to be open minded to Capes. I hate the idea of having children upstairs and the master bedroom being downstairs (that's what I've seen a lot of). But I don't think I should completely write them off?
Thanks for reading!!
Most Capes are 4 BR with a smaller room next to the Master downstairs. We had my son in that smaller room when he was younger and that worked perfectly. We dormered our Cape before I had my daughter, and now we are all upstairs. Otherwise, we would have put him upstairs and put her in the small room next to us. There's also a 5.5 year age gap between them, so having him upstairs at age 5 would not have been too much of an issue for me.
We too only had 1 bathroom in the house before dormering. We would not have been able to add a second bath upstairs bc of new code regulations or something like that a few contractors told us. The back bump outs are no longer allowed or something to that effect.
The few Capes that we’ve seen have the master bedroom downstairs and 2 bedrooms upstairs. But we could probably still make it work so long as there are 2 rooms next to each other on one of the floors.
What does “Dormered” mean? I feel like that’s such a stupid question lol, but I’ve seen it in descriptions
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| Posted 4/14/18 5:51 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
We did most of the looking. Yes, realtors give you a daily list of new to the market, but it is on you to open each one, look at every photo, look at the price, taxes and understand your budget. It is on you to decide if you want to see the home, and call your realtor to get a showing. I don't think a realtor should be like here are three homes, pick one. It is not like the tv shows.
As for capes, I flat out told my realtor, no capes. I don't like their layouts. I refused to see them.
Frankly, it does not matter when you go looking, it will always feel like you missed the boat for one reason or another.
I would figure out price, then location. I don't think it is ever easy to find a home.
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| Posted 4/14/18 7:05 PM |
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Loveme
LIF Adult
Member since 6/11 3170 total posts
Name:
Me
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
House hunting is sooo stressful! We were looking for 2+ years before we found our home.
1. We didn’t work with an agent. My advice to you is to be looking on every website daily (Zillow, mls, etc). We also used to drive around and look for For Sale By Owner signs. In the area we were looking in (Queens) we came across a lot of home people were selling on their own. We went to every open house we could find that was in our price range.
2. No advice for you. I hate capes also for that exact reason.
3. I agree it could be anywhere between 5-10k
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| Posted 4/14/18 8:25 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
My agent was awesome, but we still send her homes we wanted to look at. Then she would find others. When we were looking last summer (we didn't pull the trigger) our agent would send us a link to lists of houses and we would rate each one, then she would take it from there. It was a pretty cool system.
I have a cape (not dormered though we do have a full bath upstairs). It wasn't my first choice but we knew this wasn't our forever home. As it turns out, we've decided to only have one child so the layout actually isn't horrible for us (we use the 2 upstairs bedrooms). If you hate capes, don't look at capes. I hate high ranches and told my agent no high ranches. Its not a big deal, I bet almost every client has a style of house they don't like. Dormered means the upstairs is pushed out so there is more space and the ceilings are higher.
Probably $8-10k to add a bathroom. We just redid a bathroom and it was $6k with all home depot materials and the pipes were already there, so I'm sure it's more to start from scratch.
The only advice I can give is don't settle on location. Just don't do it. We did and it's actually worse than we ever imagined. We hate where we live and cannot wait to move. Unfortunately, our bank account has some catching up to do.
Hang in there!
Message edited 4/14/2018 8:51:01 PM.
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| Posted 4/14/18 8:48 PM |
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
My agent is great. My advice is be open mind about layout somewhat because those things can be changed, not entirely, but you can reconfigure. I would focus first on location. No matter what the location doesn’t change. Personally, it bothers me if bedrooms aren’t on the same floor. I have 15 month old twins and I would have not wanted them away on another floor, I don’t even like them 2’doors down but I’m probably a helicopter parent and worrier with their sleep and such, but many people don’t mind the set up of a cape. Lastly, we researched everything first, then got an agent and he was amazing and helped us see the pros and cons to a house and how we could make it work for us! Bathrooms are around 8k I would say? Give or take, all depends on what you want in the bathroom! It’s tough, hang in there! Good luck!
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| Posted 4/14/18 9:57 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by LuckyStar
My agent was awesome, but we still send her homes we wanted to look at. Then she would find others. When we were looking last summer (we didn't pull the trigger) our agent would send us a link to lists of houses and we would rate each one, then she would take it from there. It was a pretty cool system.
I have a cape (not dormered though we do have a full bath upstairs). It wasn't my first choice but we knew this wasn't our forever home. As it turns out, we've decided to only have one child so the layout actually isn't horrible for us (we use the 2 upstairs bedrooms). If you hate capes, don't look at capes. I hate high ranches and told my agent no high ranches. Its not a big deal, I bet almost every client has a style of house they don't like. Dormered means the upstairs is pushed out so there is more space and the ceilings are higher.
Probably $8-10k to add a bathroom. We just redid a bathroom and it was $6k with all home depot materials and the pipes were already there, so I'm sure it's more to start from scratch.
The only advice I can give is don't settle on location. Just don't do it. We did and it's actually worse than we ever imagined. We hate where we live and cannot wait to move. Unfortunately, our bank account has some catching up to do.
Hang in there!
Thanks for explaining dormered. I thought that's what it meant. I've had other issues with the Capes that have popped up (location/space) so I haven't seen any in person. I just feel like I have to be more open minded in this market.
We've definitely been picky about location. I know Centereach/Selden would be a little cheaper, but my BF's commute would suck and I don't want to deal with Middle Country Road on a regular basis. We agreed we'll stick to looking in our ideal radius before becoming desperate and looking further out.
Posted by Loveme
House hunting is sooo stressful! We were looking for 2+ years before we found our home.
1. We didn’t work with an agent. My advice to you is to be looking on every website daily (Zillow, mls, etc). We also used to drive around and look for For Sale By Owner signs. In the area we were looking in (Queens) we came across a lot of home people were selling on their own. We went to every open house we could find that was in our price range.
2. No advice for you. I hate capes also for that exact reason.
3. I agree it could be anywhere between 5-10k
Maybe house hunting was only fun for the Baby Boomers? LOL..I'm glad it's not just me.
We've been obsessively looking at the apps! And if we drive by a house with a sign, we'll look it up. Though it's frustrating because I've seen houses with signs that I know are pending - or houses are still listed as "Active" although they've accepted offers. But it seems like we're doing what we should be as well as the realtor, so I'm glad to hear that. I wouldn't necessarily want a realtor who would be shoving houses down my throat, either.
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| Posted 4/14/18 9:59 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
My agent is great. My advice is be open mind about layout somewhat because those things can be changed, not entirely, but you can reconfigure. I would focus first on location. No matter what the location doesn’t change. Personally, it bothers me if bedrooms aren’t on the same floor. I have 15 month old twins and I would have not wanted them away on another floor, I don’t even like them 2’doors down but I’m probably a helicopter parent and worrier with their sleep and such, but many people don’t mind the set up of a cape. Lastly, we researched everything first, then got an agent and he was amazing and helped us see the pros and cons to a house and how we could make it work for us! Bathrooms are around 8k I would say? Give or take, all depends on what you want in the bathroom! It’s tough, hang in there! Good luck!
I am definitely a "worrier" which is why I anticipate some struggles with being on two different floors. But, if that's the ONLY thing I dislike about the house, I may give in. That's why I wanted to hear how others have dealt with it.
When I was digging through this forum and reading old posts, I saw the same advice - focus on what can't be changed - i.e, property size and location. I don't want to have to count on major renovations but something like adding a bathroom or knocking down a wall to expand a space I think would be doable.
It's been frustrating because we haven't we found anything that we'd even consider putting an offer on. Either bad location, no yard, high taxes..I'm hoping inventory will pick up now that it's warming up.
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| Posted 4/14/18 10:07 PM |
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by DMDT087
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
My agent is great. My advice is be open mind about layout somewhat because those things can be changed, not entirely, but you can reconfigure. I would focus first on location. No matter what the location doesn’t change. Personally, it bothers me if bedrooms aren’t on the same floor. I have 15 month old twins and I would have not wanted them away on another floor, I don’t even like them 2’doors down but I’m probably a helicopter parent and worrier with their sleep and such, but many people don’t mind the set up of a cape. Lastly, we researched everything first, then got an agent and he was amazing and helped us see the pros and cons to a house and how we could make it work for us! Bathrooms are around 8k I would say? Give or take, all depends on what you want in the bathroom! It’s tough, hang in there! Good luck!
I am definitely a "worrier" which is why I anticipate some struggles with being on two different floors. But, if that's the ONLY thing I dislike about the house, I may give in. That's why I wanted to hear how others have dealt with it.
When I was digging through this forum and reading old posts, I saw the same advice - focus on what can't be changed - i.e, property size and location. I don't want to have to count on major renovations but something like adding a bathroom or knocking down a wall to expand a space I think would be doable.
It's been frustrating because we haven't we found anything that we'd even consider putting an offer on. Either bad location, no yard, high taxes..I'm hoping inventory will pick up now that it's warming up.
It’s tough! Just be open minded! Also, I know the commute to Nassau can be tough, but we live out in port Jeff sta and my husband commutes on LIRR to Jamaica every day and I commute to Nassau. Is it a longer commute yes, but it’s not the end of the world!!
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| Posted 4/15/18 8:06 AM |
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MrsT809
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 12167 total posts
Name:
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
We have a cape and used two downstairs bedrooms at first. We moved the kids upstairs at 2.5 and 5 and its worked well. I still have to go up and down a million times some nights but it's not a big deal, even in the middle of the night. I won't lie, the fire thing makes me nervous but I know when something scares me I'm at their room in the blink of an eye.
As for adding a bathroom, we spent at least $5k just in materials.
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| Posted 4/15/18 8:42 AM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
It’s tough! Just be open minded! Also, I know the commute to Nassau can be tough, but we live out in port Jeff sta and my husband commutes on LIRR to Jamaica every day and I commute to Nassau. Is it a longer commute yes, but it’s not the end of the world!!
How long is your commute from Port Jeff?
I work in Bohemia, so moving further East/North wouldn't be a big deal for me, but it makes me feel bad for my BF because I know how draining sitting in traffic can be. At the same time, who know if he'll always be working in Nassau or his hours might change to be offset with rush hour.
I might suggest we drive around so areas north of Middle Country and see if we at least like those neighborhoods.
Posted by MrsT809
We have a cape and used two downstairs bedrooms at first. We moved the kids upstairs at 2.5 and 5 and its worked well. I still have to go up and down a million times some nights but it's not a big deal, even in the middle of the night. I won't lie, the fire thing makes me nervous but I know when something scares me I'm at their room in the blink of an eye.
As for adding a bathroom, we spent at least $5k just in materials.
Thanks for your thoughts! The flip side is that once they're tweens/teens, it'd probably be better to have them upstairs vs. right next door when they have friends over, lol..pros and cons to everything.
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| Posted 4/15/18 9:24 AM |
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Commute isn’t awful from port Jeff sta. My hours are flexible so I try and mostly commute outside of rush hour times
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| Posted 4/15/18 1:44 PM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
There are definitely houses out there, so just be patient and don't give up!
I will say, if you don't like capes, then don't buy a cape. I hate them and every time we saw one, I would cringe. You shouldn't have to convince yourself to like a house.
That being said, you will not find your perfect house. Every house needs something. Think about what can't be changed, like location. If you really want a basement, then don't buy a house without one. But other things can be changed.
House hunting can take a lot of time unless you just happen to hit the market at the right time. Good luck!
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| Posted 4/15/18 5:51 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by NYCGirl80
There are definitely houses out there, so just be patient and don't give up!
I will say, if you don't like capes, then don't buy a cape. I hate them and every time we saw one, I would cringe. You shouldn't have to convince yourself to like a house.
That being said, you will not find your perfect house. Every house needs something. Think about what can't be changed, like location. If you really want a basement, then don't buy a house without one. But other things can be changed.
House hunting can take a lot of time unless you just happen to hit the market at the right time. Good luck!
I haven’t been inside a Cape yet, but I wanted to see how families dealt with the room situation. I would definitely prefer a ranch. But I guess I’m afraid to be too picky in this market.
The funny thing is that we were originally going to put off hunting until the end of the year after I paid off my car. But then interest rates started going up and it got me nervous to wait that long. So if it takes awhile, at least I’ll be paying down my debt in the meantime.
Thanks for the encouraging words! I think I just needed to vent and hear some more realistic words and not just “House hunting is so fun!!” lol - the stress really did catch me off guard but I’ll try to stop obsessing over it so much.
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| Posted 4/15/18 8:11 PM |
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Aries14
Can't plan life...
Member since 8/08 2860 total posts
Name:
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House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
one of the homes I said I didn't even want to look at was a cape.... my realtor forced me to look at some and guess what.. we ended up buying a cape lol. Mine has 3 bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. I have 2 kids so we are all upstairs and the downstairs bedroom is a guest room. so I wouldn't say every cape has the same layout.
We also started looking in the Sachem area and couldn't find anything we liked. I was concerned about my commute too - but our agent pushed us to look for the HOME we really wanted and would be happy with. She ended up taking us to see a house up on the North shore which I thought "no way" - I work on the south shore and more west - but we fell in LOVE with the house and the town. It has a good small school district. And even though I knew it would make my commute longer than I wanted, I also knew I would be happy coming home to this house. SO my point being to not be afraid to open your search to different types of homes or areas. Good Luck!!
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| Posted 4/16/18 10:36 AM |
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lorich
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Member since 6/05 9987 total posts
Name:
Grammie says "Lora Gina"
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
When we were house hunting we did all the work ourselves. Didn't use an agent. I know there are great agents out there, but at the time we didn't know to use one.
We didn't want a cape for the same reason.
A basement was high on our list, but every home we went to in our price range had a musty basement. Not a fully finished basement.
The house we ended up buying and loving was an extended farm ranch. Most bedroom are on the first floor. Instead of a basement because we're on a slab we have this huge bonus room that we use as our basement - it's also considered a bedroom. We have our workout equipment in there, I work from home so it is also my office. We also have a full HUGE stand up attic if you plan on using a basement for storage.
We're in Sachem SD and are putting our house on MLSLI on Friday. I HATE to leave, but life has directed us elsewhere. The school our son goes to is fantastic. The neighbors are amazing. New windows, siding, roof, skylights, doors, all. We planned on this being our forever home. And to be honest - we're moving to a much bigger home with a basement, but we're losing a LOT of space because it's not a fully finished basement.
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| Posted 4/17/18 11:28 AM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by lorich
When we were house hunting we did all the work ourselves. Didn't use an agent. I know there are great agents out there, but at the time we didn't know to use one.
We didn't want a cape for the same reason.
A basement was high on our list, but every home we went to in our price range had a musty basement. Not a fully finished basement.
The house we ended up buying and loving was an extended farm ranch. Most bedroom are on the first floor. Instead of a basement because we're on a slab we have this huge bonus room that we use as our basement - it's also considered a bedroom. We have our workout equipment in there, I work from home so it is also my office. We also have a full HUGE stand up attic if you plan on using a basement for storage.
We're in Sachem SD and are putting our house on MLSLI on Friday. I HATE to leave, but life has directed us elsewhere. The school our son goes to is fantastic. The neighbors are amazing. New windows, siding, roof, skylights, doors, all. We planned on this being our forever home. And to be honest - we're moving to a much bigger home with a basement, but we're losing a LOT of space because it's not a fully finished basement.
I wonder if your house will pop up on our search!? Then at least I already know the neighbors are nice LOL - that’s actually been tough, too. People keep suggesting to me to try to feel out the neighbors, but in this market there really isn’t time to do much more investigating than seeing how they keep their yard
I want the basement for extra hang out space + a workout space, so I’m open minded to alternatives. Even a large den would work. I actually think a split ranch would be okay too but only a couple have popped up - mostly needing a lot of updating or ridiculous taxes.
The houses we’ve seen with really nice finished basements have definitely been at the higher end of our budget, OR at our max and lacking elsewhere. Like having a really small main floor or no garage. If the house is vacant (like a flipped house) there is a NYS program we could use to do other improvements or additions with a grant (if we stay in the house for 10 years). We haven’t seen much of those that aren’t bank owned though. Which has been another problem..I swear about 50% of the houses that have popped up are bank owned!
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| Posted 4/17/18 12:07 PM |
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lorich
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Member since 6/05 9987 total posts
Name:
Grammie says "Lora Gina"
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by DMDT087
Posted by lorich
When we were house hunting we did all the work ourselves. Didn't use an agent. I know there are great agents out there, but at the time we didn't know to use one.
We didn't want a cape for the same reason.
A basement was high on our list, but every home we went to in our price range had a musty basement. Not a fully finished basement.
The house we ended up buying and loving was an extended farm ranch. Most bedroom are on the first floor. Instead of a basement because we're on a slab we have this huge bonus room that we use as our basement - it's also considered a bedroom. We have our workout equipment in there, I work from home so it is also my office. We also have a full HUGE stand up attic if you plan on using a basement for storage.
We're in Sachem SD and are putting our house on MLSLI on Friday. I HATE to leave, but life has directed us elsewhere. The school our son goes to is fantastic. The neighbors are amazing. New windows, siding, roof, skylights, doors, all. We planned on this being our forever home. And to be honest - we're moving to a much bigger home with a basement, but we're losing a LOT of space because it's not a fully finished basement.
I wonder if your house will pop up on our search!? Then at least I already know the neighbors are nice LOL - that’s actually been tough, too. People keep suggesting to me to try to feel out the neighbors, but in this market there really isn’t time to do much more investigating than seeing how they keep their yard
I want the basement for extra hang out space + a workout space, so I’m open minded to alternatives. Even a large den would work. I actually think a split ranch would be okay too but only a couple have popped up - mostly needing a lot of updating or ridiculous taxes.
The houses we’ve seen with really nice finished basements have definitely been at the higher end of our budget, OR at our max and lacking elsewhere. Like having a really small main floor or no garage. If the house is vacant (like a flipped house) there is a NYS program we could use to do other improvements or additions with a grant (if we stay in the house for 10 years). We haven’t seen much of those that aren’t bank owned though. Which has been another problem..I swear about 50% of the houses that have popped up are bank owned!
Beth Lowe is our agent - she's also a vendor on here. Get in contact with her after Friday. She'll give you all the info.
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| Posted 4/17/18 12:10 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: House Hunting - Rants - Advice?
Posted by lorich
Beth Lowe is our agent - she's also a vendor on here. Get in contact with her after Friday. She'll give you all the info.
Ok - if it’s in our price range we’ll get an automatic email for it. I’ll keep an eye out! Thanks!
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| Posted 4/17/18 2:15 PM |
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