What compromises did you make?

We compromised in not getting something with an upstairs and went with a ranch. It had everything else we wanted, a finished basement, pool. nice size yard and 4 bedrooms.

Re: What compromises did you make?

When I bought my house, we compromised on having 3 bedrooms versus 4. I wanted a dedicated guest room/home office space, and we had planned on having another child. But we knew that part of the basement could be utilized as an office, down the road, or we could even build up another level (we have a split) to make a master suite as many people have done in our area.

As fate worked out, we now know that our DS will be our only child, so 3 bedrooms works out great - we use the third bedroom as an office (and occasional guest space).

We also bought a corner property, which my DH was initially dead set against. But it is an oversized, private, and very nicely landscaped property on a quiet corner, and it has a useable back yard as well as a side yard. It had everything else we wanted plus a lot of "pluses" like CAC, a 2 car garage, gas heat, a master bath, a fireplace, etc.

With my clients, I always advise to compromise on things that can be changed or added versus the 3 Ls (location, layout, and lot size). A common tradeoff is size v. condition. If you are comparing two homes in the same area that are the same price, a smaller house may have more updates (renovated kitchen, CAC, etc.) and a home with more interior square footage will usually need more cosmetic work. So buyers usually have to find their comfort zone with that... if they are very handy, they may opt for a bigger house to renovate over time. But if time, money, skill, etc. are issues with renovations, then it may make sense to get something smaller but in diamond condition.

What compromises did you make?

We compromised on the number of bedrooms. We have a huge finished basement and a garage for storage and huge yard. 10 minute commute. I do really wish it had one more bedroom though. 2 bedroom homes are a tough resale, BUT it was our only compromise...