Which house would you pick?

Hypothetical questions.

You have 2 houses to choose from. Both farther away from your current house you are selling and further away for person working in City.

House #1:
Best location for trains
Great school district
Houses surrounding the house are more upscale
Very desirable neighborhood
House is bigger than current house
But rooms on bottom floor are small including DR and LR and lay out a bit choppy.
Might have to do an extention on house later

House $2:
Farther away than house #1 by another 20 minutes in commute
Great school district (but different school district than house #1)
Houses on street are nice but really only that street and a cross street are the bigger houses. The rest of the area is not as upscale (smaller houses) but still well kept and well maintained yard. Not as upscale as house #1 in general. Would be the more upscale part of the town.
House is even bigger than house #1. Open floor plan that matches your lifestyle a bit better than #1


Price difference is only $20K

which would you choose?


And why?

Message edited 9/6/2011 5:57:49 PM.

Re: Which house would you pick?

house 2


bigger
you can make it upscale yourself
floor plan works for you



bigger the better, IMO...space always is so important

Re: Which house would you pick?

By what you say #2 since it sounds like you will have more space.

But since both houses are in good school districts with a commute that can be handled I would want to know more about the towns. Does one have more to offer than the other? Is one a better investment (i.e. a neighborhood more likely to hold its value better) Better shopping, resturants etc.

Re: Which house would you pick?

#1
sounds like it is the more desirable neighborhood plus 20 minutes closer for the commuter.

Have you thought about knocking some walls down and opening up the ground floor?

Re: Which house would you pick?

#1

more desirable area

but what seals the deal for me is the shorter commute, 20 min more time with family is a lot to me.

Re: Which house would you pick?

Re: Which house would you pick?

Re: Which house would you pick?

House #1, 20 mins commute is big. Area being more upscale or desirable very big also. And as long as it's bigger than your current house, that's the main thing.

Re: Which house would you pick?

Re: Which house would you pick?

I would choose the first house, location, location, location!

Cosmetic things can always be done.

Re: Which house would you pick?

#1 - Location and commute time would seal the deal for me.

Re: Which house would you pick?

No question house #1.

Re: Which house would you pick?

I say 1. Location matters and commute time matters also. It's really 40 more minutes which you could have cooked dinner or done a load of laundry.

Re: Which house would you pick?

#1 Location is key. You can change a house, you can't move it.

Good luck with your decision.

Re: Which house would you pick?

House #1 IF resale value is at all a consideration. Location can't be changed, and proximity to city and good train lines add value. To build equity, you are always better off buying a smaller house in a more upscale neighborhood than buying one of the bigger houses in a neighborhood. You can make the house what you want it and bring it in line with the larger homes in House #1's neighborhood, but House #2 will never be closer to the city, on a different train line, or in a different neighborhood.

If you think this is your forever house, then I would buy the one that works best for your lifestyle. But to me, an extra 20 minutes commute each way is quite a lot, and that would factor heavily. The layout of the first floor of House #1 could be changed, as you say. It could be opened up, or perhaps extended, over time. But if you don't have the time or money or desire to make those changes, then you have to ask yourself if you can be happy living with House #1's layout as is. Is the tradeoff of less space/more closed off rooms worth the better commute and slightly more upscale neighborhood? Onlly you can decide!

Re: Which house would you pick?

#1

commute and location are both key!

Re: Which house would you pick?

#1. Floorplans can be changed, but the shorter commute sealed the deal for me.

Re: Which house would you pick?

#1 because you can always rearrange the floor plan and like you said add an extension later on. as someone who commutes, another 20 minutes is A LOT and thats each way. and i prefer to have the ugliest house on the nicest block. as long as the house as potential.

Re: Which house would you pick?

#1 because it's livable as is and you can change it to make it more 'you'.

Re: Which house would you pick?

Neither.

I'd wait for a larger house in house #1's area.

Re: Which house would you pick?

I am the type of person who will always pick location, location, location! You can change everything about a house except for the location.
I would pick house #1 but ONLY if I am okay living in the house currently as is because any modifications will be in the future.
Also, I just want to mentioned that we bought our house because it was a short commute for both DH and I. After one year we both had new jobs so I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor.

Re: Which house would you pick?

To clarify a little. DH will most likelly work in the City even if he switches jobs.

We already have a house but it's small and I don't like the layout. And I want a bigger size lot.

House #1 is already bigger than our house but not as open as I would like. yet, it would work until we remodel.

Re: Which house would you pick?

House #1

I don't care about upscale neighbors or if the houses a few streets away are smaller, but twenty minutes further away from city would be a deal-breaker for this commuter!

Re: Which house would you pick?

i say 1 but be prepared home renovations are big $$ so if that is the decided factor then #2.

Re: Which house would you pick?