Here We Discuss Wacky Reasons for Buying/Not Buying a House

[SydneyK]

Never again will I live in a house with a septic system. Seriously, that isht is nasty. bleh

[KSigkid]

We mainly bought our house because of location (close to highway but it's not going through our backyard, close enough to family and law school) and structure (house was in good shape, just outdated). My dad is a contractor, so we figured that we could handle the minor improvements needed.

[Still BLUTANG]

i was visiting neighborhoods at night, so i got a good feel of what it would look like when i came home from work. i chose my community because even when it was dark, you could find women jogging alone, or elderly couples taking a walk. Also, it's actually a NEIGHBORHOOD instead of it being a subdivision. Mix of townhomes and garden style condos, a school and a small shopping complex with our own stop on the university's bus route and DC metro.

[lauralaylin]

I'm buying a house right now, and a big turnoff for me in a really nice house was paint. The entire place needed a paint job, and I just didn't want to deal with that. However, the swing set that was coming with the house was a big plus. I ended up choosing one coming with an HDTV. It's also a very nice house in a good neighborhood with a good yard, but that was a big plus!

[aephi alum]

When DH and I bought our first house, it happened to be the first house the realtor showed us. I walked into the kitchen and stopped. DH walked into the family room and stopped. The family room was a big, bright room with windows on 3 sides and a fireplace. And there was a large eat-in kitchen... big selling point for us, as our first apartment had a kitchen so tiny we couldn't both fit in it at the same time. Another plus for that house was that it was on a cul-de-sac, so there was hardly any traffic - my neighbors' kids routinely played in the street.

DH and I recently bought our second house. I'd started a job in New York City, and the commute from the first house was way too long, so we moved closer to NYC. The previous owners had completely redone the house, with the exception of the kitchen and one bathroom. This house also has a big, bright family room with windows on 3 sides, and another room with a fireplace. It's on a quiet street (not a cul-de-sac, but still there's very little traffic), yet I'm close to civilization - I have a ten-minute drive to the train station, and a 10-15 minute drive to two town centers. And I will get to redo the kitchen to my specifications

Wood-burning fireplaces can be a nuisance, but you can convert them to burn propane or natural gas. I recommend this - instead of messing around with logs and wadded-up newspaper and cleaning up afterwards, you just flip a switch.

I agree about the septic; unfortunately very few houses are on city water and sewer around here.

Both houses that I've owned have hardwood floors. This is good if you're an allergy sufferer (as my DH is) because they're easier to keep clean. On the other hand, hopping out of a nice warm bed in the morning and putting your bare feet down on cold wood is not fun. But that can be handled by wearing socks, keeping slippers handy, or putting down an area rug.

Also, if there's a house or two that you're particularly interested in, drive by it at various times of the day and night. There are a few streets I can think of around here that look like they'd be quiet little streets, but they actually get quite busy during rush hour, with commuters who like to avoid the major streets. I crossed one house off my list because it was near a high school, and after the realtor showed us the house, we got caught in dismissal-time traffic.

Good luck with the house hunt.

[AGDee]

What sold me on my current house was the backyard. It backs up to a creek with a nicely wooded area along it. That means no "backyard" neighbors. When I stepped out on that wooden deck and saw the cherry trees in bloom with the ducks in the creek, it was so peaceful and quiet that I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. All the houses around me were well kept up also. People take care of their property here. I was also drawn to the family room, large, windows/doorwall on three walls, including a bay window that overlooks the beautiful backyard. I didn't realize until I was drawing out the floor plan for a friend that the house has almost the exact floor plan of the house I grew up in. I guess I felt "at home" right away because of that.

[Tippiechick]

The house was very clean, smelled good, needed only a very few SMALL repairs, had a room perfect for our dog room, was in a great subdivision, was perfectly priced. I can't climb stairs well because of the broken kneecap. So, it is a ranch. It was not landscaped, so we were able to do what we wanted with it.

The paint did not concern me. I knew I would be repainting it with my colors instead. I HATE white walls.

See, in this military town, people tend to overprice their houses. Why? Because the people PCS'ing in from another base will pay about anything. They know they won't be stationed here long enough for any long-term problems to occur. And, they know they can sell it and still make a profit.

We are picky, know about real estate, and refused to overpay. We looked at 35 houses before finally finding this one the day it went on the market. I think people looking for a new home should take it upon themselves to research the mls listings.