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POLL: Help me pick a house!

rudder

rudder

Lifer
Well I was hoping it would not happen and it would make the decision a lot easier. I made an offer on two houses. Unfortunately they were both accepted. Here are the descriptions:

House 1: 3 BR, 2BA, 1600 SQft, 1 acre (crappy lot on a hill about a mile from the interstate.) Its a brand new house just finishied last week. The drive would be 35 minutes to work.

House 2: 3BR 2BA 1500SQft, 9 acres in the country, House built in 1998. Bedrooms are bigger and the upstairs can be finshed into a bonus room adding about 300 sqft. The only negative to this house is the drive to work would be a little over an hour.

If I take house 1, I have to move my daughter out of her school which she loves. It is a public school but ranked in the top 7 in the state. They already have her reading 3rd grade level books. Living in house 2 would mean an extra 8K miles per year on my car. Don't really care about that I guess since its a civic and I plan to run it ragged.

House 2 is also about 17K cheaper.

I already made up my mind but was curious as whether everyone else would think I am crazy.
 
Get the land for the family and a cd player for the car so you can listen to books on tape during your long-a$$ commute.
 
House 2, as with the extra $17,000 you can buy some nice furniture etc, or you'll just have less to pay on the house in the long run.
 
Originally posted by: Gravity
Get the land for the family and a cd player for the car so you can listen to books on tape during your long-a$$ commute.
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Plus, consider car pooling with 1 or 2 other commuters. That way you can use your
laptop. Long drives are eazyer on the car than short ones.
 
Originally posted by: lsman

so you are picking option #3? 🙂
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I would save tons of money at least.

Originally posted by: FeathersMcGraw


Ask yourself if you want to spend a minimum of two hours on the road every day.
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Actually that move would take me closer to work. I had a job (IT guy at manufacturing plant) in town but that was when the economy went to crap. It took me a while to sell my current house so I have been doing the drive for some time now. Its a good time to think and listen to tunes. Plus it won't be forever. My wife is a stay at home mom. Once the youngest is old enough to goto preschool in 3 years, she will be able to make the money she once did. Then we will think about staying in the area or moving closer to my parents in the outer banks of NC.

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf



What kind of internet connection can you get at house 2? Forget the kids and the drive thats the most important question.
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I am a geek and have considered that. But if I get the 9 acres I plan to have a huge garden and also maybe get a horse for the kids. But I already checked. House 1 has cable and House 2 suprisingly can get DSL, although I don't know the quality of the DSL.

 
I can handle a long commute as long as it's not bumper-to-bumper stop-and-go everyday. How's the traffic?
 
already made up my mind but was curious as whether everyone else would think I am crazy.
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You picked house 2. Personally it's a tough call. I don't mind driving, but a little over an hour each way is huge. Course, I think your kid(s) will enjoy having all that land to play in as they get older. I'm sure you could find a good private school close to 1. Tough call either way 🙂

I presume you've clocked that distance in rush hour? 😛 A guy who lives about 35 min from work and works 7-4 tried doing an 8-5 the other day and was rewarded with a 1 hour 25 minute drive (not unusual given where he lives and that time of day). I personally have a 30 min drive which can turn into about an hour if I leave at the wrong time.
 
Normally, I think it would suck to have to spend an extra two hours a day driving to and from work. But since even option 1 would require 70 minutes of driving each day, it's not that much more. So yeah, option 2.
 
What's more important to you, the kind of drive to and from work, or THE PLACE YOU COULD POSSIBLE SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE? This is how I looked at it when i bought last year. I wasn't thrilled about the drive I was going to have to make to and from work, but the location and house more than made up for that (see the post pics of your house thread). The house with the 9 acres, big garden, and horse for the kkids sure does sound a hell of a lot nicer than a house right next to the freeway.
 
Never Ever Ever Never but a 'fixer upper'! Not ever!

I was looking to move in with my b/f and we were gonna rent. But no one would rent to me cause I had three cats at the time. So, one day we found a house, and within a week we bought it outright for cash. We figured there would be some work, as they had put a bathroom where it did not belong and I want it moved and a few other stuff. NIGHTMARE!!

Whenever you buy a house that needs work, you need to always alow a LOTof money for the "UH-OH factor"!

The UH-OH factor is whenever you start to do something and find a LOT LOT LOT of crap that you did not expect that cost loads of money and loads of time. I would never ever ever never do that again.

Just my $0.02
🙂
 
It's all about location, and a 35 minute drive to work would put me off, let alone an hour! Schools are critical too, but I'd change jobs to live in the awesome school district before making that commute. So, my choice is neither. Notice all the best locations are already occupied? That's reason enough for me to opt for an existing home, instead of a new development.

When we hunted for our first house, I picked out three locations, all near freeway spurs. Any agents who helped us out, were told to not even think about deviating from those spots, because we weren't interested.

Too bad about your experience KarenMarie, because buying a fixer upper in a first rate location would be my ideal. As long as the selling price is adjusted low enough to compensate for the condition, super!
 
I say take House 2 ... my father drives an hour to work everyday and he eventually got used to it. You'll love the land - trust me. 🙂
 
House 2. I was pissed at my parents when they made this choice since I did not want to leave my friends. But in the long run, I love that house, and I miss it. I miss the quiet area and the friendly people across the street. I miss the beautiful trees in the backyard, and how everything was so green. Now I have to go to college and live in a shithole of an apartment. 🙁
 
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