Hi everyone. We have been house hunting for the past 2.5 months. We have looked at houses every weekend with my realtor and my husband and I have gone into every model home in Roseville, Ca totaling about 60-70 homes. Online we have rejected 120 homes. Out of all these homes we saw, we liked THREE. Two we offered and the sellers accepted another offer. One is still available but it doesn't have the curb appeal (elevation) I wanted. There is no "wow" factor driving up to it. But the inside is absolutely perfect. We own a house now and there are things we require. One is an open floor plan. This house has exactly that. I keep wavering back and forth (which is driving my husband crazy because he loves this house and thinks it's perfect). But I can't commit to this house because of the outside. We thought of new paint (which will help a lot (other houses on the street has a different paint scheme and it changes the whole look of the house) and possible adding stonework to the outside if necessary. Since this is such an expensive purchase, I want to be 100% sure. For the price of 360,000 this house has all the upgrades that I would have to put into a new house. There is a new house in the KB development that the base price is 360,000 with the perfect elevation but I would have to put in 35,000 to get it to look like this house. So I ask, can the outside of the house make or break a deal? I don't want any regrets.....
Thank you for reading this..I know it's long.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to offer me such great advice. Your advices made me realize how grateful I am to be able to do what I am doing. With this house we are living less than our mean so we will have money to give and help others. We offered on the house yesterday and is now in contract. If everything goes well we will move in by the end of this month. We will paint the outside and my husband already have a vision on what the outside will look like when he's done. We are so excited! Thanks again
I could really care less about the outside of a house. Landscaping can easily be fixed and siding can be painted. Undesirable brick color, not my preferred stone, lacking a porch, etc - nope don't care. While some things may be nice to have, I'd rather have a gorgous looking inside since that's where I'll be living.
No such thing as a perfect house. Are you going to be living inside it or outside looking at it? The outside is important but if everything is good on the inside, sounds like a winner.
My house had no curb appeal when we bought it. We ripped out all of the existing landscaping, adding another level to the garden beds with stone, and, I then spent two years creating a lovely 4 season garden.
I also redid the whole backyard...... The outside can easily be fixed, if you love the floor plan inside.
be grateful that you are in such a position. there is no "perfect". make a choice and be thankful. do not let this keep you up at nights. there are such bigger things....
There's no such thing as perfect. Chant it as a mantra as you go forward and you'll be happier for it.
Is this a corner lot? How long has it been on the market? What is the school district rated?
I think the school district is the BIGGEST factor in resale. Corner lots are another problem - usually they get a lot more noise. I had a corner lot many years ago and it took 9 months to sell - I will never own a corner lot again.
How long will you live in the house? If you plan to live there a long time, you'll have plenty of time to spruce up the outside for a future sale. Is there a homeowner's association that can put the kabosh on your plans to make changes to the exterior?
You say you own a house now. Do you plan on offering to buy the house on a contingency basis, if you sell your existing house? Many house sellers will no longer accept contingencies - better check that out.
Make sure you have your own real estate attorney and KNOW the answer in regards to the question of the homeowners association before you buy this house. If they have all the say in outward design, I'd buy the other house if you qualify for the mortgage in order to not get screwed by the homeowner's association.
Good luck,
Dawn
Advice? Learn to live DIY.
I've found, that typically, DIY costs about 1/5th of 'retail' pricing... With certain exclusions ($5,000 fence for $300... One on side of the spectrum, and funeral costs versus an electrician... I don't do any wiring. I'd fry myself or burn us down).
1/5th of 35,000 = $7,000
Which not only sounds a LOT more doable, but you reap that in resale.)
One of the other nice things about DIY, is that its on your own schedule. One weekend a month. Skip this mo., because need to save for Xmas presents? No problem. Sick? Not a build day. Etc.
DIY CAN EITHER go as a family bonding experience or a marriage threatening one. My husband never helped (Not totally true. He hammered for 2 hours a few years ago), so it was pure bonding w/ kiddo as we both learned fence building, sheet rocking, etc. So don't discount the kids!!! Mine was 5 when he'd put 4 solid hours in of REAL help (out of a 7 hour day).
DOWNSIDES:
-Time. While it costs a fraction, time expenditure is about 10x what a pro spends.
- Learning curve. Quite frankly, even with TOH's video tutorials, I'm a bit of a clutz. Sometimes it takes a few goes. And that also means a few goes BACK to the durn store. Again.
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Anyhow.. Just something to consider. When the inside is perfect, you can do the outside at your leisure.
The outside of any house can be changed. You love the inside, the price is right, it's obviously in your desired neighborhood, seems like you should go for it! If the outside curb appeal is the only thing holding you back, it can be changed. Also, if you buy the house and change the curb appeal, you should automatically see an increase in the value of your home. You could easily spend some big bucks on curb appeal, but you could also do some simple fixes, for now, that make you happy, and do larger changes over time. I definitely would not let curb appeal be the reason I didn't buy a house, unless the curb appeal of my neighbors and their upkeep wasn't good. I wouldn't wait too long making a decision, you may lose the house, because someone else has the vision of what it could be.
Be grateful-many people in this economy are actually losing their homes-buy a house, fix it up, and make it a home.
I have seen houses completely transformed by stonework and a paint update. Maybe have a designer/contractor and find out some possibilities.
There is no perfect house w/ out you adding some of the details. We just went through it. We were re-locating which made it a little harder because we were under somewhat of a time crunch.
The house we got was our 3rd offer. The first the master was amazing, finished basement w/ a guest bath. Great deck etc on a cul-de-sac. But the other bedrooms were small and the kitchen mediocre.
The 2nd, again kitchen not to my liking but great yard, floor plan etc.
The house we got I LOVED when we walked in. Love the floor plan, the bedrooms are huge, huge basement etc. But I will re-do the cabinets, eventually get new counter tops and I still dont love the yard. But we finally saw, 3 months in and 3 offers later there was NOT a perfect house out there. Unless we designed the layout, and h and picked the lot and the street neighborhood....chances are thats not happening. At least not in a realistic budget. There will ALWAYS be something you could wish for. Thats life, Sounds like you found the "right" place. Now its up to you to make it perfect :)
We bought an old farmhouse 12 years ago on several acres. It was far from perfect, but we could see the beauty in it. Through the years we have made it "perfect" for us. We learned to DIY most of the projects, and hired people to help us with the rest. We liked it when we moved in, so it's not like we were miserable for years, but we changed it slowly through the years. Last year we majorly overhauled the outside of the house, and now it looks fabulous.
I wouldn't worry about the outside now if you're so happy with the inside. You can always change what you don't like, and you don't have to change it immediately.
I would think it's cheaper to fix curb appeal than upgrades inside. If the house outside is in good shape and appealing otherwise (not noisy, etc.), then take the inside if it's perfect and then make the outside what you want. I don't know if any house is ever "perfect". If you can make it what you want it to be without breaking the bank, go for it.
The outside has some effect of whether or not you love the house or not. Especially noise factor, and how far it is from road, main road, heavy traffic, etc. Also the space of the outside matters. For me anyways.
My family purchased a house in NH in June this year. It was an older home, but very well maintained, plenty of room, etc. I liked the house but loved the outside. It has a secluded front and the backyard has a pond, with a bridge and a nature trail in the back. We live close to conservation area. It sold me. The inside and outside can always be upgraded, it is the foundation of the house that has to be solid and strong.
Ask yourself this question - Where are you going to spend more time? Inside the house or outside? The elevation may not be exactly what you want, but everything else seems to be.
You should make up your mind before you lose out on this one too!
Good luck!
I don't think the perfect house exists. You have to make some concessions at the end of the day. Looks are just looks, you're the one that makes it a home.
I know you have been looking for a while but if you plan to live in the house for a while you have to make the best decision for both of you. I am the type that curb appeal matters just as much as the inside. I can drive by the outside and it doesn't matter how spectacular the inside is, I can't live there. I want to smile when I come home, or at least say, how beautiful my roses are, now if my husband would just weed the edges...smile. It is a matter of personal preference, but to me...the outside makes a huge difference.
