Joe and I just toured the perfect home. Literally checks off nearly every single picky box I have on my list of PERFECTION. Only a year old, completely in our price range right now, the exact size and style we LOVE, super gorgeous perfect kitchen of my dreams (dark woods with a monstrous granite island), wide plank wood floors... There's even a guest room with a full bath downstairs for y'all to come over. And to top it all off? There is a trail, only a mile long, from the neighborhood, directly to Kennesaw Mountain National Park, the trails that Joe loves to run and we love to hike!
Well, it does NOT have the perfect YARD. It's small. Really sloped. A huge drainage ditch that can't be changed. And there are a lot of power lines, including one of those MASSIVE towers in our view from the deck. And the road behind the yard is fairly busy and loud. I couldn't relax back there. I can't picture my kids playing out there for hours. So we've passed on that house.
ARGH, right?? I never thought I'd have to 'pass' when perfection was within my grasp.
SO, it's time for you all to weigh in for me about how you chose your home. I love hearing opinions and your experiences!
Perfection in a regular price range just won't exist.
So did you choose the perfect house? Perfect yard? Perfect schools?
How did you weigh how important each was to you?
I still feel like I can't give up on any of them, so I'd love a reality check by those of you who've gone through it. Did you walk away from the beautiful house for the one with the beautiful yard? Give up both for the best schools? And would you do anything differently now that you've settled in?
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That's a tough one....but if I can't picture my kids playing outside for long periods of time...I wouldn't buy the home, no matter how perfect it is...that may be just my opinion. I'd pick somewhere that has GOOD schools (its ok if their not the best) and just remember, you can always remodel your home and make that old kitchen into your dream one if you want. It would be a lot easier to remodel a kitchen than change the view or the slope/size of the yard! But I'm not home pro!! Good luck to you guys in your decision!
How exciting!! But frustrating! Could you build like a deck over the slope or something? Or fence in the yard from the busy road? Schools aren't the most important in my book, but I don't have kids in school yet. I totally think a big yard you can play in/spend time in (especially with boys, I'm sure!) would be very important. But, at least in the winter they could go sledding anytime though right?
Oh that is so hard!! I think at this stage in our lives with young children - a yard is so important. I know that we spend more than half of our day outside in our yard now. But if you can get over the yard issues . . . I say go for it. The house we purchased was not ideal at all. We bought it because the price was great. (we just really wanted a home). Looking back now I have no regrets. We have updated the house and made it ours. I guess if you totally love the house - go for it. You can possibly update the yard to your liking.
Can't wait to hear what you decide!!
Finding a house is SO hard! It's a big commitment and feels so permanent! We made a list of what we HAD to have, in order of importance. That list had seven items. Then we made a list of items we would LIKE to have (five items). That way we didn't get caught off guard by simply a beautiful house or the excitement of the hunt. As hard as it is, it's just deciding what is most important and starting there. Good luck!!
Oh, and I forgot to mention, we did find a house that had all seven of the have to's and four of the like to's. So, it is possible!!
What a great question. I wish I made it when we bought our house. To me the inside was very important. Needed lots of light (living in Seattle, I wanted many windows). For us there weren't many "nice" homes in our price range that we could afford at the time. Now is a great time to buy, so congrats. We have a great house, but for me there are two changes that are a MUST for the next home we buy. A bigger back yard, and a separate family/ living room. Right now we have a backyard, but not huge. That's probably #1. Get the kids outside with toys for them to play with/ on, and room for a garden. That's what I would change right now. Also right now, we only have a living room/ dining room combo. It's open concept which is nice. However... when we have lots of family or friends over, it feels cramped without that extra room for kids or adults to be. Good luck and keep me posted!
Well, for us schools have never been an issue...I'm not fond of the system at all, so cross that off my list. I passed on many wonderful homes due to yard size. I wanted at least .5 acre for a small orchard & large garden. Basically, I made a list of all the homes with the yard size I wanted in my price range and toured them all. It took months to find an interior I was OK with. Finally we found one in the foothills here in UT. We went with a shortsale so we could get more for our money, even though it took longer.
The biggest hurdle for me to jump over when we bought our house was the size of our backyard. Super small. It took me actually seeing my nieces running around back there to realize that there was more than enough space in our front and backyard for them to play. It also helps that an awesome huge park is within walking distance from our house. We didn't really think about schools until my Mum mentioned that for re-sale value...we might want to think about it. The area we searched for houses all have schools that rank pretty well, so we got lucky there.
Personally I wouldn't buy a house with view of a massive power tower from it. Our real estate agent said that those houses always have a hard time selling/re-selling with the proximity to the power lines. Don't compromise on what's really important to you though... in the end you'll get what you want!
Good luck with the house hunting! Fun times ahead :)
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