house hunt

[olstad]

so... we've been looking at houses. I didn't realize I was so high-maintenance about this, but already we told our agent we wanted to make an offer on our house and then later that day e-mailed back and changed our mind. And to tell you the truth I'm not sure changing our minds was the right decision. I'm just sort of frazzled about the whole

Comments

House hunting is extremely stressful, these feelings are all normal.

[pmb]

You certainly *can* do that, but it will be very expensive. Or, really, twice as expensive as you think it should be - everything involving the house has proven to be spendy. If you have the spare cash after buying the house, then go for it! Otherwise, be prepared to have it be one of those things that you keep meaning to get to. If that would be okay ,then great! Go for it!

Could you be happy with the amount off space in the house right now? It sounds like it's the same size as Tracy and my house, which is certainly big enough for us + Allison. And 3 bedrooms gives you 1)parent, 2)kid, 3)office, right?

But let me reiterate - these feelings are normal. Or at least I got them too ( 1, 2)

Re: House hunting is extremely stressful, these feelings are all normal.

[akjdg]

Neglecting any pertinent particulars of the house and peculiarities of building code adoptions/amendments in Lebanon:

1) Throwing up a wall in the garage is easy. Getting it to balance at vertical and not overshoot is trickier (ha ha). Standard code issues for garage/living space separation are:
- 1/2" drywall is required. Maybe 5/8"? I think 1/2".
- Doors must be fire rated (1 hr?) spring loaded-self closing, and and gasketed.
- Not sure if the code says it, but a vapor barrier and insulation are not bad ideas. Vapor barrier to the warm side, presumably the living space. Doing an extra special peachy job on the VB would slow down (Not, naturally, stop) diffusion of exhaust gases into the living space.

2) Your utility room could be An Official Bedroom if there's an existing openable window and the sill is < 44" off the floor (and it meets certain dimensional requirements). And you added a closet of some minimum size. And the minimum dimension of the room is > 7'. And it has a certain minimum floor area that's around 144

[olstad]

Thank you for all of your advice and support! You make me feel much better about the whole thing. I drove around the neighborhood some today and I'm afraid I'm falling in love with the house- it is really close to a park on top of everything else. And did I mention it has a hot tub?

[minorninth]

Good luck!

OK, I haven't bought a house, but the first thing that came to mind was The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing from Joel on Software, when he's giving advice on how to decide if you should hire someone:

Never say "Maybe, I can't tell." If you can't tell, that means No Hire. It's really easier than you'd think. Can't tell? Just say no! Similarly, if you are on the fence, that means No Hire. Never say, "Well, Hire, I guess, but I'm a little bit concerned about..." That's a No Hire as well.

An important thing to remember about interviewing is this: it is much better to reject a good candidate than to accept a bad candidate. A bad candidate will cost a lot of money and effort and waste other people's time fixing all their bugs. If you have any doubts whatsoever, No Hire.Point being, if you're unsure about a house, that's a no. When the right one comes along, you'll be sure. I think this is a good rule of thumb about most important life-changing decisions

[akjdg]

Hmm. That's an interesting point by minorninth. My first impression with our house is that it was great, we love the location, we love the potential, but, boy this is gonna be some WORK.

That has proved to be 100% true thus far on all counts. Location remains top notch, (LocationLocationLocation, after all), we still love the house, but much work remains before it is sculpted into ideal (for example, having a front door would be most helpful).

So consider your first impressions, decide if you can be happy with those impressions realized for the duration of your stay in this house, and then act accordingly.

If this house is in the perfect neighborhood, another consideration might be: how is the house valued relative to the neighborhood, and relative to your budget? If it's near the bottom of the neighborhood and the top of your budget, and you _really_ love the neighborhood, perhaps you should jump. Another opportunity to live there may be awhile in coming. If not, you've got options, and can afford to see what else comes