Ok, we've been looking for the right house to buy as ours sits on the market. All the other ones thus far have been a bit out of our price range (if we had to keep our current home) and had more cons than pluses. However, one just came on the market the other day and our realtor showed it to us today. Wow, it fits the bill so nicely. What should we do??? It's priced super well as the sellers want to sell it quickly so I'm afraid it will be gone if we don't act soon. In just the two days it came on the market, they've had 4 showings already. Here are some pics:
Front of house from end of driveway
Fenced in backyard
Our main criteria has been a level yard/lot close into town and this one has both. It just needs some cosmetic updating inside (like removing wallpaper) and the kitchen appliances need to be updated quite a bit, but overall, the house is in superb condition.
This house is 45 years old and is nearly 5000 sq ft big! There is a mother-in-law 2-bedroom apartment with full kitchen/laundry/etc on the lower floor that we could rent out to offset our mortgage. The area can be completely closed off to the main house with its own entrance and so forth.
The main drawing point is the location!! It's literally where we were wanting to be and the neighborhood is so nice. The fenced backyard is a huge plus for our dog.
Ok, so the dilemma is that we haven't sold our current home. We could buy this one and then if the contract is accepted and so forth, we could do a massive price reduction on our current home to try to get rid of it quickly. What do you guys think?? Aaaghh! I wouldn't worry so much except that the house is priced so well for the area that I'm afraid it will be gone...
basement/apartment kitchen
basement/living room with fireplace
front of house - another view
back of house
Help -- another possible house to buy!
April 23rd, 2010 at 01:24 am
April 23rd, 2010 at 01:35 am 1271982919
April 23rd, 2010 at 03:00 am 1271988056
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April 23rd, 2010 at 08:13 am 1272006792
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:50 am 1272019820
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April 23rd, 2010 at 01:58 pm 1272027519
I've always wanted investment property but never really gave it much thought to have the investment property to be a part of my home too, but since this house already affords that opportunity, it's like having your cake and eating it too. If you go back and see some of my prior posts, I have been looking at purchasing rental properties as well during all of this housing search. It just seems like, at least for this house, it's a win-win situation. I could really see us renting the basement apartment to a local university professor or a hospital employee (our university is within a couple of miles and the hospital is literally down the street) --- would definitely want a "professional" in there rather than a student or something like that. The apartment itself doesn't need much work at all. The kitchen has newer white appliances in it and the rooms are in great shape - the square footage of the apartment area is around 1100 sq ft so it's quite large and would probably appeal to many.
April 23rd, 2010 at 03:51 pm 1272034287
April 23rd, 2010 at 04:13 pm 1272035593
Personally, there is no way I would buy it.
1 - We have owned 2 homes. IT worked out okay, but is something I would never do again. Renters are never a given, and can end up costing you more, anyway.
2 - We were house hunting in 2006 (when we could make a real nice lateral move to more land) and gave up. We refused to own 2 homes again and just didn't work out. (Problem is we refused to sell our first home until we found something we liked better). Saw some beautiful/large homes. The one we put a bid on and almost got, had 2 rental on the property. Looking back, I am glad we didn't get it. The maintenance probably would have been insane. I think about that when you mention the size of the home. (I think the square footage of the home and rentals was 4k-5k, and a lot more land than we are used to).
I do tend to be pretty conservative, and have no interest in landlording, I do admit. But, for the most part, think it through and don't do it because you don't think a better deal/house will ever come along. There will always be something - other opportunies will arise.
April 23rd, 2010 at 04:26 pm 1272036417
I agree that the prices are definitely good right now and the interest rates could go up in the near future.
How far away is this house from where you live now? It's also good to live close to your rental home so that you can check up on the renters and the condition of the home.
My friend owns 3 rental properties in Fla and as a rule does not let the renters change the filters on the AC. For one, they leave them too long or buy the wrong size. Although it is an expense for her, it has paid off in the long run.
April 23rd, 2010 at 05:43 pm 1272041000
April 23rd, 2010 at 06:42 pm 1272044540
Our current home and this new home is just 4 miles from each other so IF we had to rent out our current home, it would be no problem to keep an eye on it for maintenance, etc. Single family homes here rent pretty easily because of the university and hospital -- guess you can say we live in the heart of the county where all the action is.
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:04 pm 1272060255
Jerry
April 24th, 2010 at 12:34 am 1272065645
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