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We have been renters for seven years in our current location, because we didn't plan on staying here long term. It looks like we will be here for the long haul, so now we are looking to buy. We have a two kids, 1 and 4 years old, and a dog.
We are discovering that for what we can afford (property taxes here are just insane, often over 10k per year and sometimes even over 15k for houses in the 250k-325k range, we will have to make compromises, and we can't decide which ones to make, so I'm looking for advice from those who have made such decisions and regret or don't regret them.
If these were your three options, which would you pick and why:
Option 1: We have one place we are really tempted to make an offer that is about 14 miles from work and about a 20 minute drive, and it is fairly new build that is top notch on the inside and is in a fantastic subdivision--this house is nice but would be one of the least nice houses in the whole subdivision. The school district is well rated, but it is so rural and spread out, the elementary school is about 8 miles from the house and the MS and HS are about 12 miles. It has 3 major drawbacks: 1. The front yard and driveway is really steep, which makes mowing and clearing snow a hassle (our current rental is like that and I hate that about it). 2. The back yard is basically non-existent/unusable for what we want to do with it, which is a bummer for our dog and our kids. It has a big paved patio area for sitting/grilling and is fenced, but it is really small on the whole and has no grass. 3. They call it a 2 car garage, but it is more like a 1.5 car garage. It is only 18 feet wide, with is really, really tight with 2 SUVs. A standard garage is 24 feet wide, which is what we have now. Anyone out there are a garage this small that you still try to fit two vehicles into? Are door dings inevitable as you shimmy your way out?
Option 2: A well rounded place that checks all the boxes to a degree, but none to the degree that Option 1 does on the inside or option 3 does inside and out. It has a bit of a back yard--more than option 1 but not great. It has a nice flat front yard. It has a garage that is a foot bigger at 19 feet wide, but still undersized (online I've read that a 2 car garage should be at minimum 20 feet wide and even at that you are only going to comfortably fit two compact cars). It also beats option 1 on schools, as it is two blocks away from the best elementary and middle school combo in the area. But everything in the house, while nice, is just a bit more worn and lower end than Option 1. It doesn't wow us as much and has some things like cracks in the counter tops and nicks here and there, but it is fine. The only real bummer for my wife is a lack of a tub in the master bath. The neighborhood isn't as high end as Option 1 as it has more modest and older homes, but it is a real nice middle class area that seems filled with families and kids. It is the cheapest of the three, but since the FSBO owner refuses to pay our real estate agent, and is probably also the least likely to budge on price, I'm guessing the final price will be pretty close to Option 1 and not a whole lot cheaper than Option 3.
Option 3: If we go a bit farther out into the boonies than Option 1, with a 15 mile/22 minute commute (in the opposite direction), we could get a ridiculously big place that checks all of the boxes--flat front and back yards, big garage, massive closets, the whole 9 yards and then some. Style wise, it isn't exactly what we'd want, and it isn't as pristine as Option 1, but it is still very nice and has all of the room we could ever need. The one real draw back of this place, besides it being a bit more money than the other two, is that it isn't in a neighborhood. It is on a country road with modest and run down homes and farms (some abandoned) on it. Super rural, not a nice subdivision in a kinda rural location like Option 1. We have never considered not being in a neighborhood before, where you can take the kids and dog for a nice walk or go trick or treating on Halloween, etc. But again, this house is massive and checks all the other boxes to one degree or another. We just worry about the fact it costs a bit more and may be tough to resell being out in the boonies.
We are discovering that for what we can afford (property taxes here are just insane, often over 10k per year and sometimes even over 15k for houses in the 250k-325k range, we will have to make compromises, and we can't decide which ones to make, so I'm looking for advice from those who have made such decisions and regret or don't regret them.
If these were your three options, which would you pick and why:
Option 1: We have one place we are really tempted to make an offer that is about 14 miles from work and about a 20 minute drive, and it is fairly new build that is top notch on the inside and is in a fantastic subdivision--this house is nice but would be one of the least nice houses in the whole subdivision. The school district is well rated, but it is so rural and spread out, the elementary school is about 8 miles from the house and the MS and HS are about 12 miles. It has 3 major drawbacks: 1. The front yard and driveway is really steep, which makes mowing and clearing snow a hassle (our current rental is like that and I hate that about it). 2. The back yard is basically non-existent/unusable for what we want to do with it, which is a bummer for our dog and our kids. It has a big paved patio area for sitting/grilling and is fenced, but it is really small on the whole and has no grass. 3. They call it a 2 car garage, but it is more like a 1.5 car garage. It is only 18 feet wide, with is really, really tight with 2 SUVs. A standard garage is 24 feet wide, which is what we have now. Anyone out there are a garage this small that you still try to fit two vehicles into? Are door dings inevitable as you shimmy your way out?
Option 2: A well rounded place that checks all the boxes to a degree, but none to the degree that Option 1 does on the inside or option 3 does inside and out. It has a bit of a back yard--more than option 1 but not great. It has a nice flat front yard. It has a garage that is a foot bigger at 19 feet wide, but still undersized (online I've read that a 2 car garage should be at minimum 20 feet wide and even at that you are only going to comfortably fit two compact cars). It also beats option 1 on schools, as it is two blocks away from the best elementary and middle school combo in the area. But everything in the house, while nice, is just a bit more worn and lower end than Option 1. It doesn't wow us as much and has some things like cracks in the counter tops and nicks here and there, but it is fine. The only real bummer for my wife is a lack of a tub in the master bath. The neighborhood isn't as high end as Option 1 as it has more modest and older homes, but it is a real nice middle class area that seems filled with families and kids. It is the cheapest of the three, but since the FSBO owner refuses to pay our real estate agent, and is probably also the least likely to budge on price, I'm guessing the final price will be pretty close to Option 1 and not a whole lot cheaper than Option 3.
Option 3: If we go a bit farther out into the boonies than Option 1, with a 15 mile/22 minute commute (in the opposite direction), we could get a ridiculously big place that checks all of the boxes--flat front and back yards, big garage, massive closets, the whole 9 yards and then some. Style wise, it isn't exactly what we'd want, and it isn't as pristine as Option 1, but it is still very nice and has all of the room we could ever need. The one real draw back of this place, besides it being a bit more money than the other two, is that it isn't in a neighborhood. It is on a country road with modest and run down homes and farms (some abandoned) on it. Super rural, not a nice subdivision in a kinda rural location like Option 1. We have never considered not being in a neighborhood before, where you can take the kids and dog for a nice walk or go trick or treating on Halloween, etc. But again, this house is massive and checks all the other boxes to one degree or another. We just worry about the fact it costs a bit more and may be tough to resell being out in the boonies.
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