For Newlyweds Only - Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

angNbrian07 Posted: Nov 13, 2007 03:18 PM

Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

DH and I are definitely going to be buying a house soon... if not now then in the first half of 08.

We have been looking for almost a year and have not been that impressed with what is out there.

Then we found it... THE ONE (we think) but it is a bit expensive. It just seems like even though the market is soft, the houses are still alot of money for a young couple to afford.

Just wondering if anyone else was going through the same thing.

We are looking in Hauppauge/Smithtown area to be close to my parents and cuz the taxes are lower.

Am I just crazy or is $500k a LOT for a home?

lasposaitaliana Posted: Nov 13, 2007 04:38 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

We are also looking for a home in Suffolk County, and we are sick of looking at houses. We have been looking for a year, too. Yes, $500K is alot for a new couple starting out. The taxes don't help either. Alot of these homes are in terrible shape and need massive amount of work. It's funny how people don't keep up with their homes but want to sell it at the same price as a home in the neighborhood that is in excellent condition. So frustrating!

FullersBride Posted: Nov 13, 2007 04:48 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

We recently bought a house, in July actually. We were looking in Long ISland but everything was so expensive or needed a lot of work that we had to relocate. So we moved to CT, 2 hours away and bought a beautiful 4 story 3,500 sq ft old victorian mansion on an acre of land for $280,000 It was SOooooooo WORTH THE MOVE!!!

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Kara and Todd Posted: Nov 13, 2007 04:58 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

$500k for what?

$500k can be a good price or a bad price depending on the house. You DON'T want to pay asking price in this market. We paid almost 15% less than the sellers were asking for our house a few months ago. I think, unless the house is priced really competively for the market, first offers should be around 10% (or more) less than the asking price.

Look at comps in the area (what houses have SOLD for recently, not what they're on the market for) to start to figure out what is reasonable and what is overpriced.

Go to a ton of open houses both inside of and outside of your price range to get an understanding of what you can get for what price range.

Ultimately, though, stick to your price range. WIth taxes, etc., houses are EXPENSIVE!

Good luck!

kitty1224 Posted: Nov 13, 2007 05:03 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Dh and I are looking, but Dh doesnt want want to buy till 08 because the market is suppose to keep dropping. Everything that is affordable needs to be redone. I am not buying a house to rebuild it right away. We rent a house now so saving is hard but I am just not finding anything within our price range in the towns I am loking for.

TheFutureMrsM Posted: Nov 13, 2007 05:07 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Posted by FullersBride

We recently bought a house, in July actually. We were looking in Long ISland but everything was so expensive or needed a lot of work that we had to relocate. So we moved to CT, 2 hours away and bought a beautiful 4 story 3,500 sq ft old victorian mansion on an acre of land for $280,000 It was SOooooooo WORTH THE MOVE!!!

Wow that is a gorgeous house, do you have anymore pics?
what town is that in CT?

MeNBobs Posted: Nov 13, 2007 05:37 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Posted by FullersBride

$280,000 It was SOooooooo WORTH THE MOVE!!!

I feel sick

Congrats your house is beautiful!!

FullersBride Posted: Nov 13, 2007 05:40 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Posted by TheFutureMrsM

Posted by FullersBride

We recently bought a house, in July actually. We were looking in Long ISland but everything was so expensive or needed a lot of work that we had to relocate. So we moved to CT, 2 hours away and bought a beautiful 4 story 3,500 sq ft old victorian mansion on an acre of land for $280,000 It was SOooooooo WORTH THE MOVE!!!

Wow that is a gorgeous house, do you have anymore pics?
what town is that in CT?

I live on the Ansonia, Woodbridge town line in CT. My house is in Ansonia, my backyard is in Woodbridge. It is ine New Haven County. Mel Gibson actually has a house in Woodbridge. I'll post a few more pictures. I'm IN LOVE with our house, and there are so many houses around here like this one!

FullersBride Posted: Nov 13, 2007 05:41 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

TheFutureMrsM Posted: Nov 13, 2007 05:42 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

YOUR house is GORGEOUS I love the pics

Soooo pretty!!!! Congrats!!!

FullersBride Posted: Nov 13, 2007 05:44 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

We have 4 bedrooms, all wiht walk in closets, 1.5 baths, we are putting in another bath next year, a formal living room, formal dining room, game room with a wet bar and they left the pool table , home office, full size laundry room, family room, workshop, pantry/storage room, utilities room, and a wine cellar.....

Umm yeah, and our taxes are $3,129 a year

FullersBride Posted: Nov 13, 2007 05:50 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Pretty much anything in CT, other than Fairfield county is pretty affordable. Plus the pace of life is a lot more relaxed and laid back and people are soooo nice here!

bonniejd Posted: Nov 13, 2007 06:50 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Posted by FullersBride

Pretty much anything in CT, other than Fairfield county is pretty affordable. Plus the pace of life is a lot more relaxed and laid back and people are soooo nice here!

Umm... I'm in LOVE with your house-- gorgeous!!!

GettinHutched Posted: Nov 13, 2007 06:51 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

I am sooo feeling your pain with the house hunt. With the market the way it is, we should be finding steals but it still isn't happening! We put in a low offer on a great house and he didn't want to counteroffer. Completely shocking considering the market right now- you'd think he'd at least counteroffer! It's a very frustrating process! Hang in there!

LitBallerinaGirl Posted: Nov 13, 2007 06:55 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

DH and I bought a house this year. We both have good jobs on LI so we knew moving was pretty much out of the question for us. We looked around at so many houses and so many areas and actually ended up buying one of my dad's houses. (My dad is into flipping houses). We asked ourselves a lot of questions while we were looking. How is the area/school district? How quiet is the street? What do the houses around look like? What kind of potential does this house have? How much work does it need? How costly would it be to fix it up?
We still have a lot more work to do, but it's coming along. It's funny because when DH and I are outside we always get stopped by neighbors thanking us for fixing up the 'dump on the street'. I just laugh it off and thank them.
It's actually amusing because I often tell my dad that if he isn't nice to me I'll start a rumor about our previous owner

FullersBride Posted: Nov 13, 2007 07:55 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Posted by bonniejd

Posted by FullersBride

Pretty much anything in CT, other than Fairfield county is pretty affordable. Plus the pace of life is a lot more relaxed and laid back and people are soooo nice here!

Umm... I'm in LOVE with your house-- gorgeous!!!

Thanks

angNbrian07 Posted: Nov 14, 2007 07:53 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Thanks you guys for all this info.. It makes me feel a lot better that I am not the only one! 500K is what this seller wants for his house that is beautifully redone but the house was built in the late 30's so it is an old house. It is in really good shape though.. on a big piece of property and low taxes... We have been looking for a long time and I have that feeling that it is THE ONE. I hope we get it but I guess if it if meant to be then it will be.

THe market does seem to be stabalizing a little bit from my perspective but who knows... it could take another turn for the worse and the prices could get better for all us buyers out there!

I have to pray that we make the right decision and end up in the right situation....

Thanks for all your advice ladies!!! You're the best!

angNbrian07 Posted: Nov 14, 2007 07:53 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Posted by FullersBride

We recently bought a house, in July actually. We were looking in Long ISland but everything was so expensive or needed a lot of work that we had to relocate. So we moved to CT, 2 hours away and bought a beautiful 4 story 3,500 sq ft old victorian mansion on an acre of land for $280,000 It was SOooooooo WORTH THE MOVE!!!

angNbrian07 Posted: Nov 14, 2007 07:54 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Posted by FullersBride

We recently bought a house, in July actually. We were looking in Long ISland but everything was so expensive or needed a lot of work that we had to relocate. So we moved to CT, 2 hours away and bought a beautiful 4 story 3,500 sq ft old victorian mansion on an acre of land for $280,000 It was SOooooooo WORTH THE MOVE!!!

I LOVE your house!! Congrats!!

HelenZ Posted: Nov 14, 2007 10:44 PM

Re: Anyone in the process of buying a house now or recently???

Posted by FullersBride

We have 4 bedrooms, all wiht walk in closets, 1.5 baths, we are putting in another bath next year, a formal living room, formal dining room, game room with a wet bar and they left the pool table , home office, full size laundry room, family room, workshop, pantry/storage room, utilities room, and a wine cellar.....

Umm yeah, and our taxes are $3,129 a year

your house is SO charming!!! I love it!!!! I really wish we would've moved a little further away. we bought a house 2 years ago while the market was still RED HOT and we paid 575K for a 3 bedroom house that was in good shape but just needed updating (kitchens, baths etc.).....we've put around 50k into the house so far, and we're not done!! we need to do the roof and a few other things around here. it's sooooooo depressing to read the open house listings in my area (Howard Beach) now b/c I'm seeing listings in the 625K range for houses that are in much better condition (these are houses that would have easily been in the 700K+ range when we were looking). we bought when we did b/c we were convinced the prices would still go up,when in fact they've went down! but I guess you just never know w/ real estate!!! can I come live with you fullersbride???? I'm so tired of doing work on my house!!