Major stress!!! ****BIGGGGG UPDATE*******

So fh and I looked at the cutest little house the other day and we love it. Its only 13 years old and definitely on the small side, but it has a full unfinished basement that we would totlly renovate. The price is right for us and it has a cute little backyard for the pup. I dont think we will find ANYTHING nearly as new or nice for our SUPER low price range in the area we want. Its sachem school district and less than ten mintues from both our parents' houses

Im SOOOO stressed ad nervous about all of this. I SO SO want a house and we have so many ideas as to how to make it our own and fix it up. Its move-in-able now, and we could change things as time goes on.

The thing is, I could see having a baby there, but once it were a few years old, I think we would be cramped and needto move.

Do people stay in their first house? I just hate change I guess so Im freaked out at the thought of having to do this all over again in 5-7 years.

EEEEK!

Advice? I am going back and forth between being so exicted and being sick to my stomach over money.

We are going to bring my dad tomorrow and then we may put in an offer.

Also.. those of you that put in offers.. how much lower did you put in an offer for?


******UPDATE**************

Ok.. so we decided to put in an offer 16k below the asking price... and they countered right away with 10k below the asking price (they already lowered it 10k after putting it on the market)

I think we are going to accept it!!!! My dad said that he can redo the basement with no problem for us and that it is small, but there is potential and its bigger than any apartment that we would get. Plus, fred is a big deciding factor as well.

I know that it may be small on others' standards, but it feels right for us right now, and I think that we are making a good decision.

Im completely FREAKING out, but it will work out.

I will post pictures once we have more definate answers.

Jen, I totally know what you are going through. FH and I have been looking for a house for about 4 months. We finally came across THE house! We put in an offer and we went into contract this past Monday. BUT, before you go into contract there is SOOOO much stress. When you put in an offer, you have to low ball them (if I can even say that on LIW). You have to give them a low price and tell your agent to tell them that you will negotiate up. Put in an offer...you obviously love the house. You can make it work even if it's small and you want to have kids. A baby dosent need THAT much space to start off with. You may have to move eventually, but at least you have some equity in the house and you can sell it and make a profit.

If you get the opportunity to meet the homeowners, make sure you are SUPER nice to them if you love the house. The people we are buying from said that they loved us when they met us and they want us to start a family in their home the way they did when they moved in. I thought that was sweet

My biggest advice (because I fell into the trap) is DON'T start thinking about what you can do to the house too much and how you can picture yourself living there. I mean, to some extent you HAVE to do that so that you can see if you would love it there....but, I ended up picturing furniture, and paint and all that and then we ended up having to walk away from the house because the inspector told us that it needed about $100,000 in work. Don't get your heart set on anything until you get into contract.

Good luck!!! It is SOOOO scary but it is also SOOO wonderful at the same time!! FM me if you need any help!

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Posted by MrsStefan

Jen, I totally know what you are going through. FH and I have been looking for a house for about 4 months. We finally came across THE house! We put in an offer and we went into contract this past Monday. BUT, before you go into contract there is SOOOO much stress. When you put in an offer, you have to low ball them (if I can even say that on LIW). You have to give them a low price and tell your agent to tell them that you will negotiate up. Put in an offer...you obviously love the house. You can make it work even if it's small and you want to have kids. A baby dosent need THAT much space to start off with. You may have to move eventually, but at least you have some equity in the house and you can sell it and make a profit.

If you get the opportunity to meet the homeowners, make sure you are SUPER nice to them if you love the house. The people we are buying from said that they loved us when they met us and they want us to start a family in their home the way they did when they moved in. I thought that was sweet

My biggest advice (because I fell into the trap) is DON'T start thinking about what you can do to the house too much and how you can picture yourself living there. I mean, to some extent you HAVE to do that so that you can see if you would love it there....but, I ended up picturing furniture, and paint and all that and then we ended up having to walk away from the house because the inspector told us that it needed about $100,000 in work. Don't get your heart set on anything until you get into contract.

Good luck!!! It is SOOOO scary but it is also SOOO wonderful at the same time!! FM me if you need any help!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to respond with all that.. you made me feel so much better!!!

We are meeting the homeowners tomorrow and I know that they are a younger couple and that she is an english teacher like me (their wedding annoucement was on the fridge) So Im exicted to meet them

Just buy it! As long as you can see yourself staying in it for 5 years, it's a sound financial investment (you could actually lost $$ on a house if you don't stay there for 5 year due to closing costs, etc). When FH and I bought our house, we sort of figured we'd stay here until after our second child is born. There was no way we could've afforded a home that we will stay in forever. I think almost everyone has to buy a 'starter home.'

The thing is, owning is so much better than renting, and will put you in a position 5 years down the road where you can afford something bigger/nicer.

Go for it! and Good luck!

You said there is an unfinished basement. Is there enough yard to do an extension. Do you have an upstairs? Maybe you can finish it for the future family.

Sometimes it's better to start with a starter home and start building equity. Then see if the house has possibility for expansions later, if so what are your options. A lot of people do that now. They stay in their house and remodel. Now, make sure if you need to sell the house that it's in a good location (not off a major road, etc..). How old is the roof, boiler, etc.?

If it's all good, I would say to go for it.

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Posted by Jen2999

So fh and I looked at the cutest little house the other day and we love it. Its only 13 years old and definitely on the small side, but it has a full unfinished basement that we would totlly renovate. The price is right for us and it has a cute little backyard for the pup. I dont think we will find ANYTHING nearly as new or nice for our SUPER low price range in the area we want. Its sachem school district and less than ten mintues from both our parents' houses

Im SOOOO stressed ad nervous about all of this. I SO SO want a house and we have so many ideas as to how to make it our own and fix it up. Its move-in-able now, and we could change things as time goes on.

The thing is, I could see having a baby there, but once it were a few years old, I think we would be cramped and needto move.

Do people stay in their first house? I just hate change I guess so Im freaked out at the thought of having to do this all over again in 5-7 years.

EEEEK!

Advice? I am going back and forth between being so exicted and being sick to my stomach over money.

We are going to bring my dad tomorrow and then we may put in an offer.

Also.. those of you that put in offers.. how much lower did you put in an offer for?

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My FH and I bought our house in December, So i totally know how stressed you are! Planning a wedding and buying a house is crazy! My biggest concern was that I was leaving NY and my family. But now that my parents are probs going to retire to NC in a few years that made me feel a lot better about the move. I agree with MrsStefan, don't picture having the babies and all that jazz yet...take one thing at a time. You never know what will be thrown your way.
When we made an offer on our house, we actually offered what the builder was asking; since its brand new in a new community that was in high demand, we didn't want to take the chance; either way the house was very affordable. I would say buy the house, fix it up and hopefully the market will swing back to a sellers market in a few years, sell it and buy something bigger for the children.
Good Luck!!

my fh and i went through the same thing - we put an offer on a house and it was accepted - then, i had a little nervous breakdown. we decided that it would be better to rent until after we were married - get used to living together without the worries of a mortgage..

Save your money -- another house will come around after the wedding..

JMO - HTHH!!!!!

How many bedrooms?
Could you stay there forever...if you had do - with kids and all?

I bring this up b/c my sister bought a starter house, thinking sh'e d move out and 20 years later and 3 kids later they are still there.

Market changed and life changed and the process of moving was not an option. She loves her neighborhood, but still complains about her house.

It's def great to buy something, but I would go into buying house with the idea that I could stay there for a looong time in case plans didn't work out the way you want them to.

HTH

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Posted by bridy06

How many bedrooms?
Could you stay there forever...if you had do - with kids and all?

I bring this up b/c my sister bought a starter house, thinking sh'e d move out and 20 years later and 3 kids later they are still there.

Market changed and life changed and the process of moving was not an option. She loves her neighborhood, but still complains about her house.

It's def great to buy something, but I would go into buying house with the idea that I could stay there for a looong time in case plans didn't work out the way you want them to.

HTH

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Two bedrooms, one bathroom

I guess if we HAD to we could somehow add on to it, but I think that for us, we would want to move into something a little more spacious.

The thing is I am a teacher and will be making A LOT more money in the next five years (Im still finishing my masters so thats like a 10k raise right there believe it or not) and then I will be going to school as much as possible to increase my salary. FH is also at a turning point in his job, so I think we would definitely be able to fix up this house, re sell it and move to a bigger house in ten years or so...

It's a personal decision... Trust your gut.

PS. I am a teacher too...!

personally - i would focus on getting hte house first. don't get so far ahead of yourself with kids and fixing it up and all.

i have no advice as far as bidding goes, but best of luck to you on that

We're in a similar situation with regards to size our house. The home we live in has a lot of potential with regards to remodeling and it's the perfect size for us now. When we have children, it could get a bit crowded so we have a room by room plan of what we want to change to accomodate our hopefully growing family. LI is expensive no matter if you buy now or wait and buy something bigger. I agree with what was recommened by the other ladies. Go with your instincts and if you can really see yourselves living there for the foreseeable future, do it. If there is any doubt at all, it may be best to wait. Good luck!

My parents have live in this house for over 30 years, before I was born. It was MUCH smaller back in the day but as they had kids they added on.

the average person stays in their first home from 4-6 years. eventually everyones families grow so moving to a bigger house is expected. if you love it then you should definitely move on it while it's still in a price range you can manage. just think of the equity you will gain as time goes by!!!

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Posted by DUCKS2001

just go for it! You may kick yourself if you dont GOOD LUCK!

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Totally agree!

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Posted by N.Y.bride

My parents have live in this house for over 30 years, before I was born. It was MUCH smaller back in the day but as they had kids they added on.

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My parents did the same. They have been in this house for 28 years. It started as a ranch and now it is a colonial. They added an entired 2nd floor once my brothers and I got older and we all needed more space.