Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Danielle&Scott Posted: Mar 06, 2005 04:03 PM

Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Scott and I wnet looking at open houses today and instead of being excited, it made me depressed. I wanted to throw up (sorry) at what they were asking for houses that were disgusting. I would ove to live in Nassau county, but I don't know if we could afford it.

JodiBabe Posted: Mar 06, 2005 04:29 PM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

TracyInQueens Posted: Mar 06, 2005 05:08 PM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Good luck! There has to be something out there for you!

christy Posted: Mar 06, 2005 05:51 PM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

I have been there, very depressing! We looked at almost 40 houses, and then we went condo hunting. We bought a condo that was totally redone. So, it was very easy to just move right in. Wont look for houses for at least another year. Hang in there!

nov2004bride Posted: Mar 06, 2005 06:06 PM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

There is deinfelty something out there. You just have to hang in there. We thought the same thing. We wound up with a gorgeous house with nothing to do in our price range.

btrflygrl Posted: Mar 06, 2005 06:36 PM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

awww Danielle....your house will come...you'll find it when it's right!

If it helps...the prospect of living anywhere on LI made us throw up! That's why we left.....

Mel_and_Dave Posted: Mar 06, 2005 06:46 PM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Don't worry you will find something. I can't tell you how many times we went out and felt the same thing.

Gonnacatchapeacock Posted: Mar 07, 2005 12:19 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

i feel the same way....so much money so little house/land

SweetCin704 Posted: Mar 07, 2005 06:19 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

I can totally feel for you. FH & I went apt. hunting this weekend & got so depressed at the shape of some of the apts or the crazy layouts or such & I said, can you imagine what it is like to look for a house, if this is how it is apt. shopping?!

Hang in there, I been there & your perfect house is out there...don't give up!!!

kittyke Posted: Mar 07, 2005 08:22 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Maybe a Co-op or Condo / Townhouse would be a better start and in a few years selling it would give you a nice house downpayment, that is what we did, that is what we HAD to do with these prices!

HearzBellz Posted: Mar 07, 2005 08:36 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Posted by Danielle&Scott

Scott and I wnet looking at open houses today and instead of being excited, it made me depressed. I wanted to throw up (sorry) at what they were asking for houses that were disgusting. I would ove to live in Nassau county, but I don't know if we could afford it.

We are in the same boat...so we stopped looking in Nassau and are buying in Suffolk. Even when you find a house that you can comfortably afford....the taxes can kill you

So we are looking in West Babylon, West islip and Lindenhurst.

Danielle&Scott Posted: Mar 07, 2005 09:58 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Have you found anything in those areas? I know the prices are a lot less....How are the school districts for those towns? My friend lives in Lindenhurst and she says the school districts are very good and the town is very nice.

She bought her house last year. It is a split level and she paid $365k. That house in Nassau would easily be over $450k.

Danielle and I looked at one disgusting house after another yesterday...and one of them was for $448k. It was in N Wantagh...I could not believe the asking price...There was Spackling on some walls and part of the house wasnt finished...There was a small apartment on the seocnd floor which would of been good to ren but the kitchen was small and needed to be updated, and the living room was small along with the bedrooms...oh and the house was dirty....For $448k you would expect the house to be clean at least.

Scott

Danielle&Scott Posted: Mar 07, 2005 10:00 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

As far as Condos and co ops go...I dont think Danielle would be interested in living in one. I actually like Condos, and townhouses. My dad lives in one and it is really nice. He doesnt have a backyard but he has a front patio and he has all the amenities that a house has....

If we did look into condos or co ops, which would you recommend and where would you recommend to look?

Just to get an idea.
Scott

TracyInQueens Posted: Mar 07, 2005 10:08 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Lindenhurst is ten minutes to Levittown, where my parents (and my SIL's mom) still live. My brother and SIL love Lindenhurst. They have a nice sized house with a big yard on a nice quiet street. They are really happy there.

NYWeekends Posted: Mar 07, 2005 10:27 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

I know exactly what you are saying. We got lucky and found a house 2 weeks ago in Wantagh after seeing only about 15 houses in the area, but the house is not what we would want ideally, and we are paying more than we were going to spend. Plus we still have a few major things to figure about before going into contract.

Btw, where exactly does Wantagh end and N. Wantagh start?

There is nothing wrong with buying condo or townhouse - lot's of my friend's did that, built some equity and moved up to a house. Suffolk county is also fine, especially if you don't commute to Manhattan for work.

I am not surprised to read about a $448 house in poor condition. Out agent showed us a house listed at $540 that was really bad. In fact I had to excuse myself and ask that we leave after spending only about a minute there cause I don't know what the tenants were doing in that house, but it was absolutely disgusting

Good luck in your search, and don't give up!

Novem05 Posted: Mar 07, 2005 10:33 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

I totally understand, we've been looking every weekend for about 3 months and haven't found anything. We even decided to spend more than we originally wanted and thought we'd get more house for our money, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Hang in there you'll find something.

Danielle&Scott Posted: Mar 07, 2005 10:44 AM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Posted by NYWeekends

I know exactly what you are saying. We got lucky and found a house 2 weeks ago in Wantagh after seeing only about 15 houses in the area, but the house is not what we would want ideally, and we are paying more than we were going to spend. Plus we still have a few major things to figure about before going into contract.

Btw, where exactly does Wantagh end and N. Wantagh start?

There is nothing wrong with buying condo or townhouse - lot's of my friend's did that, built some equity and moved up to a house. Suffolk county is also fine, especially if you don't commute to Manhattan for work.

I am not surprised to read about a $448 house in poor condition. Out agent showed us a house listed at $540 that was really bad. In fact I had to excuse myself and ask that we leave after spending only about a minute there cause I don't know what the tenants were doing in that house, but it was absolutely disgusting

Good luck in your search, and don't give up!

N. Wantagh....Is off Wantagh avenue Past N. jerusalem Ave. N. Wantagh is usually Levittown school district.

Scott

cloddy Posted: Mar 07, 2005 02:36 PM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

We had a very similar experience in the beginning. Hang in there. There's a lot of crap for sale and you have to find the right house. We saw nothing but ranches that were too small, too old, too run down and then suddenly got literally 2 or 3 times the house for only $50k more. Make sure you research neighborhoods that will narrow your search and keep you from looking at things you either cannot afford and would not buy because they're not good enough. There are some hidden deals left in Nassau, you just have to be creative. You'll find something. Also, we found open houses to be the worst of the worst, most houses do not require an open house to sell, so maybe you should stear away from them when you ready to look seriously. They're usually doing an open house because they've been unsucessful at getting an offer or they're in a hurry to sell. Stick with regular listings. Where do you live now? What area are you looking for? What's most important to you (ie schools, commute, etc)

cloddy Posted: Mar 07, 2005 02:38 PM

Re: Went looking at open houses...it was depressing.

Believe it or not, if it makes you feel any better, we thought New York prices were outrageous, then for fun on our last trip to Tampa we looked at models that were going for $600,000, can you imagine? in Tampa! Crazy! I'd never spend more to live in Tampa than in NY