I'm finding that DH and I have different priorities and 'wants'. I really would love a nice kitchen and nice size bedrooms, while DH would like a garage/basement. What were some of the things you wanted when looking?
swags1016
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
We had to have something close to the LIE or Northern State. We had to have something with a reasonable commute time. I wanted a good school district. I wanted a village (since I grew up in Northport I wanted something with that feel) DH wanted (and you will laugh) a house big enough for him to have a media room, a work out room, a sports room and a hang out room with a bar. (in other words a basement in my eyes) I wanted decent appliance, a certain lay out and more than one bathroom. I wanted a HUGE yard, DH wanted a average size yard. I know that DH is not handy so we had to get something in decent condition, that didn't require too much work!
When you find your house I think it will have enough of each others wants that will make you both happy! But you have to decide what is most important. You have to decide what are truly your MUST haves!!!
Sweetie2004
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
swags. you sound like me!!! I totally want the village feel! If you don't mind could you share with me the areas you looked in and where you settled? You can FM me if you want.
TIA!!
mv1003
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
Swags, sounds very similar to my DH.. minus the gym!!! lol
IT's so frustrating! That's if I want a 'decent' commute to the city. I'd prefer to stay in Nassau, but, I don't know. Maybe I'll have to hold off a year or so?
DjPiLL
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
A basement is a huge plus (especially if its finished) since IMO it adds to the SqFootage of the house.
mv1003
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
We'd LOVE a finished basement... but most of the homes that we can afford, in the areas we're looking Levittown/Hicksville/Bellmore etc.. don't have basements So, trying to figure out what could balance NOT having one?
DjPiLL
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
Its not about balance. Its not like you can tell him, 'Well honey... a big backyard is equivalent to having a basement so this house should be fine with you'.
If he is insistent on having a basement... then you might have to start looking elsewhere. I would never consider a house without a basement... unless I am right on the water.
mv1003
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
I hear ya. He wants a basement for 'work space though' for his hobby of racing cars. If we had another bedroom that he could have as his hobby room, or a garage, than, that's OK for now. I doubt highly that the house we end up getting now is going to be the house we'll live in forever.
Betty
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
Posted by mv1003
I'm finding that DH and I have different priorities and 'wants'. I really would love a nice kitchen and nice size bedrooms, while DH would like a garage/basement. What were some of the things you wanted when looking?
This is EXACTLY my husband But we need a TWO car garage
edited to say: the 2 car garage is for his two 'baby's' (Mustangs)
Snowboardgirl
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
We are both very handy and because I'm an interior designer I am going to tear out what ever was there anyway, so the design of the rooms didn't matter so much. We looked for a great neighborhood, great bones, PROPERTY, garage, and a well designed house! Oh, and a colonial!
btrflygrl
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
'Our' list of what we would LIKE to have: Central air Basement big yard (at least 1/2 acre) garage decent size kitchen (more me than him) nice size master bedroom decent closet space/storage
Pickle
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
Well, we were both flexible but I wanted: fireplace (i just loved hanging our stockings by one when we were little) garage basement (finished or unfinished, didn't matter) decent yard
DH wanted: big yard decent kitchen
We both wanted something in decent shape, so if we didn't have the immediate funds to fix it how we want, we can live with some old decor for a while.
There's a house we like, that we are hoping works out for us. No fireplace, and the appliances/kitchen isn't quite what we were hoping for - but we can move in fine and tackle fixing things how we want it one thing at a time...
butterfly20
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
i was just looking at our list and laughing.... i thought we would NEVER find it, yet we found most of what we wanted... all our must haves and really wants were fullfilled,------ 2 bathrooms , finished basement, second floor bedrooms, dining room, porch, deck, patio, good schools, near but not ontop of parkway & stores, decent size backyard, not on a corner, no cesspools nassau county..... the only would be nice that we didnt get was its a 2br, but we can easily make the third...
Karen62794
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
Location, Location, Location and school district.
We listed everything we wanted and ranked them in order of importance. Obviously, all the houses we saw didn't have everything we wanted, but we knew with our first home we had to compromise.
We wanted an eat in kitchen, formal dining room, formal living room, family room and at least 2 baths. We got that with the house we bought, however we compromised on bedroom size, no basement and a small property, but in an excellent location in school district and much newer home (our home was built in 1991).
We bought our home in June 2003 and it has since been appraised for $100K more than what we bought it for, so we did well.
So, make a list of your wants and rank them in terms of importance. See what you can live with or without.
mv1003
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
Betty- LOL I know the feeling
It does seem that for everything we'd want, and the price ranges out there, we'll never find something! I feel as if we both have to compromise and just settle. At these rates, it's hard to think of 'settling'. I'm glad to hear all of you found what you were looking for We have a combined list like you guys- Garage Basement Nice size bedrooms 1.5-2 full bathrooms nice kitchen nice bath good size backyard NOT on a major street For now, Nassau close to train/shops
I'm convinced, this doesn't exist!!!
aimerliny
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
Our priorities were:
basement, garage, attic -- we're all about storage closet space
outside aesthics -- roof, siding, windows, driveway, even deck or patio because these things can be super expensive to do after you buy -- i'd rather paint and gut a kitchen any day
second bathroom -- again, another expensive thing to add. It's easier to update, rather than create.
we also highly considered homes that had an apartment -- helps pay the mortgage until we need the space. Also usually means that other renovations like dormers have already been made, which again, would be expensive for us to do later.
ETA: Other considerations were: not a busy street school district community commute appliances
Jenny5150
Posted:
Member since
Re: What was most important to you when looking...
Location was the most important for us. (It was all about Resale.) That included: -top rated school district -property size of .5 acre or more (surrounding properties had to be similar in size) -not on a busy road (no double lines!!!!) -not near a highway (don't want sound pollution or any run-off traffic) -trees in the neighborhood/tree lined street (we hate new developments that have had all their trees leveled) -reasonable driving distance to NYC & Airports -reasonable train commute -close to Huntington Village
The actual house was irrelevant to us. We purchased a home that needed a new roof and septic tank the first week we moved in. But, our home has increased in value by over 50%.
