https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:27:04 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175573 Tue, 12 May 2015 11:46:52 +0000 Bluebonnet 2175573@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with @MaryM: its a balance of the two. If the house has good bones, but is not exactly what you want aesthetically, you can fix that. If the house doesn't have enough space or requires immediate work that you can handle (time/money/mentally), then its not going to work and its not going to matter how great your neighborhood. </p> <p>The house we bought 1.5 years ago has a great neighborhood, and great bones (floorplan, space, etc), but in need of cosmetic updates. Some of the updates we did immediately, others we're waiting a bit to know what we really want. Its not perfect right now, but it will be in a couple of years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175552 Tue, 12 May 2015 11:34:29 +0000 HabesBabe 2175552@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would vote for location-- is the new house liveable so you can take projects one at a time? In my neck of the woods, all of the homes without association fees or Mello-Roos are 30-50+ years old. </p> <p>Our own house was built in 1954. It's totally outdated, but still functional (although inefficient). We've used our tax refund each year for a new project-- replacing the windows, installing a new sliding glass door, painting the house, etc. I think as long as you take that approach, you'll be fine. And the amenities of the yard and neighborhood sound too good to pass up! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175512 Tue, 12 May 2015 11:14:50 +0000 mrscobee 2175512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@TemperanceBrennan: I live in a new house we built and agree with this. Homeownership is always costly in general I think. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175481 Tue, 12 May 2015 10:53:52 +0000 TemperanceBrennan 2175481@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We built a house, but we *still* have a long list of projects. Yes, it is cosmetic but we couldn't afford to pay for every single thing on our "wants list" up-front. We love the neighborhood and the floor plan, but we are still doing projects to make it more us and add more charm. So even if you buy the house that you think doesn't need changes now, you might end up spending time personalizing it after you move it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175466 Tue, 12 May 2015 10:47:47 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2175466@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If the property and neighborhood are exactly what you're looking for, I'd buy the home. It's what sold us on our house. We wouldn't have bought a house that had floor to ceiling wallpaper in every room if it weren't for the great neighborhood and schools. We are down to only 2 rooms with wallpaper now, and though we did it slowly over 5 years, it was very worth it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175454 Tue, 12 May 2015 10:40:32 +0000 bunnylove08 2175454@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can always change your house especially if this is a forever or very long term home </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175283 Tue, 12 May 2015 09:10:05 +0000 MaryM 2175283@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it has to be a balance of the two. </p> <p>DH and I saw some houses in really great locations, but knew we weren't up for the all the renos they'd require. </p> <p>We saw some perfect houses...but the location was so bad. </p> <p>We ended up finding a place in a neighborhood we didn't think we could afford that was toward the top of our budget and not at all updated (but really well taken care of.)</p> <p>We know we're going to have kitchen and bathroom renovations ahead of us, but at least everything in the house works and inspected well so we can move in and not have to do work right away. I can deal with a 1970s kitchen for a while until we're really ready to deal with renovating it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175214 Tue, 12 May 2015 08:27:28 +0000 snowjewelz 2175214@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Buy the lot! I mean, life is always easier with any reno projects, but I am so glad we bought a fixer upper in the town we want to live in... And we were able to make everything exactly the way we like it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175209 Tue, 12 May 2015 08:25:19 +0000 Tanjowen 2175209@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@kiddosc: It's a bit of the layout, but mostly cosmetics. I think I just need to get my mind right on the matter - updates can be done over time. I'm just tired of the projects from our current home and had my heart set on something that didn't need work. BUT the property and neighborhood are so great it overrides everything else.</p> <p>@T.H.O.U.: It's been on the market since Christmas. We are going to look at it this week with a friend who is a building contractor, and will offer less and see what the response is from the owner. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175204 Tue, 12 May 2015 08:23:12 +0000 oliviaoblivia 2175204@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The reno list isn't too bad, I'd go for it for the perfect location/neighbourhood. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175193 Tue, 12 May 2015 08:16:55 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2175193@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Tanjowen: Well unless you really don't want to loose out on that particular property, just offer lower than the asking price and see what they say. How long has it been on the market? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175192 Tue, 12 May 2015 08:16:34 +0000 kiddosc 2175192@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Tanjowen: What is it about the house that you don't like? Is it the layout, or just that it needs updating? The house we recently purchased needs a lot of updates, but they're things we can do over time (tile, kitchen update, paint, light fixtures, bathrooms). We liked the layout of the home and the neighborhood is amazing, so we bought it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175188 Tue, 12 May 2015 08:13:14 +0000 looch 2175188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's a mix, this coming from a person that bought the one house style that I absolutely LOATHE, but in a can't be beat location.</p> <p>I can not change the style of my house without literally gutting the entire thing. It's a raised ranch, which is the problem. Had it been a cape, we could have converted it to a center hall colonial, for example. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175185 Tue, 12 May 2015 08:11:23 +0000 Tanjowen 2175185@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: Yep, the situation sucks. Our home has major plumbing issues too, which sealed the deal for us on leaving and moving on.</p> <p>The neighborhood is one of the best in our county, so it is a great investment, and I think we might end up buying it, but I just feel so tired thinking of more projects (cue whining_. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175097 Tue, 12 May 2015 06:45:07 +0000 Modern Daisy 2175097@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you have the money, totally buy for the lot and the neighborhood. We just did this and I'm in the middle of a major landscaping project right now and drawing up plans for an addition - no regrets. Our neighborhood is perfect and the school district is one of the best in the state. When we bought there were a ton of brand new shiny homes on the market in our price range on busy streets or not in an actual neighborhood. I'm so glad we waited and bought this house!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175093 Tue, 12 May 2015 06:38:49 +0000 blackbird 2175093@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We live where we do because of location! Your "needs" sound like wants to me, because many are the same as ours. We will get to them. In the meantime, the area cannot be beat and we LOVE that </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175060 Tue, 12 May 2015 05:08:53 +0000 miramira 2175060@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location, for sure. You can turn the house into what you want/need over time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175058 Tue, 12 May 2015 05:02:41 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2175058@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I basically cannot vote because we are in the same boat. </p> <p>We love our house and all the projects we have done. But it's a lot of work with the never ending list and ultimately we feel cramped. We cannot change the layout of our house. We love our location though. </p> <p>But houses with privacy AND are newer are out of our budget. So we have the same three choices, stay, project home with better layout, or new home but lack privacy and yard. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2175045 Tue, 12 May 2015 01:29:46 +0000 lamariniere 2175045@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with location, but I would also heavily weigh how much it will cost you over time to make the updates you want. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174996 Mon, 11 May 2015 22:50:42 +0000 honeybear 2174996@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>How big is this neighborhood? If it's tiny, maybe that weighs in favor of going for it, but it sounds like you think the house is overpriced. If you're not in a rush (seems like you aren't), I would pass and watch the listings for the 'hood you want. If you're right about the pricing, this house will still be there for a while. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174989 Mon, 11 May 2015 22:41:40 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2174989@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's all about location! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174975 Mon, 11 May 2015 22:27:57 +0000 HLK208 2174975@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location! As long as the house has good bones and nothing MAJOR like bad plumbing, mold, asbestos, or all of the above!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174958 Mon, 11 May 2015 21:51:09 +0000 shopaholic 2174958@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agreed. We chose neighborhood over house. If nothing else for the return on investment. Nice finishings and "new stuff" all fades and becomes old/outdated too. Location is key! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174955 Mon, 11 May 2015 21:44:57 +0000 travellingbee 2174955@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agreed. You can do a multitude of things to change a house but you can't ever change the location of it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174950 Mon, 11 May 2015 21:38:22 +0000 mrscobee 2174950@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location location location! Some of the projects can be outsourced to not be as time consuming to you.</p> <p>ETA this is if you think the house has decent bones. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174941 Mon, 11 May 2015 21:22:06 +0000 Mrs. Pen 2174941@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can always change the house but not the location! I'd choose location. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174915 Mon, 11 May 2015 20:44:48 +0000 Mrs. Tiger 2174915@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>voted buy for the lot.. our house is great but the things that really piss us off we can't change (front yard is really sloped, etc). If you can change the things you don't like, I'd buy for the location! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/buy-for-home-or-buy-for-the-neighborhoodproperty#post-2174909 Mon, 11 May 2015 20:41:24 +0000 Tanjowen 2174909@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A poll! We have been casually looking around and found a home for sale in a fantastic neighborhood. It has both of what DH and I want - playground, pool, and a lake. The property looks over the lake (but no access). It has a very wooded backyard and is private, which is important to us both.</p> <p>The home is okay. It is 20 years old, and it doesn't have the finishing touches I would expect for the price. It will be a project over time to deal with the interior. Things like flooring, tile, baseboards, paint, and new doors. The outside needs to be painted, there will be landscaping that needs to be addressed, and we will have to put in a fence. We have looked at other homes at the same asking price that are new construction and very, very nice, but offer none of the amenities we want.</p> <p>Our current home has a wonderful backyard and great location, but no amenities at all and our home is a labor of love. No storage and no "finishing touches." We have taken on a lot of projects over the years - new kitchen counters and tile, new hardwood floors, redoing the backyard, etc. I'm kind of over the projects.</p> <p>So, would you spend your money for the lot and the prestigious neighborhood, or on a very nice house that requires zero projects? I'm so torn. </p>