Buy a move in ready home that you know you are going to have to move out of in the future (approximately 5 years) or buy a home that needs some work (all small cosmetic) but will be your forever home?
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I picked small cosmetic work forever home because that's pretty much what we did!!
ETA: and DH and I both loathe moving!
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I like having projects on a home rather than buying one that is already complete (especially if there is an increase in the already finished house price!).
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Forever home, but mostly because I'm over moving and am ready to be in a forever home.
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@lemondrop: The 'temporary' home is actually cheaper but it is 1000 sqft less!
I love the idea of making it our own but it also scares me (both with time and $). The forever home is HUGE so I question how we're going to furnish it and make the changes (counter-tops in the kitchen, paint, and new carpet are the big things to me)
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forever home. moving is a pain in the booty!
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Forever home. If it is in the budget, to me it's so worth it. Plus, once you do a little work it's instant equity!
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Thanks for all your feedback. My husband and I have been talking it out and you guys helped us have an 'ahhh ha' moment.
It seems crazy to buy a house that is far beyond what we need now (5 bedrooms!) but we love the family friendly neighborhood, the location, and the price...
If all goes well and we end up there, please feel free to send any furniture our way
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I voted for the shorter term home. 1) I really like change, so the idea of moving doesn't bother me and 2) it gives you time to see what you really need/don't need in a house without the worry of projects. We love our fixer upper, but it's really hard to do update things as we would like. Time isn't abundant with a little one, plus saving the money for projects and retirement and college and preschool and etc is harder than expected.
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@Weagle: You have valid points....I like the idea of change (we have relocated 4 times since we've been together) but in this case, we know this is where we are staying so if we move, it'll be within a 5 mile radius, not a new neighborhood. I am worried about the 'projects' but honestly, the only things that I would like to do are the kitchen (counter-tops and back splash), paint, and carpet. Oh and a fence, but we didn't see one house that had one in the 10 we saw today!
I am more worried about the house feeling incomplete because we can't furnish/decorate the way I would like where as the smaller temporary one, I could host immediately...(as if I throw lavish dinner parties, haha, nope, never).
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Forever home! I think it works out better financially in the long run since there will be no realtor fees to sell and the restarting of a mortgage with the big interest payments in the beginning. We have a home that needs some updating and work and I love the work we've put into it. It's a nice feeling to finish projects ourselves and be able to appreciate our handiwork.
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Forever home for sure!
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Forever home.
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@Mrs. Taco: don't feel like you have to furnish the entire house all at once! It's fine if it's a slow process. DH and I bought our house 2.5 years ago and we JUST got to some big projects, and aren't nearly done furnishing it. But we've been picking up things we like as we find them and it's starting to come together. In the end, it's much more rewarding and, IMO, looks much nicer than when people order rooms straight out of the Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel Catalog just so it can be "done."
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I chose forever home but it's probably because I watch too much HGTV. I feel like renovations are a labor of love and totally worth it!
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Forever home!
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We bought our forever home even though at some points I was angling for more of a stater home so it wouldn't be empty. We have been in it for 2.5 years and while every room has something in it not as single room is even close to finished- and you know what- it is fine! People tell us all the time that they furnished their homes and that young kids made them feel the need to refurnish so we don't have that problem! The house will grow with our family and work for a long, long time. I know a few people who bought smaller homes and they didn't last as long as they expected which left them either cramped for a few years or worrying about having enough equity to move when they wanted. So I vote forever home!
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@Mrs. Taco: remember, you don't have to fully furnish immediately. Our dining room was empty until someone gave us their old dining room set.
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Cosmetic work can be done is no time - either by you guys or by someone hired.
I wouldn't buy a house I only planned to live in for 5 years unless it was an uber-incredible steal; or I planned to keep it and rent it out after the 5 years.
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We bought an older home that needs some work/updates. We wouldn't mind staying here forever!
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@Kimberlybee: I need to cancel my access to HGTV until we buy a house...gives me lofty expectations that can't be met here!
@PurplePeony: @swedishfish: This is very true....my dogs & R would enjoy as many rooms as possible with no furniture, more room to run, eh hm, crawl, around!
We're going to look at the 'forever' home again today!
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We got a VERY fixer upper & made it into our forever home! It was a lot of blood, sweat & tears but in the end it was A) cheaper than buying a move in ready home, B) increased the value of the house greatly and C) it's exactly how we like it! No regrets at all!
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Forever. It is usually cheaper, and if it's a forever home, you have all the time you need to make it how you like it. It's exactly what DH and I are looking for!
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If you are absolutely sure about the location, I would choose the forever home. We went with the short term home and are happy with our choice, but we are not sure where we will be working in 5 years, so we went with a smaller home that required very little work. I love our house and it was the right choice for us, but it also kind of stinks knowing that we will have to move if/when we have another baby.
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if you are staying in the same neighbourhood, then i pick forever!
if you can save money by buying that home, think of the furniture and upgrades you can save for in the future!
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Our friends bought their home with a view to moving in 5 years. Then the housing market crashed over here, they ended up in negative equity and they're basically stuck there now. It's not in the area they wanted, the schools around there are not very good.... DH and I, however, bought a house we were willing to live in forever. It's not really as big as I would like because we sacrificed to live in the area of our choice..... because we had to ask ourselves if something happened and we ended up there forever, would we be happy?
You can do the work bit by bit - it's part of the fun, anyway!
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@Mrs. Taco: If you're going to be in the same neighborhood and you're renovations are that minor, I would definitely go with the forever home, then!
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The forever home - I hate moving.
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Update: We're going to make an offer this week.
Wish us luck!
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Some work, forever home.
GOOD LUCK!!!
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@Mrs. Taco: Awesome, good luck!
I would have a forever home that requires some work. DH would rather have a temporary move-in ready home. In our case, he won.
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I wouldn't buy a home that I wasn't planning to own for more than 7 years at minimum. The frictional costs of selling the home are too high.
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